Law Enforcement Commendation and Medal
As recommended by the Office of the Chief of Police in the District of Columbia, the recipient is Detective John Hayes who began his law enforcement career with MPD in 2015. He is currently assigned to the Fourth District Investigative Section and has assumed lead detective responsibility in a number of shooting incidents. He has demonstrated a deep knowledge of the crew-related cases that have contributed to the violence within the 4th District. This knowledge and his detail-oriented practices led to the successfully conclusion of a shooting incident that resulted in critical injuries suffered by a four-year old. The award was presented on April 10, 2023, within the executive suite of the Chief of Police Robert Contee III.
Fire Safety Commendation and Medal
The DC Fire and EMS Department nominated Lt. David Darbro for the Fire Safety Commendation Award. Lt. Darbro has been a supervisor in the Fire Prevention Division for the past two years. Over that time, he has overseen Fire Inspectors and Public Education Staff who perform outreach and fire/life safety inspections. Lt. Darbro has spearheaded the All Hands-on Prevention and Smoke Alarm Giveaway program that has been in place for several years. With Lt. Darbro’s leadership, smoke alarm installations doubled in Calendar Year 2022. Also, home fire safety visits by fire inspectors and firefighters were up significantly over this period of time. This means that more District residents were safer from fires, due to the outreach efforts led by Lt. Darbro. During this timeframe the number of total fire deaths in the District was down by 25%. The award was presented on April 10, 2023, at Engine Company 16.
Emergency Medical Services Award
The DC Fire and EMS Department nominated the Street Calls Unit for the Emergency Medical Services Award. Fire and EMS, in partnership with the Department of Behavioral Health, has developed the opioid response team model, which will consist of Community Outreach Specialists and EMS providers. This team is tasked with conducting targeted and individual outreach to persons who have experienced a non-fatal overdose without transport to a hospital as well as friends, family, and other bystanders who may witness another overdose. The team will proceed to those involved in opioid overdoses immediately. They will facilitate meaningful communication through participation in community relations/outreach/education activities to hard-to-reach, underserved, and other identified populations.
They work with these individuals to provide them with methods of connecting with proper agency services while serving as their liaison between government agencies and/or the community resources. They also communicate with any bystanders at the scene who may be in a position to reverse a future overdose and/or to help the individual access resources in the future. When time allows, they will follow up with individuals who were referred to services to determine whether any additional support is needed. The awards were presented on April 10, 2023, at Engine Company 16. The team members are:
EMS Captain La'Kisha L. Lacey
PM Shelia Smith
EMT Jerrice Blunt
PM Keisa Hill
PM Gonthel Tolliver
Richard Mullen-El - Community Outreach Specialist
Corrine Spencer - Community Outreach Specialist
Also present was the Medical Director, DC Fire and Emergency Service, Robert P. Holman, MD, who was grateful for the award given to the Street Calls Unit. I gave him a courtesy copy of my book after he informed me that he had a relative who is a member of the DAR.