CHASKA
POLICE
DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2000
At the September 25, 2000, Chaska City Council
meeting six Chaska Police staff members were honored and decorated in
front of the Council, their peers, and the public.
Detective Sergeant Jon Kehrberg, Detective Julie Janke, School Resource Officer Tracy Perlich, Special Projects Officer Trent Wurtz, Administrative Assistant Peggy Hatfield, and Chief of Police Scott Knight---were so honored, because of their work on the case involving the abduction of eighth-month old Chloe Glowatzke. Directly because of their efforts, Chloe was found in Hammond, Indiana. Her mother---Lisa Olson---was taken into police custody, and is soon to be charged with several crimes related to the abduction.
“Since 1986, the Police Department has had in place a policy governing the decorating of personnel, the intent of which is to keep such awards very sacrosanct”, said Knight. “While we recognize good work, and issue letters of commendation, the last occasion on which an officer was decorated was in 1991”, Knight explained, “This is a high honor”, he added.
Any member of the department may recommend another member as a candidate to be decorated. The recommendation must be in writing to the Chief, delineating the circumstances and reason it is believed the member(s) are deserving of special recognition. The Chief conducts a preliminary investigation of the circumstances surrounding the case, and presents his findings to an Awards Committee, which consists of a supervisor and three department members. The committee then meets independently, to review the case.
In nominating the officers the committee put forward the following reasoning, “…these personnel are deserving of this award for their hard work and successful investigation…their investigation saved the life of an innocent child and brought great credit to the Chaska Police Department. These [people] worked tirelessly and showed great initiative in their pursuit of finding Chloe, while working with many other law enforcement agencies and most importantly [demonstrated] working together as a cohesive team.”
The committee voted to award each team member the Meritorious Conduct medal. Per policy this medal is, “earned for the display of a high degree of initiative, ability, and job proficiency.”
The officers did not know that they had been nominated to be decorated, until Chief Knight announced it in front of the Council. Knight himself did not know that he too had been nominated, until just prior to the Council presentation. “This is very powerful”, Knight said. “First, the successful resolution of the abduction, and then to be so honored by other department members is a career highlight that none of us will forget”, said Knight.
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