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All Point Bulletin... Archive
Leawood Police Raise $35,709.40 for Special Olympics
The 2010-2011 fiscal year for Kansas Special Olympics came to a close on August 31st. With the help of two local agencies, Kansas Law Enforcement raised about $70,000 more than they did last year, earning a total of $471,786.89!
The Leawood Police Department finished second in the state of Kansas, just behind the Merriam Police Department, having raised $20,624.45. This amount was well over the $13,000 raised last year. An additional $15,084.95 was raised on the Polar Bear Plunge, giving Leawood PD a grand total of $35,709.40. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who supported Leawood officers with such a deserving charity in the past year.
Looking ahead, Officer Rod Laubenstein has been chosen as the Johnson County Law Enforcement Coordinator for Special Olympics, and Master Patrol Officer Shawn Farris, the former Johnson County LE Coordinator, was chosen as an at-large member of the Kansas State Special Olympics board. The department's fund-raising for 2012 has already begun as department members eye January 28th for the 2012 Polar Plunge.
Recognition for Child Safety Education Efforts
The Leawood Police Department recently learned that Officers Dave Jennings and David Winders will be recognized as Injury Prevention Heroes in the Community by Safe Kids Metro KC, a program of the Mother and Child Health Coalition, and Safe Kids Johnson County, a program of the Johnson County Health Department. The two officers will be recognized at the April 15th Child Safety Initiative Conference for their work in the Safety Ambassador program and the bike safety rodeos they conducted.
Officers Recognized for Valor
For their efforts in stopping the sexual assault of a 92-year-old woman and arresting her attacker despite a physical assault, Leawood Police Officers Nick Rothwell and Greg Turney were recognized with the Silver Award for Valor by the Metropolitan Chiefs and Sheriffs Association at their annual awards ceremony on November 19, 2010.
Just after midnight on June 30th, Leawood Officers were dispatched to a residence on an unknown call for the police. Communications Officers received a 9-1-1 call from the address and could hear a woman yelling for help before the line went dead. Rothwell arrived less than a minute later and immediately recognized a vehicle parked outside the address as one involved in an attempted commercial burglary earlier in the night. Turney joined Rothwell moments later and the two approached the house, Turney walking towards the back of the house while Rothwell went toward the front door.
Looking through a darkened rear window with his flashlight, Turney saw a sexual assault in progress and startled the suspect, who fled towards the front of the house. Alerted by Turney, Rothwell kicked open the front door only to immediately be punched in the head by the fleeing suspect. Shaking off the blow, Rothwell tackled the subject in the front yard. Despite attempts by the suspect to claw his way free or get his weapon, Rothwell pinned the suspect on the ground. Turney forced his way into the home through a rear door and, after pausing to assure the victim that help would be with her momentarily, ran out the front and helped Rothwell handcuff the still resisting suspect.
Rothwell, Klaassen Employees of the Year for 2010
Officer Nick Rothwell and Communications Officer Tim Klaassen were chosen from nominations by their peers as the 2010 Officer and Civilian Employee of the Year. The awards were announced at the department’s annual awards dinner on Nov. 13, 2010.
Just three months after returning to the Patrol Division from a three-year tour in Investigations, Officer Rothwell responded to an unknown call for the police where officers interrupted a sexual assault and Rothwell was struck by the fleeing suspect. Despite the unexpected blow to the face, Rothwell fought back and was able to restrain the suspect on the lawn (see story above). In addition to his patrol duties, Rothwell also serves the department as a Defensive Tactics instructor, Police Training Officer for new recruits and as an Evidence Technician. He joined the department in 2001 after serving nearly six years with the Paola, KS, Police Department.
Klaassen, who celebrated his 10th anniversary with the department this year, was singled out for the manner he conducts himself daily as well as a project he undertook this year. Tim single-handedly contacted every business in the city to update the business’ emergency contact information and let them know of the services available to them from the police department.
“Day to day, Tim lends a calm voice to the radio, even in the most tense situations. He is often able to provide answers to officers before they have even made a request of dispatch,” read one nomination for the award. “While some may have been discouraged by the sheer enormity of this task (contacting the businesses), Tim set off each day with a positive attitude.”
