Story posted Friday, February 5, 2010
2009's Top Cops Honored
Lietzow Is 2009 'Officer Of Year'
By RICHARD MAYER Assistant Managing Editor
Five Mt. Prospect police officers were honored for their achievements over the past year at Tuesday night's village board meeting.
"This is the highlight of the year for us," said Police Chief John Dahlberg. "These officers represent the best of the best."
According to Dahlberg, three of the five honored have been with the department for only a few years, which he said speaks well for the department moving forward in the future.
There were four runners-up for 2009 "Officers of the Year "and one "Officer of the Year."
The 2009 "Officer of the Year" was awarded to tactical officer Anthony Lietzow.
Lietzow is a six-year veteran of the Mt. Prospect Police Dept. and a 15-year veteran of law enforcement.
During the past year, Lietzow received three letters of appreciation, one departmental commendation, and was selected as "Co-Officer of the Quarter" from January-March 2009.
As a member of the department's undercover Tactical Unit, Lietzow made 24 felony arrests, 35 misdemeanor arrests, and participated in a highly successful FBI national prostitution sting.
According to Dahlberg, beyond the statistics, Lietzow's daily performance, professionalism, attitude, initiative, reliability, and desire were cited as factors leading to his selection.
Lietzow was Mt. Prospect Police Dept.'s "Co-Officer of the Year" in 2007 and "Officer of the Year" in 2005. He was also runner-up "Officer of the Year" in 2004 and 2008.
One runner-up is officer Michael Angarola, who is in his first year as a patrolman with the department.
Over the last 12 months, Angarola received four letters of appreciation, three commendations, and was selected "Officer of the Quarter" from October-December 2009.
In January 2009, Angarola graduated from the police academy with the highest grade point average of his class and received the Ervin H. Warren Award, the highest honor awarded to a single member of his class.
In 2009, Angarola ranked third in the entire department with 17 DUI arrests and made 37 additional self-initiated arrests.
Another runner-up is Det. Mark Recker, a 22-year veteran of the police department who is currently assigned to the Investigative Unit.
In the past year, Recker received five letters of appreciation, one commendation, and was selected "Co-Officer of the Quarter" for July-September 2009.
Dahlberg said Recker led an exhaustive, thorough, and professional investigation of a child homicide, which led to the arrest of the child's father for first-degree murder.
Recker was Mt. Prospect Police Dept.'s runner-up "Officer of the Year" in 1996 and 1998.
A third runner-up is officer Richard LaBarbera, a three-year veteran of the department who is currently assigned to the Patrol Division on the midnight shift.
In the past year, LaBarbera received four letters of appreciation, one Certificate of Exceptional Performance, two commendations, and was selected as "Officer of the Quarter" for the period of April-June 2009.
On one occasion Dahlberg noted, LaBarbera responded to a violent domestic dispute on the south side of town in which the victim was stabbed in her neck by her husband and was bleeding heavily. LaBarbera requested medical assistance for the victim and then was approached by the offender.
LaBarbera issued verbal commands for the offender to stop and get on the ground, which he eventually did. He placed the offender into custody and managed to avoid further injury to everyone involved.
The fifth and final runner-up is officer Alison Teevan, a three-year veteran of the department whop is assigned to the Patrol Division's midnight shift.
In 2009, Teevan received four letters of appreciation, one certificate of exceptional performance, and one honorable mention.
Arresting impaired drivers is one of the primary objectives of the midnight shift and Teevan led the entire department in DUI arrests. She also led the midnight shift in self-initiated arrests, including several drug arrests.
The police department has been handing out these awards for the past 28 years.
"A lot of thanks goes to the officers' family and friends and significant others because they provide support for them to do their job successfully, so our thanks goes to them," commented Village Manager Michael Janonis.
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