City of Gaithersburg issued the following announcement on July 15.
Officers Story, Khuen, Blackmon, and the Street Crimes Unit were presented awards at annual Public Safety Awards.
The Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce honored Police Officers Kevin Story, Kyle Khuen and the Street Crimes Unit with Distinguished Service Citations and School Resource Officer Bobby Blackmon with a Meritorious Service Citation as part of its 24th annual Public Safety Awards program. An awards breakfast honoring forty-nine public safety officials took place on Friday, July 12, 2019. This annual awards program provides the business community with an opportunity to publicly thank those who help maintain the quality of life in the Gaithersburg and Germantown area.
Gaithersburg Police Officers Kevin Story and Kyle Khuen were presented with Distinguished Service Citations for their commitment to enhance the safety of the community through aggressive DUI enforcement. In 2018, these two officers made hundreds of traffic stops and effected 176 DUI arrests without receiving a single citizen complaint. It was noted that this speaks volumes not only to their focus and drive to make the streets safer, but to their professionalism and commitment to the Gaithersburg Police Department’s core values of Service, Integrity and Respect. Officer Story’s 103 DUI arrests led the Gaithersburg Police Department; he was in the top five for most DUI arrests by an officer in the State of Maryland. Officer Khuen made 73 DUI arrests and led the 2018 Montgomery County Police Holiday DUI Task Force with 29 arrests.
The Gaithersburg Street Crimes Unit was also presented with a Distinguished Service Citation. This plainclothes unit saturates “hot spots” and investigates elevated criminal activity. Among its noteworthy cases in 2018 was a joint effort with Montgomery County Police to apprehend a subject whose indecent exposure activities were becoming increasingly aggressive. The unit was also responsible for the arrest of an MS-13 gang member who had a loaded revolver and several weapons in his vehicle. The Unit was involved in a crossfire incident in which the officers exercised excellent officer safety skills, apprehending a subject who had a loaded handgun. The award also noted the Unit’s effectiveness in the surveillance of suspected drug activity that ultimately resulted in the recovery of 220 pounds of marijuana, cocaine, anabolic steroids, MDMA, more than $2,000 in currency, and two loaded handguns. The Unit is comprised of Sergeant Willie Delgado, Corporal Wade Caron, and Officers Larbi Dakkouni, Mark McGinnis and Evan Milano.
School Resource Officer Bobby Blackmon was presented with a Meritorious Service Citation for his body of work at Gaithersburg High School. In addition to being a sworn officer responsible for safety and crime prevention in the school, a School Resource Officer, or SRO, often serves as a mentor, coach and counselor. Since his assignment to Gaithersburg High School in 2010, SRO Blackmon has taken on these roles and many more. The award particularly noted his efforts in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida school shooting, serving as a calming presence as he helped administrators, students and families express their fears and concerns and implementing trainings on how to respond and survive a school shooting incident. Officer Blackmon was also lauded for building relationships with students and going above and beyond his regular duties to help them with personal matters.
The Gaithersburg Police Department is a nationally-accredited law enforcement agency that shares responsibility for services with the Montgomery County Police within the City of Gaithersburg.
Original source can be found here.
Source: City of Gaithersburg
Alerts Sign-up