During the evening Officer Joe Peeples was recognized as the department’s Top Gun for achieving the best score on a firearms course of fire involving all of the standard patrol weapons. Officers Jesse Ryman, Paul Day, Rod Laubenstein, Matt Losee and Ron Hulsey were recognized for earning the department’s Lifesaving Awards during the past year. Finally, a number of employees were honored for their years of service to the department: Sgt. Tayne Smith (30 years); John Dickey and Randy Wiler (20 years); Lee Graves, Troy Osborn, Jake McGuire, Eric Gould and Klaassen (10 years).
Leawood Officers spearhead new fund raiser
After hearing about the Super Cops events of the 1980's, Leawood Police Officers Kevin Cauley and Shawn Farris decided to revive the concept as a fund raiser for Special Olympics. The Leawood Police Department and other area law enforcement agencies have been strong supporters of Special Olympics through the annual Torch Run, but many agencies in recent years have also participated in the Polar Plunge, Tip A Cop and other fund raising events.
On August 7th, 85 officers and civilian employees from around the area gathered at the Olathe District Athletic Complex to compete in a variety of individual and team athletic events: 100 yard dash, 1 mile run, 4 x 100 relay, weight lifting (bench press), tug-of-war, softball toss, CrossFit (a test of their endurance) and an obstacle course. In addition to raising funds for Special Olympics, several area Special Olympians were excited to come out and present medals to the winners. The participants raised more than $2,000 in this inaugural event.
To date, 40 Leawood Police employees have participated in the various fund raising activities and they've brought in almost $14,000 for Special Olympics.
Damron named "Everyday Hero"
Leawood Police Communications Officer Greg Damron was one of three individuals named as an "Everyday Hero" by the Mid America Regional Council (MARC) at their 13th Annual Public Safety Telecommunicators Appreciation Celebration on April 16th. Damron was recognized for his exceptional work during the past year, not only in Leawood but also the assistance he provided to other departments in the area.
"The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) recognizes a few of the hundreds of public safety dispatchers and call takers in the Kansas City metropolitan area each year with outstanding performance awards. Although he was formally recognized for the work he has done over the past year, everyone who knows Greg is well aware that he has a long history of putting forth extra effort in all that he does," Captain Dale Finger, Administrative Services Division Commander, said of the award.
MARC's ceremony came during National Telecommunicator Appreciation Week, held April 11-17, 2010. National Telecommunicator Appreciation Week is a time each year to recognize the men and women who answer your emergency phone calls each day. Last year in the KC Metro area, call takers answered 1.5 million 9-1-1 calls and another 2.5 million administrative calls.
Yoder, Damron are top employees for 2009
Sergeant Kirt Yoder was chosen as the 2009 Leawood Police Officer of the Year and Dispatcher Greg Damron was chosen as the 2009 Civilian of the Year at the police department's annual awards dinner.
Sgt. Yoder was promoted to sergeant in March of 2009 and, in addition to supervising one of the three patrol crews, was also given the responsibility of supervising the police officer training program. In addition his supervisory responsibilities, Sgt. Yoder found time to again train and compete in the Guns N Hoses boxing event to benefit the SAFE organization, which provides money to the families of first responders killed in the line of duty as well as to support a number of the department's other charity works.
Besides his work within the city, it was noted that Damron has worked with the cities of Olathe, Shawnee and most recently Prairie Village on customizing their CAD systems within the Intergraph Records Management system. He has also represented the communications unit in speaking to the Citizens Academy and served as a training officer for new communications officers.
Several other employees were also recognized at the dinner. Officer Randy Rausch received the Top Gun Award for having the best overall score on this year's firearms proficiency event; Cpl. Shane Chambers and MPO Jim Herman received Letters of Commendation for their efforts in assisting the department in selecting a new handgun; and Officers Robert Mahon and Blair Gordon received Physical Fitness awards for posting the highest percentages in the department's Cooper Institute-based physical fitness testing. Other employees were recognized for their years of service to the department: Kelly Ratliff for 25 years; Tim Anderson for 20 years; Ken Whiteside for 15 years; and Nancy Kelley, Laurie Saunders, Mahon and Yoder for 10 years of service.
Golfing next on Clodfelter's agenda
The Leawood Police Department celebrated a first on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, with the retirement of Rick Clodfelter. Rick, who retired after 24 years of service to the city, is the first officer to retire after a full career with the city. Two other officers, Jeff Culbertson and Carl Vineyard, medically retired in 2001.
