Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams swore in four new police officers at a ceremony on Monday.
Harrisburg gained several new police officers and recognized others for their efforts of bravery at a ceremony.
The Harrisburg Bureau of Police held its annual new hire swearing-in and awards ceremony Monday at Whitaker Center. Eleven awards were presented, along with the honoring of a retiree and the swearing-in of four new officers.
Mayor Wanda Williams swore in cadets William Cartwright, Rebekah Chrisman, Yulmi Garcia-Lorenzo and Gurleen Grewal, all of whom will undergo six months of police academy training at Harrisburg Area Community College.
With the new hires, the bureau now has a complement of 140 sworn-in officers.
Additionally, bureau officers received awards on merit, bravery, valor and lifesaving efforts, and units were honored through distinguished unit citations.
“I thank you for your undying love for the city,” Police Commissioner Thomas Carter said. “Without you, our city would be suffering.”
One award commended a long list of officers for their collective work on an armed hostage situation involving children. Williams encouraged the audience to give the group a standing ovation, referring to the case as an example of how policing “takes a village,” which she stated in her opening address.
Detective Dennis Simmons, an officer since 2005 and the orchestrator of hundreds of successful narcotics investigations, was awarded Officer of the Year.
Police officers were awarded at Monday’s ceremony.
The following awards were presented by the police bureau:
- Award 1: Domestic with Shots Fired
- Merit: Officers Sethton Wiest and Brendan Kovach
- Distinguished Unit Citation: Officers Brian Stright, Erik Henry, Corey Masse and Garrett Miller
- Award 2: Armed Burglary with 3 Suspects
- Distinguished Unit Citation: Detective John Rosinski, Lt. Scott Johnsen and officers Cody Geier, Timothy Cheng, Nicholas Herbster, Marc Hall, Martise Scott and K-9 officer Eddie
- Award 3: Armed Suspect with Child Hostage
- Bravery: Dauphin County Probation Officers James Robbins and Cale Hoover
- Valor: From Dauphin County Crisis Response Team (DCCRT), Sgt. Alex Wagner, Deputy Director AJ Somma and officers Pat Walsh, Shayne Barber, John Miller and Anthony Glass
- Distinguished Unit Citation: Harrisburg Police Bureau’s Street Crimes Unit, Uniformed Patrol Division (UPD) 2nd Platoon and Criminal Investigation Division, and Pennsylvania State Police, Dauphin County Crisis Response Team, Pennsylvania State Parole, Dauphin County Probation
- Award 4: Mental Health Violence
- Merit: Cynthia Kreiser
- Award 5: Suicidal Male on 83 Overpass
- Lifesaving: Sgt. Tony Elliott and officers Nicholas Herbster, Cody Geier and Jarrod Haar, and Dauphin County Co-Responder Jorge Collazo-Gonzalez
- Award 6: Gunshot Victim
- Lifesaving: Officers Timothy Cheng, Haden Landis, Christian Ribec, Caleb Tanner and Edgar Taylor
- Award 7: Aggravated Assault Victim
- Lifesaving: Schuyler Glotfelty
- Award 8: Unresponsive Child
- Lifesaving: Officers Nathan Ishman and John Doll
- Award 9: Shots Fired at Officers
- Bravery: Detective Michael Rudy, Sgt. Matthew Novchich, Cpl. Travis Banning and officers Marc Hall, Steven Gray and Christopher Palamara
- Award 10: Shots Fired
- Bravery: Cpl. Esteban Restrepo and officers Timothy Cheng, Haden Landis and Michael Fischer
Though not in attendance at the ceremony, the bureau also honored Officer Robert Fleagle who retired in May after 24 years of service.
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