From the Texas A&M police department:
The Texas A&M University Police Department (TAMU-PD) was recently awarded the Destination Zero General Officer Safety Award presented by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund.
TAMU-PD is the FIRST University Police Department to ever receive this national award.
The award was presented during an Awards Ceremony in Washington D.C. on May 14, 2018.
Texas A&M University Police Chief J. Michael Ragan said he’s proud to work with so many talented and devoted individuals. That our department is being recognized in the same category as recent award winners — including the Dallas Police Department, Suffolk County New York Police Department and Virginia’s Fairfax County Police Department — adds to the honor, Ragan said.
“This prestigious award represents the many years of vision, dedication and commitment of so many officers and Texas A&M administrators,” Ragan said before listing those whom he believes deserve recognition for the accolade, including:
• Assistant Chief Mike Johnson, Lieutenant Ed Costello and Lieutenant Kary Shaffer who, when they were patrol sergeants, became the driving force for so much of the training that is provided in-house to our officers.
• Retired Chief Elmer Schneider for his support of the training initiatives and for being instrumental in providing much of the safety equipment our police officers currently use.
• Retired Vice Presidents Bill Krumm and Charley Clark for equipping all our police officers with soft body armor, patrol rifles, tactical vests and tactical helmets following the tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech University.
• Our current department instructors who maintain a high level of proficiency in the topics they instruct and are constantly seeking new ways to improve officer safety.
• Our police officers who actively learn and apply their training to the multitude of situations they encounter.
• Associate Vice President Chris Meyer and Executive Vice President Jerry Strawser for their continued strong support of our department.
• Our police communications officers, security officers and support staff for their contributions to this award. In both direct and indirect ways, each one is involved in the safety of our police officers and our community.
The General Officer Safety Award is presented to a law enforcement agency that has implemented a program improving officer safety in the area of personal protection or tactical training or has adopted measures that create a safer working environment. (www.nleomf.org/programs/destination-zero)
The Destination Zero program is designed to help agencies improve the health and safety of law enforcement officers across the country, from agent to correctional officer, from trooper to patrolman, from sheriff to constable. (www.nleomf.org/programs/destination-zero/dz-about.html)