INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (ADAMS) – On Wednesday, the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) presented 62 police officers with the Traffic Safety All-Star Award for their efforts in impaired driving enforcement.
To qualify for the award, an officer must have made at least 20 operating while intoxicated arrests and participated in one of the state’s enhanced enforcement campaigns in the previous year.
The all-stars, who were nominated by their departments, were recognized during a ceremony held at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
The ICJI released the following:
“Every time an officer makes a stop for drunk or drug-impaired driving, they potentially save a life,” said Devon McDonald, ICJI Executive Director. “Our roads and communities are safer, and people are alive today, thanks to the actions of these brave men and women. It was an honor to recognize their efforts.”
Now in its third year, the Traffic Safety All-Star awards program was created by ICJI as a way to recognize police officers who are going and beyond in the fight against impaired driving.
Each officer demonstrated this by, not only working to educate motorists about the importance of safe driving, but also working overtime to enforce Indiana’s traffic laws. This often meant conducting extra high visibility patrols or sobriety checkpoints during peak travel periods and holidays associated with drinking.
In total, the officers who were recognized made nearly 3,000 operating while intoxicated arrests last year. Despite their efforts, still, approximately 1 out of 4 fatal crashes in Indiana involves a drunk driver.
“These all-stars are stepping up to the plate to tackle the issue of impaired driving,” said Robert Duckworth, ICJI Traffic Safety Director. “Their goal—the motivation behind what they do—is to prevent crashes and save lives, and with fatalities on the rise, their work is needed now more than ever.”
During the ceremony, the top performers, or MVPs, were recognized with a special Traffic Safety All-Star Award, Golden Glove distinction. In addition, ICJI also presented a separate Leadership Award for outstanding contributions, outside of traffic enforcement, in the prevention of impaired driving.
As part of the program, ICJI also sought to highlight the importance of high-visibility enforcement, as well as encourage drivers to do their part by always planning ahead for a safe ride home.
Impaired driving remains one of the deadliest, yet preventable, dangers on the road today. Even if only one drink is consumed, designate a sober driver or use public transportation or a ride service. Never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol or let friends get behind the wheel if they’re impaired.
The following list is of the 2022 Traffic Safety All-Star award recipients.
County | Award Recipient | Department | OWI Arrests | Image |
Allen | Daniel Chiu | Fort Wayne Police Department | 45 | JPG |
Allen | Joseph Lyon | Fort Wayne Police Department | 58 | JPG |
Allen | Nathan Mueller* | Fort Wayne Police Department | 79 | JPG |
Allen | Zachary Chapman | Fort Wayne Police Department | 45 | JPG |
Blackford | Brandon Capper | Blackford County Sheriff’s Office | 21 | JPG |
Boone | Austin McCloskey* | Lebanon Police Department | 56 | JPG |
Clark | Brad Jones* | Clark County Sheriff’s Office | 45 | |
Clark | Justin Mears | Indiana State Police (Sellersburg District) | 114 | JPG |
Dearborn | Austin Boggs | Greendale Police Department | 27 | |
Dearborn | Luke Gentry | Lawrenceburg Police Department | 21 | JPG |
DeKalb | Kyle Woods | Auburn Police Department | 36 | |
Elkhart | James Bradberry Jr. | Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office | 50 | |
Elkhart | Jamie Sterling | Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office | 42 | JPG |
Gibson | Uriah Smith | Gibson County Sheriff’s Office | 23 | JPG |
Hendricks | Anthony Goodpaster | Hendricks County Sheriff’s Department | 23 | JPG |
Hendricks | Cody Rusher | Hendricks County Sheriff’s Department | 28 | JPG |
Hendricks | Damen Owens | Hendricks County Sheriff’s Department | 30 | JPG |
Hendricks | Jeffrey Slayback | Danville Metro Police Department | 21 | JPG |
Hendricks | Jonathon Groth | Hendricks County Sheriff’s Department | 29 | JPG |
Hendricks | Michael Murray | Plainfield Police Department | 23 | JPG |
Hendricks | Travis Wilson | Danville Metro Police Department | 25 | |
Hendricks | William Richards | Avon Police Department | 27 | JPG |
Howard | Mason Fisher | Kokomo Police Department | 30 | JPG |
Huntington | Cody Jones | Huntington County Sheriff’s Department | 21 | JPG |
Huntington | Dave McVoy | Huntington County Sheriff’s Department | 29 | JPG |
Huntington | Jordan Corral | Huntington Police Department | 30 | JPG |
Jackson | Benjamin Miller | Seymour Police Department | 20 | JPG |
Jackson | Blake McCrary | Seymour Police Department | 23 | JPG |
Johnson | Andrew Eggebrecht | Johnson County Sheriff’s Office | 34 | JPG |
Johnson | Dillon Dallas | Johnson County Sheriff’s Office | 34 | JPG |
Kosciusko | Logan Pitts | Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department | 28 | JPG |
Kosciusko | Lucas Vander Hart | Warsaw Police Department | 23 | JPG |
Lake | Aaron Crawford | Lowell Police Department | 49 | JPG |
Lake | Coty Sparks | Hammond Police Department | 21 | JPG |
Lake | Israel Rosillo | Indiana State Police (Lowell District) | 112 | JPG |
Lake | Matthew Siegfried | Hammond Police Department | 56 | JPG |
Lake | Paul Sines | Griffith Police Department | 22 | JPG |
Lake | Riley Arvanitis* | Schererville Police Dept | 83 | |
LaPorte | Alex Clemons | LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office | 21 | JPG |
LaPorte | Daniel Revoir | Michigan City Police Department | 48 | JPG |
Madison | Tyler Irwin | Elwood Police Department | 22 | JPG |
Marion | Abdessamed Boudaia | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 36 | JPG |
Marion | Adam Jones* | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 164 | |
Marion | Craig Wildauer* | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 276 | |
Marion | Curtis Johnson* | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 150 | JPG |
Marion | Duran Brown | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 45 | |
Marion | Erica Eder | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 39 | JPG |
Marion | Jaime Thorn | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 65 | |
Marion | Jerry Leary | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 63 | JPG |
Marion | Logan Atzhorn | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 49 | JPG |
Marion | Ryan Bowersox | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 31 | JPG |
Marion | Zachary Foster | Indianapolis Metro Police Department | 42 | JPG |
Marshall | Benjamin Beers | Indiana State Police (Bremen District) | 124 | JPG |
Marshall | Jerrid Arnold | Plymouth Police Department | 32 | JPG |
Miami | Jeremy Brindle | Peru Police Department | 23 | JPG |
Miami | Keith Smith | Peru Police Department | 25 | JPG |
Miami | Courtney Alwine** | Miami County Prosecutor’s Office | N/A | JPG |
Monroe | Kyle Moulden | Monroe County Sheriff’s Office | 39 | JPG |
Porter | Andrew Smith | Portage Police Department | 20 | |
Porter | Austin A. Haynes | Burns Harbor Police Department | 36 | JPG |
Vigo | Grant Daley | West Terre Haute Police | 36 | JPG |
Wayne | Brett Haskett | Richmond Police Department | 36 | |
Wayne | Seth Biava | Wayne County Sheriff’s Department | 27 | JPG |
*Indicates a Traffic Safety All-Star Golden Glove Award recipient.
**Indicates the Traffic Safety All-Star Leadership Award recipient.See more here