South Bend Police Honor Own

April 7th, 2008 by May Lee Johnson, South Bend Tribune report

SOUTH BEND -- Police officers, their families, friends, co-workers and department retirees joined together Sunday at the sixth annual South Bend Police Department Awards Ceremony to honor their fellow men and women in blue.

More than 90 awards were given out at the event, which was held at Ivy Tech College in South Bend. "It's very important to award these officers who go out every day and put their lives on the line for the community," said Chief of Police Darryl Boykins. "We are not able to honor all our officers but they too do good work and I'm proud of them also. It's a good thing to honor these men and women who do good work every day. We always hear complaints about what they do, so today we just want to thank them all for what they do for this community."

As part of Sunday's ceremony, which was attended by a slew of honorees and their comrades, both sworn officers and civilian employees were honored. "I am extremely proud to be part of this ceremony," said Capt. Terry Young. "It's a pleasure to be able to honor those who give of themselves every day."

Patrolman Michael Norby was named the 2007 South Bend Police Officer of the Year for his courage and selflessness in going to the aid of Cpl. Nick Polizzotto and others, when he responded to the report of "shots fired" at a local motel, as well as his overall excellence as a police officer. "Although seriously hurt himself, Michael courageously and heroically stood his ground, fought though pain and injury and was able to end the violent attack.

Through his actions, Patrolman Norby demonstrated the highest degree of selflessness, personal courage, and devotion to duty," said Young when presenting Norby with the award. "I am very honored," said Norby. "But I accept these awards on behalf of all the officers at the South Bend Police Department."

Norby also won the Chief's Award of Valor, South Bend Police Medal and the Purple Heart Award. Kelly Waite and the late Cpl. Nick Polizzotto also received the Purple Heart Award. Polizzotto's son accepted the award for his father. "I felt honored to accept this award for my dad," said Joseph Polizzotto, 9. " But I was pretty nervous."

Other awards presented Sunday included:

Chief's Award of Valor: This award is granted to any sworn member of the department for an act of outstanding bravery or heroism by which the member has demonstrated in great degree the characteristics of selflessness, personal courage and devotion to duty. The recipients were Nick Polizzotto, Michael Norby, David Newton, Dominic Zarate, Kelly Waite and Charles Rothy.

The South Bend Police Medal: This award is presented annually by the chief of police to recipients of the Award of Valor, or the Chief's Award of Merit, the Purple Heart Award, when in his judgment, the accomplishments or performance of the individual member was so outstanding as to justify additional recognition. The recipients were Nick Polizzotto, Michael Norby, David Newton and Antwon Jones.

The Purple Heart Award: This award is granted to any sworn member who has been seriously or critically injured while in the performance of police duty. In addition, this award may be conferred if injury was averted by wearing body armor. This award will be limited to those cases resulting from attack by an assailant, personal combat, or the performance of an act of valor. The recipients were Nick Polizzotto, Michael Norby and Kelly Waite.

The Department Commendation: This award is granted to any department sworn or civilian member for an outstanding act or achievement that brings great credit to the department and involves performance above and beyond that required by the member's basic assignment. The recipients were Albert DeRoo, Ronald Glon, Edward Koczan, Juan Lora and David Ryans.

Special Recognition: In recognition of bravery by aiding the South Bend Police Department in the apprehension of armed robbery suspects on Nov. 30, 2007. The recipient was civilian Harley Jackson.

The Unit Meritorious Performance Award: This award is granted to individual sworn or civilian members of a unit who exhibited exceptional professional skill and conduct during a coordinated action.

For their dedication as a member of the South Bend Police Critical Incident Stress Management Team, the recipients were Jeremy Gadsby, James Burns, Kris Hinton, Amy Bennett, Scott Hanley, Terry Santa, Jim Wolff, Ray Wolfenbarger, David Johnson, Betsy Culp, Mattie Taylor, Daniel Demler, Steve Goen, Don Neely, David Porterfield, Michael Suth, Dominic Zarate, Steve Noonan, Kelly Waite, Terry Young, Antonio Pacheco, Christopher Brady, Dawn Wolfenbarger, Eric Wood, Billy Pelletier, Marian Nicks Walker, Britton Odle, Aaron Cassel, the Rev. Tony Slagle, Mark Walsh and Scott Ruszkowski.

SBPD Honor Guard: The recipients were Kelly Waite, Kris Hinton, Jonathan Gray, Kenneth Stuart and Antonio Pacheco.

The Lifesaving Award: This award is granted to any department sworn or civilian member for a successful effort in saving a human life which involved exceptional courage or performance. The recipients were Joy Glanz, Scott Ross, Joshua Morgan, David Modlin, Bryan Miller, Michael VanVynckt, Dana Hamilton, Anne Schellinger, Mark Szweda, Ronald Johnson, Betsy Culp, Rick McGee, Brian Kendall, Steve Goen, Anthony Bontrager, Dan Nowicki, David Lee and James Jones.

The Community Oriented Policing Special Partnership Award: Is an award presented to any department sworn or civilian member or citizen who, through his efforts, has made a significant impact upon the quality of life within his or her community by identifying and resolving problems. The recipients were Christopher Voros and Derek Dieter.

Employees of the Month 2007: The recipients were: January, Phil Herman; February, Paul Strabavy; March, Stephanie Marciniak; April, Michael Norby; May, Juan Lora; June, Michael Critchlow; August, David Herron; September, Keenan Lane; October, Derek Dieter; November, Bryan Miller and Michael VanVynckt; and December, Kenneth Stuart.

The Dortha Paxton Award: This award is granted to any department civilian employee whose performance was characterized by exceptional professional skill, in the tradition of long-time civilian employee Dortha Paxton. The recipient was Karen DePaepe.

The Patti DeRue Nemeth Humanitarian Award: This award is granted to a member of the South Bend Police Department, sworn or civilian, or member of the community, who best demonstrates the caring, kind, compassionate and humanitarian qualities that Pat DeRue Nemeth has provided to the members of the South Bend Police Department. The recipient was Donna Stevens.