April 12, 2006                       

Troopers from Troop F Receive Service Awards

State Police Troopers from Troop F in Westbrook received awards for service during a ceremony Wednesday, April 12, at the Connecticut State Police training academy in Meriden.

Twice a year, the Connecticut State Police honors troopers who demonstrated bravery and outstanding service in the line of duty.  The ceremony also honors men and women serving in local and federal law enforcement agencies and those serving as first responders.  Award winners received medals and certificates from Department of Public Safety Commissioner Leonard C. Boyle and Governor M. Jodi Rell.

Awards are presented in four categories:

Ø      The Meritorious Service Medal is awarded to any person who renders service with a high degree of alertness, perseverance and superior judgment in the performance of a difficult task resulting in the protection of life, recovery of property, the prevention of – or solving of – a major crime or the apprehension of an armed or dangerous person.

Ø      The Lifesaving Award is presented to any person who saves a human life or makes a valiant attempt to save a life.

Ø      The Outstanding Service Award is given to any person who successfully performs an extreme, complex or difficult investigation. The person also may demonstrate exceptional skill or ingenuity in the apprehension of a wanted person, provide outstanding service to the public and or continuously achieves excellence in performance of duties over an extended period of time.

Ø      The Unit Citation is awarded to members of a department, a command or group who combine their resources to achieve success in an investigation or event. The citation recognizes exceptional collective efforts.

Troop F barracks of the Connecticut State Police, located in Westbrook, is proud have several individual award winners from the troop.   

Trooper First Class Adam Brown.  Last September, Troop F received a complaint of an armed, despondent man in Chester.  The perimeter of the man’s residence was secured by State Troopers while Trooper Brown initiated a dialogue with the man.  He continued talking with the man, who remained just within the threshold of his residence with a loaded pistol, threatening to harm himself.  Trooper Brown conversed with the man for approximately two hours while other Troopers kept the area secure, evacuated nearby residents and kept a local elementary school in lockdown. Trooper Brown verbally coaxed the man out the threshold of the door allowing ESU personnel to incapacitate the man and take him into custody without injury.  A search of the man’s residence resulted in the seizure of a significant amount of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and ammunition.  An arrest warrant was later obtained for the man for all related charges. Trooper Brown received an award for Meritorious Service.

Trooper First Class Charlene Taylor.  On an afternoon in November 2005, a Middletown pizza restaurant was robbed.  The male perpetrator implied he had a handgun and fled with cash in a sedan which was occupied by another male.  Middletown Police advised Troop F of the robbery and the information was broadcast to all personnel.   Minutes later, Trooper Taylor, on patrol in Middlefield, observed the suspect vehicle.  She quickly proceeded after the suspect car which began to accelerate away.  When the suspect car lost control and skidded off the roadway, Trooper Taylor drew her duty weapon and ordered both suspects to the ground. She then handcuffed one of the suspects and, while keeping the other suspect secured at gun-point, instructed a civilian observer to obtain a second pair of handcuffs from her cruiser. Trooper Taylor then handcuffed the second suspect. The victim restaurant owner identified the handcuffed males as the perpetrators; the stolen money was recovered from the car.  Trooper Taylor received an award for Meritorious Service.

Trooper First Class Christopher McWilliams (Troop I) and Trooper Christopher Reid (Troop F). Trooper McWilliams was on routine patrol and responded to an assist request from Trooper Reid.  Trooper Reid had notified Troop I that he was in North Haven in foot pursuit of three armed subjects who had been involved in a shooting incident that occurred in New Haven.  Trooper McWilliams observed a subject matching the description of one of the accused and took him into custody.  Trooper Reid took the remaining suspects into custody, without further injury to any other persons at the scene.  Troopers Reid and McWilliams earned awards for Meritorious Service for their actions.

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