Rick joined the city in June of 1985 after eight years in the United States Marine Corps. During his tenure in Leawood he served as a patrolman; a traffic investigator in the traffic management division; a detective with several calls out on the Metro Squad; and, most recently, spent the last 10 years as a motorcycle officer after helping resurrect the unit in 1999. Along the way Rick also filled a number of auxiliary assignments: he twice filled in as the professional standards officer, helping to hire and equip officers; he was as a property room officer coordinating evidence; he spent time as a field training officer and later the field training supervisor; he was the coordinator of the department's VIPER program for response to active shooters; and he was a firearms armorer and a firing range officer.
With his newly available free time, Rick is looking forward to working on his golf game and spending time with his granddaughter, Katelynn.
Bringing Technology Onto the Beat
On the eve of his retirement, looking to sum up his 25 years of service to the City of Leawood and more than 30 years in law enforcement, Sgt. Tom Hogard summed up what he felt was both is greatest strength and his weakness. "I have a low tolerance for mediocrity," said Hogard, whose last day was Friday, March 27,2009. "Anything new, whether a technology or skill, to improve ourselves I was willing to look at it."
True to his own words, Sgt. Hogard brought a number of innovations to the police department during his tenure. First hired in January of 1984, he was the first to broach the idea of computerized reports for the department in 1985. Using a pair of Tandy 8088 processors he borrowed from the manager of a local Radio Shack, he showed police administrators how the department could join the age of computers.
Several years later, Sgt. Hogard was chosen to supervise the department's new traffic enforcement unit. Starting with himself and another officer in 1994, he built the unit which today includes three traffic officers in patrol cars and three police motorcyclists. Along the way, he was the first in the Kansas City area to introduce digital photography into crash documentation. The use of TOTAL stations to map crash scenes was another innovation that he was among the first to bring locally into the process of crash documentation.
"I've always been a technology guy and it just made so much sense," said Hogard, who has also seen lasers and other technology enter the profession.
Hogard's passion for traffic safety, and in particular DUI enforcement, reached outside the department as well. He first began teaching DUI enforcement at the Regional Police Academy in 1991 and in 1995 became a field sobriety test instructor. Sgt. Hogard has also served on the several state-wide groups regarding the issue of breath alcohol detection.
Leawood officers grab boxing belts
Looking for a challenge, Wagoner and Yoder were two of many local police officers, fire fighters and emergency service personnel who volunteered to compete in annual Guns N' Hoses charity boxing event. Guns N' Hoses benefits S.A.F.E./Surviving Spouse and Family Endowment Fund, a Kansas City-metro area program that provides financial and emotional support to the families of emergency services personnel who have died while protecting our community and our citizens. The event also benefits area juvenile boxing programs.
Their championship journey started more than two months earlier when they began training for the event. To be considered for one of the slots on the final night, volunteers had to participate in a minimum number of conditioning and training sessions. Guiding the volunteer's development were trained fighters and coaches, who are also volunteers for the event.
On the big night, Wagoner was pitted against Johnson County Sheriff's Deputy Heather Weese. Yoder battled Overland Park Fire Fighter Danny Meeker, who had competed in several past Guns N' Hoses events. The fights consisted of three one-minute rounds following national amateur boxing regulations.
Officer published in U.S. Government Newsletter
Randy J. Wiler, DARE Officer and Community Policing Specialist, has again been published in a national publication regarding his fight against bullying. You can find this article under "Ask the Expert" section of the U.S. Government—Health Resource Services Administration (H.R.S.A.) Stop Bullying Now website.
Wiler is one of the first 20 people in the United States selected by Dr. Dan Olweus to become a national trainer for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Group. Wiler first began collecting information concerning bullying behaviors in 1992 and began developing his presentation in December 1993. He was first featured in Good Housekeeping magazine in an article entitled "Kids Who Terrorize Kids" and is the author of several bullying prevention publications, some of which are featured in the national Stop Bullying Now! outreach by H.R.S.A. He also wrote the bullying prevention curriculum in use world-wide by the D.A.R.E. program and was named as the 2006 D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year.
Officer awarded department's Purple Heart
Officer Randy Rausch's patrol car after it was struck by another motorist on I-435.
Officer Randy Rausch was awarded the Leawood Police Department's Purple Heart Award at the June 2, 2008, Leawood City Council meeting.
