The men and women of the Arlington Police Department do great things daily as they work to serve and protect the community.
But each year, there are employees and community partners who truly go above and beyond in their contributions to the department and to making Arlington a better place.
It's why the department hosts an Annual Awards Ceremony to celebrate their efforts.
The latest ceremony, which was held on Friday, March 8, recognized the outstanding and extraordinary work done during the 2023 calendar year.
More than 90 employees, volunteers, and community organizations were nominated for Annual Awards across 16 categories.
Recipients were honored for everything from disrupting gun violence in the community, to providing food and resources to the city's homeless population and leading the roll out of the department's new less lethal program.
The 2023 Annual Award Recipients are:
- Business Partnership Award: Six Flags Over Texas
- Citizens Community Award: Sherry Best
- Community Engagement & Technical Service Officer of the Year: Officer Thomas Waghorne
- Detective of the Year: Detective Bryan Cline
- Investigative & Tactical Officer of the Year: Officer Jason Belz
- Professional Employee of the Year - Administrative: Diana Gomez-Diaz
- Professional Employee of the Year - Exempt: Rachel Tims
- Professional Employee of the Year - Technical: Police Service Assistant Greg Fues
- Rookie of the Year: Officer Alston Compton
- East District Officer of the Year: Officer Colin Blake
- North District Officer of the Year: Officer Stan Henry
- South District Officer of the Year: Corporal Trevor Lawson
- West District Officer of the Year: Corporal Evan Williams
- Professional Supervisor of the Year: Jessica McMahan
- Sworn Supervisor of the Year: Sergeant Lloyd Thompson
- Overall Employee of the Year: Corporal Charles Crawford
“We truly have the best police department in the country – and I mean the best,” said Chief of Police Al Jones. “And it’s because of the outstanding public servants that work for this department. Celebrating the hard work, contributions, and service of these employees is the highlight of my year.”
Fox 4 Reporter & Anchor Peyton Yager as emcee for the event. The department would like to thank her, the Arlington Police Foundation, the Arlington ISD Professional Development Center, and all the other organizations who helped make the ceremony possible.
Police News Release, Police, Public Safety