Following a year of changes, the Grantsville City Police Department honored its best and brightest officers at its annual awards banquet Tuesday evening.
Grantsville City Police Chief Jacob Enslen, who joined the department in March, attended his first banquet with his family — including his parents from Alabama — and spoke about the family feel to the department.
“I’m very excited to be a part of this family and I look forward to working with all of you,” Enslen said.
Following dinner, the police department gave out awards determined by a vote of the officers and civilian employees.
Detective Lydon Allred and officers Chism Yeaman and Cody Painter were given a Life Saving Award for their assistance on a medical call where a young child was unresponsive before officers arrived on scene and administered care.
“When I walked in, that baby looked very limp — it looked lifeless to me,” Allred said. “When we left, that baby was crying and was in the back of the ambulance.”
Officer Joshua Maynes also received a Life Saving Award for his effort to rescue a child and the child’s mother presented him with the award at the banquet.
“I applaud an officer who can go in, revert back to their training and do something that directly saves a life,” Allred said.
Sgt. Michael Jones was awarded the Officer of the Year for his contributions to the department, including the larger role he took during the change in leadership. Jones and Sgt. Rhonda Fields received the Chief’s Award for their aid in the transition process to Enslen as chief.
Enslen said Jones and Fields went above and beyond for the department, which he took over as a first-time chief with no city attorney or lieutenant.
Allred received the Outstanding Achievement award for his work on a child kidnapping case originating in the city, which involved cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, and resulted in the safe recovery of the victim.
Rookie of the Year was awarded to Painter, who Allred praised for his proactive approach to policing.
“Cody is a great officer,” Allred said. “He’s super eager, super aggressive and he’s been a great fit for our department.”
Brenda Loveless was honored with the Employee of the Year award, while Officer Jeremy Watkins was recognized for hundreds of volunteer hours with Reserve of the Year.
Due to posting the best overall statistics in 2016, Officer Alison Peterson was recognized with the Excellence in Work award.
Grantsville City Attorney Brett Coombs presented Officer Morgan Swenson the Attorney’s Award for his work as the school resource officer at Grantsville High School and the pressures and scrutiny he faces in that role.
The Mayor’s Award was presented to Allred by Grantsville City Mayor Brent Marshall, who commended the detective for the types of cases he handled and the successful convictions as a result of his police work.
At the end of the ceremony, Enslen unveiled the department’s new patch, which will feature a golden eagle above the American flag over a backdrop of the Stansbury Mountains.