The Yakima Police Department (YPD) presented annual awards and promotions during a ceremony held Friday, March 29th, at the Harman Center. Award recipients included:
Officer Mark McKinney was selected as YPD’s 2018 Officer of the Year. Officer McKinney was assigned to the Patrol Division as the sole K9 handler. “He has long been a diligent and hardworking police officer,” said Interim Police Chief Gary Jones. “Officer McKinney and his former K9 partner, Dexter, responded to more call-outs than any other specialty unit within the department. Officer McKinney and K9 Dexter worked alongside each other for a number of years, not only within the City of Yakima, but with a number of Yakima County agencies in response to high risk incidents.” They were deployed 260 times in their career and were instrumental in the apprehension of 91 suspects and discovery of 14 items, including three firearms.
“The dedication and hard work that goes into working a K9 program is huge and Officer McKinney has led the way this year,” said Jones. “He kept up with his training, paperwork, and police work. When K9 Dexter was no longer fit able to perform his duties as a police K9, Officer McKinney gave him a loving and comfortable retirement.”
Police Services Specialist II Stephanie Hubert was selected as 2018 Non-Commissioned Employee of the Year. “PSS-II Hubert is a driven employee with excellent attendance, exceptional knowledge of her duties, and a willingness to help other employees,” Jones said. “Stephanie’s dedication is inspiring and her conduct is exceptional. Moreover, she is a source of knowledge for other employees and a valued Field Training Officer for some of our non-sworn members.”
“Due to a prolonged shortage of staff, Stephanie has been tasked with additional duties on several occasions,” Jones said. “She picks up information quickly, produces quality work, and completes her tasks with accuracy in mind. On many occasions, she works before and after her assigned shift and on weekends to assist with the backlog of work. The general public may not be aware of how essential support services are to over-all police department effectiveness.”
The YPD award presentation also included:
- Certificate of Excellence: Crime and Intelligence Analyst Katlin Standiford, Officer Darius Williams, Officer Mark Williams.
- Lifesaving Ribbon: Officers Sarah Dexter, Josh Molineux, Gabe Ramos, Chris Thorn, Mario Vela, Darius Williams and Jared Wilske.
- Certificate of Merit: K9 Dexter, Officer Ilifonso Garcia, Officer Lyn Thorn.
- Group award (Certificate of Merit) for the Fruit Packers Supply, Inc. Fire: Officers Mark Andrews, Ian Cole, Mike Gordon, Bryce Hodson, Juan Laredo, Mark McKinney, Josh Molineux, Colbey Molner, Jorge Quinones, Gabe Ramos, Jesus Sanchez, Patrick Schad, Jacob Scott, Jeremy Soptich, Colton Stepper, Sergeant Tory Adams and Sergeant Joe Salinas.
Promotions:
- Officer Jacob Lancaster was promoted to the rank of sergeant.
- Officer Einar Agledal was promoted to the rank of sergeant.
- Sergeant Ryan Wisner was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
- Sergeant Chad Janis was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
- Lieutenant Shawn Boyle was promoted to the rank of Captain.
Jones also stated during the ceremony, “That is my honor and privilege to have been given the authority and opportunity to promote these fine officers.”
Visit https://yakimapolice.org/ or call 575-6200 for more information about the Yakima Police Department.