Officer of the Year praised for work ethic, selflessness

Each year, the Exchange Club of Northside Bloomington and members of the Bloomington Police Department gather to honor a new police officer of the year.

This year, BPD officer Jeff Rodgers won the award.

His peers said he has shown exemplary work ethic and on one occasion put his life at risk to save others.

Rodgers has been with BPD since 2006 and was nominated by BPD Police Chief Michael Diekhoff for his outstanding performance of duty since 2008, according to a press release for the award ceremony in the Crowne Plaza Hotel on May 7. He is an IU graduate and worked with the IU Police Department before becoming a training officer for BPD.

Some of Rodgers’ 2008 accomplishments include assisting victims in a trailer fire, successfully conducting and managing a stabbing homicide case and preventing several in-progress burglaries in the area, said BPD Capt. Joe Qualters.

What made Rodgers a standout candidate for Officer of the Year was a nighttime situation on North Walnut Street in January 2008 involving an intoxicated man who was armed with brass knuckles.

BPD Lt. Faron Lake, who recommended Rodgers for the award, is his supervisor for the night shift. He said he saw Rodgers after the incident. He was missing several teeth and suffered wounds to the face.

“Rodgers tried to remove (the man) from harm’s way, and (the man) pulled out brass knuckles and attacked Rodgers,” Lake said.  “They were lying in the road and were at risk of being run over.”

After a struggle, Rodgers successfully moved himself and the other man to safety.
For this, Rodgers received a Bravery Award and a Purple Heart Award for his injuries.

However, Lake said this is not the only reason he felt compelled to recommend Rodgers for the award.

“He’s just a well-rounded individual with a good head on his shoulders and good common sense about him,” he said. “He’s the way a cop should be.”

Monroe Circuit Judge Kenneth Todd, a member of the Exchange Club of Northside Bloomington, said he had not met Rodgers before the award ceremony but felt upon meeting him that he was “a very nice young man who was dedicated and a very good police officer.”

Todd said he hopes people can learn from the example set by Rodgers’ accomplishments.

“He placed public welfare above his own, and put himself in harm’s way,” he said. “We don’t think of the risks police officers run day to day.”