Prince William County Police Department

The Prince William County Joint Honor Guard Team, consisting of the Police Department and Sheriff's Office, were recognized by receiving first place in the Daly City Fourth of July Parade.

Members of the Divine Word International Ministries honored many in the community to include the Prince William County Police Department for their service during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee recognized members of the Civil Disturbance Unit for their response and assistance during the January 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol building. 

Officer Luke Dean received the 2020 Sergeant Kenny Fields Memorial "Unsung Hero" Award from Special Olympics Virginia for his outstanding contributions to the Virginia Law Enforcement Torch Run.

Members of the Co-Responder Unit, a joint venture between the Police Department and Community Services, received the 2021 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties for their dedication and commitment to serving and helping mental health consumers and those experiencing a crisis. 

Prince William County hosted the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) Region 3 PD1 Trials. A total of 27 K-9 teams participated from within the region, including some teams from Illinois and the Carolinas. The K-9 Teams were tested and judged on Agility, Obedience, Combined Search, and Criminal Apprehension.

Prince William County scored very well, earning 2 spots in the USPCA National PD-1 Trials to be held in Wilmington NC.

The results are as follows:
   
1st Place Team (top 3 highest scores from a participating agency) 

• MPO VanAntwerp / K9 Anubis
• MPO Strobel / K9 Abrams
• MPO Barrett / K9 Kane 

MPO VanAntwerp / K9 Anubis 

• 3rd place - Criminal Apprehension
• 3rd place - Combined Search
• 3rd Place - Overall

MPO Morris / K9 Murphy

• 3rd place - Obedience
• 2nd place - Combined Search

MPO Strobel / K9 Abrams

• 5th place - Overall

Due to their scores, MPO VanAntwerp / K9 Anubis and MPO Strobel / K9 Abrams qualified to attend USPCA National PDI Trials in Wilmington, NC, in September 2021.
 

Seventy-four Department employees earned Valor Awards during the 35th annual Prince William Chamber of Commerce Valor Awards for acts of bravery and valor in the conduct of their duties. First Sergeant Sara Rolle, Sergeant Ian Oakes, Detective Helga Thorsdottir and Master Police Officers Victor Cordero, Colleen Grantham and Barry Krohn received the Silver Award for Valor. Officers Brian Mundon, Felipe Villalobos, William Ward, Daniel Huntington and Patrick Fogarty received the Bronze Award for Valor. Sergeants Ryan Rowland and Brett Tillett, Master Police Officers Adam Higgs, Christopher LeClair, and Officers Sam Harman, Travis Hardman, Thomas Helfers (Officer Helfer received two awards in this category for two separate incidents), Nicholas Kelly, Jordanis Lozier, Sean Mushalko, Joshua Myers, Erin Noble, Justin Price and Eliann Rivera-Diaz received the Merit Award for Valor. Forty-nine members received the Hillary Robinette Award for Investigative Excellence: Lieutenants Michael Headrick and Matthew McCauley; First Sergeants Daniel Crawford, Brandon Haas and Joseph Medawar; Sergeants Gary Brunelle, Donna Edelen, Jennifer Gudaitis, Caillen Smith and Rob Surman; Master Police Officers Matthew Andersen, Robert Battinelli, David Clark, Nicholas Colella, James Conway, Eric Davis, Daniel Downey, Dennis Gill, Michael LaPlant, Michelle McAllister, Garry Mendoza, Israel Perla, Giannina Pinedo, Tommy Rodriquez and Amon Weaver; Detectives Neal Anglin, Juan Antelo, Jeremy Booth, Simon Chu, Matthew Cohen, Darien Cupka, Mario Giordani, Joshua Lane, Aaron Lintz, Joshua Myers (who also received a Merit Award for Valor), Walter O'Neal, Michael Ragan, Daniel Sekely, Jacob Tomb, Felipe Villalobos (who also received a Bronze Award for Valor) and Nicholas Waymire; and Officers Eric Beard, Alfonso Dorado, Jesus Alcantara Gonzalez, Abigail Martins, Tyler Reza and Patrick Sheehan; Crime Analysis Unit Supervisor Dawn Locke; and Senior Public Safety Analyst Megan O'Neill. Officer Ivan Torres received the Investigative Merit Award.

