The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut hosted its annual United States Attorney’s Office Law Enforcement Awards Ceremony this morning in New Haven. The ceremony at the City of New Haven’s aldermanic chambers recognized more than 160 federal agents, police officers and community members for their investigative efforts and other contributions to approximately 30 significant federal criminal prosecutions and civil cases in Connecticut.
The highlighted cases demonstrate the broad variety of work performed by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in Connecticut. Approximately 60 of the award recipients are members of local police departments from across Connecticut.
“Today, we proudly recognize our law enforcement partners and community members for their exceptional achievements this past year and their courageous dedication to ensuring the safety and security of our communities," said U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly. “These award recipients have served the people of Connecticut and our nation with distinction and integrity, and it has been my sincere honor to work with them in the cause of justice."
Several special awards were presented to law enforcement officers, state employees and community members during the ceremony.
The U.S. Attorney’s Award for Outstanding Investigator was presented to Sergeant Karl Jacobson of the New Haven Police Department for his many years as an exceptional law enforcement officer, his work on behalf of Project Longevity and his command of the NHPD’s Intelligence Unit.
The U.S. Attorney’s Award for Outstanding Partnership was presented to the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, under the leadership of Dr. Guy Vallaro, for its critical assistance in numerous firearm, drug and violent crime investigations.
The U.S. Attorney’s Outstanding Community Award was presented to Amarjit Singh, Swaranjit Singh Khalsa and Maninder Arora, members of the Sikh community who have volunteered hundreds of hours to Department of Justice cultural awareness trainings for police officers across the state.
U.S. Attorney’s Outstanding Task Force Officer Awards were presented to Detective Matthew Greenstein of the Connecticut State Police, Detectives Josh Lewis and Abhilash Pillai of the Hartford Police Department, Officer Brian McPadden of the Shelton Police Department, Detective Michael Chaves of the Monroe Police Department, and Officer Jeffrey Poulin of the Wethersfield Police Department.
The Civil Division Unit Award was presented to the attorneys and staff of the State of Connecticut’s Office of Protection and Advocacy for their work to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to public facilities and programs, educational opportunities, hospitals, employment, voting, recreational activities, housing and financial institutions.
The National Security and Major Crimes Unit Award was presented to Special Agent Wendy Bowersox of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Squad for her dedicated investigative work in child exploitation and sex trafficking cases.
The Financial Fraud and Public Corruption Unit Award was presented to FBI Special Agent Jeff Waterman for his exceptional work on significant public corruption investigations since 2009.
The Violent Crimes and Narcotics Unit Award was presented to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Heroin Education Action Team (HEAT), notably 12 HEAT participants who have had a child or other family member die from an opioid overdose. During the 2016-2017 school year, HEAT delivered opioid awareness presentations that reached more than 20,000 high school and middle school students across Connecticut. They also traveled to cities and towns throughout the State for evening presentations to parents and other community members concerned about the opioid epidemic and the dangers of prescription pill abuse.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is charged with enforcing federal criminal laws in Connecticut and representing the federal government in civil litigation. The Office is composed of approximately 63 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and approximately 52 staff members at offices in New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
