Nevada Recipients Include Deputy Ned Nemeth of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and Officers Jeremiah Beason, Patrick Burke, Monty Fetherston, and Steve Morris, Jr., of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - United States Attorney Dayle Elieson joined Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Justice Department leadership today in announcing the recipients of the Second Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing, recognizing the exceptional work of 25 law enforcement officers and deputies from 12 jurisdictions across the country.
“The Trump Administration supports law enforcement at all levels-and we always will," said Attorney General Sessions. “Today’s awards honor the incredible work that is being done across this country every day. This Department of Justice takes pride in announcing today’s winners of the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing."
The Justice Department has been committed to supporting law enforcement and continues to back the “women and men in blue," as directed by President Trump’s February 2017 Executive Order. The Department has recently awarded grants to assist law enforcement and first responders who supported mass shootings in Las Vegas, Nevada, Parkland, Florida, and Santa Fe, Texas. In addition, the Department has helped police departments across America to hire hundreds more police officers through the COPS grant program.
The Attorney General’s Award recognizes individual state, local, and tribal sworn rank-and-file police officers and deputies for exceptional efforts in policing. The awarded officers and deputies have demonstrated active engagement with the community in one of three areas: criminal investigations, field operations or innovations in community policing. The Department received 207 nominations for 469 individuals ranging from state police departments, to local police, to campus public safety agencies. This award highlights the work that officers and deputies do to prevent, intervene in, and respond to crime and public safety issues.
The individuals recognized by the Attorney General today include:
Deputy Ned Nemeth of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office:
Deputy Nemeth has demonstrated active exceptional performance in field operations. As a full time K-9 handler, he works highway interdiction and has successfully reduced illegal operations in the past year along the I-80 corridor, including seizing 206 pounds of illegal marijuana, 359.42 grams of methamphetamine, and 43 contraband prescription opioid pain pills. Deputy Nemeth is known for providing high quality information about his interstate contacts to other agencies across the country. His efforts as a part of the HIDTA task force in northern Nevada not only have positive effects on his own community but also make meaningful contributions to other jurisdictions working to disrupt and dismantle organized drug trafficking operations nationwide.
Officers Jeremiah Beason, Patrick Burke, Monty Fetherston, and Steve Morris, Jr., of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department:
On October 2017, at approximately 10:05 p.m., a lone gunman fired into a crowd of 22,000 concertgoers attending a country music festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 innocent people and injuring more than 850. Las Vegas Metropolitan Officers Beason, Burke, Fetherston, and Morris were the first four first responders to react during this active shooter situation. These four officers rescued injured civilians, cleared the surrounding rooms near the shooter, and secured the perimeter. By running towards the danger, they saved countless lives.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
