Three officers also receive DUI awards
Morgan Hill – Worming their way through the dark, muddy crawlspace with barely enough room to move on their hands and knees, the two Morgan Hill police officers did not know whether the murder suspect they believed was hidden in the depths was armed or not, but they advanced into the deep recesses of the space.
Though the department’s SWAT team had surrounded the house, evacuated neighbors and searched everywhere for the suspect, Cpl. Shane Palsgrove and Sgt. Rick Rodriguez did not give up and thought about searching for the man a the far corner beneath the house on Via Castana.
For their efforts in apprehending the homicide suspect last September, who was found in the spot identified by the officers, Palsgrove, 27, with five years in the department, and Rodriguez, 54, a 27-year veteran of the department, have received the department’s first medals of bravery.
Besides their regular duties as officers, Palsgrove and Rodriguez are SWAT team members who respond to high-risk situations such as this. Team members received specialized training for dealing with dangerous situations.
The department issued medals of bravery to Rodriguez and Palsgrove during a special meeting Tuesday to begin the recognition program, said Police Cmdr. Joe Sampson. Other officers were also recognized.
“We have a department-wide meeting once a quarter where we talk about pressing issues facing the department and say congratulations for all the good work done during the quarter; the chief also re-instills his vision for the future of the department to keep everyone on track,” Sampson said. “This time, we took the opportunity to hand out some awards.”
“To me, police officers are not recognized enough for what they do well,” said Morgan Hill Police Chief Bruce Cumming. “We always talk to them, as we should, when someone complains against them, but we don’t emphasize enough the work that they do. It was extraordinarily brave of those officers to go crawling around underneath in the mud, not knowing what was going to happen to them.”
The program recognizes all department employees, Sampson said, not just sworn officers. An employee is recommended by his or her supervisor to Cumming, then he and the command staff review the submissions, Sampson said.
“We have several categories, including medals for valor, bravery, lifesaving, as well as a distinguished service award and certificates of recognition,” he said.
Also on Tuesday, police officers Jeff Brandon, Kyle Christensen and Steve Pennington received DUI award pins at the countywide Avoid the 13 ceremony in Mountain View. Each one of the people arrested by these officers for driving intoxicated, Cumming said, is a potential killer.
“The main reason I try to enforce it so strictly is that I feel like I’m saving other people’s lives,” Brandon said. “I have a lot of pride in this community, I know a lot of people in the community. It would hurt me personally if a drunk driver hurt or killed someone. It’s not the fact that I was able to arrest a few people and get a pin; it’s a part of my job that I love, a lot of people’s lives that I potentially saved.”
Cumming also recognized Sampson, who just graduated from the 18-month Command College Police Executive Development Program.
“Joe did an extraordinary thing to enroll in the command college,” he said. “He had to balance his work and family while in the program. It required a significant commitment of time.”
As a part of the program, the police commander was required to write a publishable article that ran in the Journal of California Law Enforcement published by the California Peace Officers’ Association and he received a plaque from the publication for his efforts.
During the intensive program, Sampson said, the emphasis was on the future. Participants did research looking at technological advancements and how law enforcement will be affected.
“We looked at all sorts of things, robotic cars, voice-activated police equipment, even robotic officers,” he said. “We also talked a lot about how to plan for these, strategic type planning. And we took on some contemporary issues in our community.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
