Brookhaven Police Officers Honored by City Council

From the City of Brookhaven:

The Brookhaven City Council recognized eight Brookhaven Police officers this week with letters of commendation for going above and beyond their call of duty.

The officers honored and their accomplishments are:

• Officer Joseph King and Officer Howard Miller were honored for helping save an elderly woman’s life. On Nov. 28, the officers responded to an accident on Lenox Park Boulevard, where they found a woman’s car teetering over the side of a retaining wall. One of the officers immediately put weight on the trunk of the car to prevent it from falling down the embankment while the other officer rescued the trapped woman. 
• Officer Victor Dankewich, Detective Russell Davis and Crime Scene Technician Dave Walter were honored for a traffic stop that resulted in a burglary suspect going to jail and a flat screen TV recovered – just minutes after the break-in. Dankewich stopped a SUV on Nov. 14 after he spotted the vehicle’s license plate covered. As the officer was talking to the driver, he saw a large flat screen TV in the back of the vehicle. Police linked the driver to a burglary that had just occurred on Durden Drive. In addition to the TV, police found burglary tools and a ski mask in the SUV. Davis and Walter helped link the tools inside the SUV to specific identifying marks found on the Durden Drive home.
• Sgt. Chris Shelton, Sgt. Tyrone Oliver and Detective Thomas Martin were recognized for capturing two armed robbery suspects on Nov. 28. Shelton noticed a suspicious car that matched the description of an armed robbery suspect. He followed the car until the occupants jumped out and fled on foot. Officers set up a perimeter and captured the suspects, who were charged with an armed robbery in Brookhaven. Detectives also found narcotics and firearms inside the car. The suspects are also persons of interest in several other area armed robberies.

The letters of commendation were selected by the officers’ supervisors and confirmed by Chief Gary Yandura.

“These officers exhibited a tremendous level of professionalism, courage and commitment,” Yandura said. “They are an example to our force of what it means to truly go above and beyond their responsibilities of protecting and serving.”