On the morning of December 8, 2007, Officer Rausch stopped on the shoulder of eastbound I-435 at State Line to assist a motorist that had slid off the icy highway. As he started to exit his patrol car, a second motorist lost control of his car and struck Officer Rausch's car, briefly knocking him unconscious. Officer Rausch spent a week in the hospital and more than four months away from work healing from the injuries he sustained. Officer Rausch is the second officer to receive the Purple Heart Award, designed to recognize employees who are seriously injured while performing their duties.
Officers receive awards for valor
Four Leawood Police Officers were recognized at the KMBC-TV9/Metropolitan Chiefs and Sheriffs Awards for Valor ceremony on November 14, 2007.
Officers Greg Turney and Ron Hulsey received the bronze award for valor. The two were involved in the pursuit and capture of three armed subjects who had been involved in several armed robberies in the area. Part of the chase took place in the storm drainage tunnels near the Grandview Triangle. Both officers, as well as Turney's K9 partner Rocco, were recognized with bronze awards for valor by the Kansas Peace Officers' Association earlier in 2007. Rocco was the first police canine to ever receive an award from the organization.
Sergeant Brad Robbins and Officer David Winders also received the bronze award for valor for their response to an armed disturbance in March 2007. In this incident, a subject was waving a gun in front of two innocent people. The officers forced their way into a home after the suspect fired a shot that just missed one of the people before he was taken into custody.
"Copsicles" take a plunge
On February 3, 2007, an intrepid group of nine police officers participated in the Ninth Annual KC Polar Bear Plunge, a benefit for local Special Olympians. Braving temperatures below freezing and wind chills close to 0-degrees, the "Copsicles" plunged into Shawnee Mission Lake through a hole cut through the seven inches of ice. The nine who braved the elements included four who first represented the department in the event two years ago: Shawn Farris, John Freeman, Randy Rausch and Mark Chudik. This year they were joined by Kelly Ratliff, Joe Peeples, Anne Wagoner, Erik Butler and Jason Hudson. Together the nine raised more than $1,300 for Special Olympics.
Chief Mitchell bids Aloha after 30 years of service
When Sid Mitchell joined the police department on January 5, 1976, he never envisioned himself one day being its leader.
"When I started, I thought ‘If I can just make it to sergeant before I retire," said Mitchell, who retired on December 8, 2006, as the Chief of Police after 30 years of service to the residents of Leawood.
Mitchell was promoted to sergeant in 1980 and became Leawood's first DARE officer in 1989. In 1990 Mitchell was promoted to Captain and attended the 167th session of the FBI's National Academy, often considered the top law enforcement school in the nation. In August of 1998 he was appointed the city's seventh chief of police. During his career Mitchell received the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police Award for Valor twice, the Metro Chiefs and Sheriffs Association Award for Valor twice and the Leawood Police Lifesaving Award. He was honored as the Leawood Optimist Club's Officer of the Year and the department's Officer of the Year. Within the law enforcement community Mitchell was a president of the Kansas/Western Missouri Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates, an organization of over 15,000 law enforcement leaders worldwide, and was sworn in July 2007 as the national president-elect. Mitchell was also one of the founders of Johnson County Supercops events, an interagency competition that raised funds for Kansas Special Olympics.
Leawood officer chosen DARE Officer of the Year
Officer Randy Wiler of the Leawood Police Department was chosen as the International D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year for 2006. Officer Wiler, a member of the Leawood Police Department since 1990, was presented with this award on July 27, 2006, at the International D.A.R.E. Conference in Orlando, Fla.
A nationally recognized expert on bullying prevention, Officer Wiler completed two supplemental lessons to the D.A.R.E. curriculum on bullying prevention that were adopted by D.A.R.E. in January of 2006. This marks the first time that bullying prevention has been part of D.A.R.E. since it was begun in 1983.
"This is something that I've wanted to do (to include bullying prevention). D.A.R.E. has always been viewed as drug abuse resistance training but they've not had a violence prevention program. Now we have a delivery medium to reach more than 30 million kids annually," Wiler said of his new lesson plans.
Officer Wiler has been a D.A.R.E. instructor since 1989. In addition to his work with the D.A.R.E. program, Officer Wiler is the Director of the Kansas Bullying Prevention Association, which has trained more than 700 Kansas educators as trainers in his bullying prevention programs, and he is the vice president of the International Bullying Prevention Association.
City of Leawood