Several members of the Police Department received 2021 and 2020 Awards for Valor from the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP) at an event in Williamsburg, Va., on Aug. 23, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings that were in place last year, the VACP was unable to hold their annual conference and awards banquet. As such, the 2020 awards were presented during this year’s banquet.

The Award for Valor recognizes a law enforcement officer who, in the line of duty, performs an act of extraordinary heroism while engaged with an adversary at imminent personal risk. The Award for Valor is the most prestigious award that the Association makes to officers. 

Sergeant James Krisner, Officer Ivan Torres, Officer Ravinder Mehta, Master Police Officer Shaun Barrett and Officer Adam Beard received 2021 Awards for Valor for their response to calls received regarding a suicidal subject in December 2020.

Officer Christopher Seise received a 2020 Award for Valor for his response to a stabbing-in-progress call in October 2019 in which he took a violent subject into custody. Officers Anthony Edwards and Michael Ragan received 2020 Awards for Valor for their response to a domestic with weapons call for service in August 2019.

Kenneth E. Thomas, a public safety technical program analyst with the Police Department, as well as the Department's Information Technology Management Bureau, received this award for showing initiative and resourcefulness in developing tools for Police Department use that advance GIS services within the agency.

Officers Anthony Edwards and Michael Ragan were honored by the Military Order of the World Wars at a presentation on Dec. 4, 2020. They were recognized for their courageous work on a domestic incident in August 2019. Master Police Officer Joseph Allen was honored at a presentation on Dec. 9, 2020. He was recognized for heroic life-saving efforts while on vacation in Florida in Oct. 8, 2019.

Officer Tyler Reza was honored on Jan. 25, 2020, for his work in 2019 in the Dale City community. Officer Reza investigated two specific incidents where his prompt response and dedication resulted in arrests of individuals plaguing the community. His police work keeps the Dale City community safer.

Seventeen members were honored with awards by a local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). They are: Detective N. Anglin, Detective J. Booth, Detective S. Chu, Detective S. Cieslinski, Detective D. DeShazo, Sergeant D. Edelen, Officer A. Edwards, Crime Scene Specialist A. Feldman, Sergeant B. Hunt, Detective J. Lane, Detective W. O'Neal, Detective G. Pinedo, Officer M. Ragan, Detective D. Sekely, Detective W. Smith, Detective N. Waymire, and Detective R. White.

More than 50 Department employees earned Valor Awards during the 34th annual Prince William Chamber of Commerce Valor Awards for acts of bravery and valor in the conduct of their duties. Master Police Officer Joe Allen received the Silver Medal for Valor. Officers Zachary Smith, Anthony Edwards, Michael Ragan and Colby Matthews received the Bronze Medal for Valor (Officer Ragan received two awards for two separate incidents). Sergeant Darren Hadro and Officers Kara Brown, Matthew Ernst, Kelsey Hannemann, Sarah Kolkmeyer, Ryan Linkous, Kevin MacFarlane, Colby Matthews, Casey Nelsen, Christopher Paradis, Christopher Seise, Ajay Singh, Andrew Smyth and Thomas Wheeler received the Valorous Unit Award. Sergeant Dennis Jensen and Officers Christopher Hume, Jonathan Seals, Liam Spina, Brian Mundon and William Ward received the Merit Award for Valor. The Criminal Investigations Division and the Forensic Services Section received the Hillary Robinette Award for Investigative Excellence. First Sergeants Kenneth Hulsey, Michael Sullivan, Sergeants Donna Edelen and Caillen Smith, Detectives Neal Anglin Jeremy Booth, Simon Chu, Stephen Cieslinski, Cameron Crouch, Eric Davis, Donald DeShazo, Kevin Hook, Brandon Hunt, Jonathan Kennedy, Joshua Lane, Walter O'Neal, Nader Qura, Tommy Rodriquez, Daniel Sekely, Wayne Smith, Nicholas Waymire and Robert White, and Officers Timothy Clark, Michael Furr and Felipe Villalobos Reyes received the Merit Award for Investigative Excellence.

Sergeant Jeremy Schenck and Officers Stephen Kuhn, Chad Mason and Matthew Sciabica were honored by the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP) and the Northern Virginia chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) at a virtual presentation on Oct. 19, 2020. They were recognized for their outstanding DUI enforcement efforts in the County in the previous year.

Officer Chad Mason received this award from the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) for his dedication to DUI and DUID enforcement.