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Richardson is officer of the year
By Lisa Rogers
Times Staff Writer
The diligence of Gadsden police officer Johnny Richardson in an attempted murder investigation is one of the reasons he was named the department's officer of the year Thursday night at the Sixth Annual Awards Banquet.
Attorney General Troy King was scheduled to be the guest speaker, but had to cancel because of an illness. King's assistant, Danny McKinley, gave the keynote address. Awards were presented following the address.
Richardson, an eight-year veteran with the department, is a member of the Community Oriented Policing unit.
Richardson received a commendation for his assistance in the investigation of an attempted murder at Colley Homes in August, police Sgt. Chris Haney said while presenting the honor.
The efforts of Richardson and other Community Oriented Police officers led to an arrest in the case in August.
"They spent numerous hours in that area interviewing residents and he utilized his developed base of confidential informants," Haney said. "As a result of all the hard work, a suspect was identified and detectives obtained a confession."
Richardson also worked last summer to help solve several problems at Carver Village and Colley Homes, both public housing complexes operated by the Greater Gadsden Housing Authority.
The officer of the year award is presented to the officer whose job performance during the year best exemplifies commitment to service to the commu-
nity, to the law enforcement profession and to the values and mission of the department.
The employee of the year award recognizes those in the department who are not certified officers.
This year's recipient was Denise Martin, who works in the records unit.
Martin has worked at the department for more than 25 years, with most of those years as a dispatcher, said Darrell Arnold, who presented the award and served on the awards committee.
She was described as an employee with a great work ethic and learned new techniques required in the dispatch area, which allows her to fill in there when needed, Arnold said.
Richardson and Martin received cash awards from the Gadsden Civitan Club, which sponsors the event.
Six officers and two firefighters were honored for an exceptional performance in an incident in October at Ryan's Restaurant.
Firefighters Butch Tolbert and Michael White responded to what was first believed to be a medical call, but the man, armed with a knife, threatened to hurt himself, Sgt. Tom Bradley said.
Tolbert established a rapport with the man as White was able to go in and out of the area inside the restaurant to communicate between Tolbert and police officers who responded, Bradley said.
Officer Wayne Hammonds used his police baton to knock the knife from the man's hand as the other officers knocked him to the ground for his own safety. Hammonds, Steve Holcomb, Brad Arledge, Scott Farris, Thomas Worthy and Marc Scroggin, along with Tolbert and White, were recognized for their actions.
Officers Bobby Jackson and Patrick Chumley received the department's Lifesaver award for their actions on Oct. 22, when they responded to the call of a car fire in East Gadsden.
When the officers arrived, flames were spreading through the inside of the car. The officers pulled the semi-conscious driver to safety just before the car was engulfed in flames.
Sgt. Tom Bradley was awarded the Medal of Achievement for his work in the establishment of a hazardous materials team and for initializing joint training with the department bomb squad.
Detective Paul Cody was named the winner of the department's training award.
Cody is an instructor in several aspects of police operations and is the training coordinator for the Emergency Services Tactical Team. He is responsible for monthly training plans and documentation and must keep up with all the qualifications of the team.
The Firearms Award was presented to Deputy Chief Richard Nickerson.
Officer Wayne Hammonds and Sgt. Chris Haney received the public service award for volunteer work done while off duty.
Hammonds has devoted many hours to establish the first mountain bicycle trail in Gadsden. He contacted officials with the city Planning Department and presented his idea for a bike trail near Noccalula Falls.
He also was involved in the Washington Street cemetery project and is active in his church.
Haney has taken vacation time the last two years and traveled to Honduras, where a medical clinic has been built to serve more than 15,000 villagers.
Haney, a DARE officer, also dedicates many hours to the children of the community and speaks to churches and other groups during off-duty hours.
Officers Brad Arledge, Steve Holcomb, Jeff Knowles, Doug Sykes, J.D. Thomas and Sgt. Lane Keener were presented the department's Good Conduct Award for their records of productivity and effectiveness in the performance of their duties.
Glenda S. Jackson of the Village Neighborhood Watch group and John Reed, a member of the Gadsden personnel board, were honored with the Community Service Award.
Officers Jon Alred, Marc Scroggin, Greg Light, Tim Farlow, Thomas Worthy, John Tidwell and Brian Miller were recognized for their tours of military duty in the last year.
Officers Willie Jimenez, Tommy Hammonds, Marvin Birdwell, Sgt. Richard Herring and Capt. Randy Phillips were honored for their retirement in 2004.
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