The Bloomington Police Department honored police officers and citizens who made a notable difference in the community and in the department during the 2016 BPD Awards Ceremony.
Sgt. Brandon Lopossa was named 2015 Officer of the Year, an award that goes to an officer who embodies the essence of BPD: dedication, professionalism, skill, integrity and community outreach, Capt. Steve Kellams said.
During 2015, Lopossa contributed greatly to the establishment of the Teen Academy and remains a driving force in both the academy and the “Explorer Post 2110,” another youth outreach program.
Among many acts of bravery during 2015, Lopossa played a crucial role in saving the life of a young woman who was close to committing suicide last August. She was on the top story of Morton and Seventh streets parking garage in downtown Bloomington, and her friend, who was present, expressed that the woman might jump.
Lopossa was the first officer to arrive at the parking garage and spoke with the woman for more than thirty minutes in an attempt to calm her off of the ledge. BPD’s negotiator Sgt. Lucas Tatearrived, and together, the two officers talked with the woman. They climbed over various concrete obstacles and, in a very calculated yet dangerous maneuver, pulled her to safety.
Because of Lopossa and Tate, the woman survived, but “not without serious risk of falling off the ledge themselves,” Kellams said, adding that had Lopossa not established and sustained the initial verbal relationship, the woman may not have survived.
The Officer of the Year award is an overall evaluation of an officer’s performance, and it’s “pretty obvious” that Lopossa was instrumental during 2015, Deputy Chief Joe Qualters said after the ceremony.
Officers who helped saved the lives of heroin overdose victims were among the recipients of the lifesaving awards. Tate and Lopossa both received the BPD bravery award, and the Monroe County Suicide Prevention Coalition hero award for their work in helping save the woman’s life while risking their own.
Citizens who assisted in stopping assaults and preventing a robbery suspect from fleeing crime scenes were among the citizen commendations recipients. The community service awards went to the young members of the police department’s new Teen Academy, as well as the nine officers who organized the Teen Academy and taught the members about police work.
Kellams was the host of the event and was one of the nine recipients of the Teen Academy community service award.
After the ceremony, Kellams said there was at least one officer who learned about a fellow officer’s police work for the first time Sunday afternoon.
“We really wanted to start developing this culture for the officers,” Kellams said. “In an agency our size with as many officers as we have, these things go missing.”
