Saint Paul Police celebrates Chief's Award recipients

January 10, 2012

 

Saint Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith will honor 13 community members Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 at 2:30 p.m. in a ceremony at the department’s Western District for their efforts in assisting neighbors and community members in times of need.

The ceremony will take place in the Western District’s community room, 309 N. Hamline Ave.

 

Award recipients include:

 

Faith Billington, Chief’s Award: On May 17, 2011, Faith Billington saw a man running in an alley with a purse tucked under his arm and get into a vehicle driven by someone else. She followed him and made note of the license plate number and saw the suspect toss an object into a sewer. Once the vehicle parked in a driveway, she contacted police and provided them with detailed information. Unbeknownst to her, a woman had her purse snatched in the same area she saw the man running. With the information Ms. Billington gave to our department, the suspect was convicted of Simple Robbery. Without her assistance, the suspect might never been caught.

 

Amy Schrecengost, Chief’s Award; Jon Claar, Chief’s Award; Melissa Claar, Chief’s Award: On August 10, 2011, these community members witnessed a burglary in progress in a neighbor’s garage and took action. Ms. Schrecengost quickly grabbed her camera and took photos of the suspect leaving the garage. Mrs. Claar immediately called 911 and provided them with a description of the suspect while Mr. Claar confronted the suspect at the garage and continued to follow him as he fled. Jon then went with the police to track the suspect. They did not hesitate to get involved to help the neighbor or their community. Their courage and determination to do the right thing helped keep this repeat offender from committing more burglaries in the area.

 

Javion Jones, Chief’s Award for Merit; Montel Mixon Chief’s Award for Valor: On August 16, 2011, 10-year-old Javion Jones was inside his house waiting for a bus to pick up him and his brother for day camp. When Javion heard glass breaking and his mom screaming, he ran to his mother’s bedroom and saw the room on fire. While trying to get his brother outside, he saw a man enter the house spraying lighter fluid on the floor and wall while shouting that he was going to hurt Javion’s mother. Javion grabbed his brother and pushed him outside then grabbed his mother’s hand and tried to pull her to safety. The man grabbed Javion and pushed him out the door and locked it.

 

Javion then ran for help and ultimately found Mr. Mixon, who went to the burning apartment and fought with the suspect. Mr. Mixon was able to break down the locked bathroom door and rescue Javion’s mother. Once he knew the woman and her children were safe, he worked to ensure that residents in other apartments knew the residence was on fire.

 

The courageous and selfless actions of Javion and Mr. Mixon that day prevented a horrible tragedy. 

 

Minnesota Army National Guard Sergeant First Class Dan Thomsen, Chief’s Award: On September 13, 2011, SFC Thomsen witnessed a citizen being robbed by three juvenile males. SFC Thomsen quickly went to help the victim and the robbers fled. SFC Thomsen checked on the victim, then called the police and provided them with detailed information on the suspects’ descriptions and direction they fled. After meeting with police and giving a statement, he left the area and saw two of the suspects at a nearby bus stop. He then flagged down police who were in the area looking for the suspects; positively identified them and both were arrested. SFC Thomsen did not hesitate to get involved to help this citizen. His brave actions were instrumental in preventing the situation from escalating into something worse. The two suspects, who were both repeat offenders, were found quickly and charged.

 

Sarah Meggitt, Chief’s Award for Valor; Officer John McManus, Life Saving Award: On October 10, 2011, Ms. Meggitt heard that there was a distraught female walking near Como Lake. She searched for the female to make sure she was ok. When Ms. Meggitt spotted her in the water about 20 feet from shore, Ms. Meggitt swam out to rescue the female who was fighting, trying to take her own life. Officer McManus, responding to a call of a suicidal female, spotted the struggle and jumped into the lake. Even though it was extremely difficult to see and move around in the murky water with his heavy equipment, Officer McManus was able to assist Ms. Meggitt in bringing the female back to shore. Their quick response and selfless actions saved this individual’s life. 

 

Arnoldo Curiel, Chief’s Award; Jeff Gardner, Chief’s Award; Tomas Stubbe, Chief’s Award; Mary McDonald, Certificate of Appreciation: On December 10, 2011, the 11^th Annual Shop with Cops helped more than 200 underprivileged children partner with Saint Paul police officers to purchase gifts for family members. This event started in 2000 with approximately 30 children participating and has grown to an annual event that builds trust and positive relations between our community and police.

 

Mr. Curiel has been involved since the program’s inception in 2000 and serves on the committee. He has taken on much of the overall coordination and gathers over 100 community volunteers for the event. He also works closely with the Saint Paul Public Schools to gather names of children who have a need for this event.

 

Mr. Gardner has been an important and active Shop with Cops partner since 2006 and serves on the committee. The success of this event depends on community donations for funding. Mr. Gardner spends a lot of time throughout the year raising funds through the Breakfast and Dinner with the Chief and other events.

 

Mr. Stubbe has been a partner since 2009 and serves on the Shop with Cops committee. He attends all the planning meetings and serves as liaison between the Saint Paul Police Department and Target in Midway. The store and company has proven to be an invaluable partner throughout the year. Their very generous financial and product donations make this event possible each and every year.

 

Office Assistant II Mary McDonald, has taken on the Western District event planning since her transfer there in 2010. She volunteered a lot of her own time in coordinating volunteers, parking, traffic, district set-up and take-down, in addition to many other logistical functions which help make the Shop with Cop event such a success.