By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which the date falls as Police Week. It was also on that same day in 1987, that Pennsauken Police Officer William Brey was killed in the line of duty. Each year on the 15^th of May, the Pennsauken Police Department takes pause to remember Officer Brey, as well as Officer Richard Dawson and Officer George Bowman, all of whom gave their lives in the service of the Pennsauken community. The Police also take an opportunity to recognize those officers who go above and beyond the call of duty.

“The Pennsauken Police Department and the Pennsauken Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 work in conjunction to present our annual awards. Tonight, as we pay tribute to the sacrifices made by our fallen brothers, we honor the brave men and women of the Pennsauken Police Department for the outstanding work that you do on a daily basis,” said Pennsauken Police Chief John Nettleton, as he thanked the members of the community, fellow first repsonders, and the public officials who came out to support the town’s officers. “You will be impressed tonight with their accomplishments.”

“You’ll hear some amazing things here tonight,” added Pennsauken Police Detective Matt Henkel, who also serves as FOP president. “What they do, they do every day as a normal course of action. So they would probably tell you that they don’t deserve to be up here, but I guarantee you that they do.”

2019 Police Award Recipients

The Richard Dawson Award for Meritorious Service annually honors officers that demonstrate exemplary performance of duty. The 2019 recipients are: Sgt. Erik Morton; Sgt. Michael Pennington; Det. Sgt. Vito Moles; Det. Matt Henkel; Ofc. George Plianthos; Ofc. Juan Rivera; Det. Paul McCausland; Det. Brian Polaski; Ofc. Terrance Goschler; Ofc. Jose Reyes; Det. James Schenberger; Det. Richard Capone; Det. Michael Killion; Detective Aerika Long; Ofc. Gavin Rossner; Ofc. Scott Price; Ofc. Craig Adair; Ofc. Nicole Kulyk; Ofc. Ryan Hurley; Ofc. Ryan Sexton; Ofc. Linnette Ramos; Ofc. Joseph Kuchmek; Ofc. Timothy Mireles; Ofc. Matthew Klaudi; Ofc. Ricardo Solla; Ofc. Juan Martinez; Ofc. John Coffey, Jr.; Ofc. Ryan Madden; and Ofc. Mark Bristow.

Also during the ceremony, the FOP Lodge awarded the Willam Brey Memorial Scholarship to Coral Martinez, a senior at Pennsauken High School who is planning to attend Rowan College at Burlington County and will major in Criminal Justice.

The Chief’s Award for Leadership is awarded annually to the officer who provides an outstanding example to his or her peers in overall performance and community service. This year’s award was presented to Ofc. Jeffrey Dinoto.

The last award of the night is the Police Officer of the Year Award, which is given to a Pennsauken Police officer whose performance and dedication to his or her profession and character serves as an example to their fellow officers and brings credit to the agency. Candidates for this award are submitted by police supervisors and then voted on by the Pennsauken Police rank and file. The Police Officer of the Year for 2019 is Ofc. Ricardo Solla.

Towards the end of the awards ceremony, Capt. James Hartnett took an opportunity to thank all of the family and friends who support Pennsauken’s police officers day in and day out.

“I know it’s something that’s repeated over and over again, but from someone who’s dealt with this job over the last two decades, you do need your family, you need your friends, you need people to talk to,” said Hartnett. “This is a hard job. The people seated here supporting our officers are tremendous.”