Full Notification

Petaluma, California – On Saturday, September 16, 2017, the Department hosted an awards ceremony to recognize officers and professional staff for outstanding service to the community.
The ceremony included recognition for Volunteer of the Year, Vilho Ahola Most Inspirational Employee of the Year, Peace Officer of the Year, Mother’s Against Drunk Driving Annual DUI Award, and Service Medals including the Distinguished Service Medal, Medal of Bravery, Unit Citation, and Medal of Valor, the Department’s highest recognition for performance in the line of duty. 
 
The following is a summary of the outstanding service as well as the recognition our staff received from 2015 and 2016. 
 
Volunteer of the Year - Our police volunteers provide immense support to line staff, supervisors, and management and are key to the success of our community engagement efforts.  We are extremely grateful for the more than 70 police volunteers that serve the Department and our community.  Volunteer Sharon McMillan received the 2016-2017 volunteer of the year award for her positive attitude and willingness to help everywhere she can.  She was specifically recognized for her work with seniors, neighborhood preservation, and code enforcement.  Volunteer McMillan has also been nominated for the Sonoma County volunteer of the year award. 
 
Vilho Ahola Most Inspirational Employee of the Year – Volunteer Coordinator Jennifer Parsons-Pritchard received this award in honor and memory of Petaluma Police Officer Vilho Ahola.  Officer Ahola was shot in the line of duty and was paralyzed and ultimately died due to complications from his gunshot wound.  Facing extreme adversity Vilho Ahola inspired everyone around him by showing tremendous compassion and a positive attitude while continuing to work for the Department.  He also worked with the Police Athletics League (PAL) to mentor and encourage youth even while confined to a wheelchair.  Jennifer, also known as “JP”, demonstrates endless care, concern, energy and enthusiasm, volunteer leadership and support for community outreach and engagement that inspires everyone.

Police Officer of the Year – Police Officer and Canine Handler Arthur Farinha was recognized as the police officer of the year for demonstrating the performance principles of leadership, teamwork, professionalism, organizational excellence, community, and a winning attitude.  During the year, he and his partner “Jimmy” were recognized for outstanding service with an armed and barricaded suspect and a vehicle pursuit that ended with a vehicle catching on fire and two small children inside that had to be saved.  Officer Farinha also leads and mentors a group of police explorers.
 
Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Annual DUI Award – Officer Robert Sutherland has been assigned to the Traffic Team as a DUI Enforcement Officer.  Officer Sutherland was awarded the annual MADD DUI Enforcement Award for having 60 DUI arrests in the year, the highest number of arrests in the Department. 

Medal of Bravery - On April 29, 2015, Senior Motor Officer Paul Accornero responded to an armed robbery at CVS.  He located the suspect vehicle on Corona Road and was forced to engage armed suspects on an open roadway with only the cover of his motorcycle until backup arrived. 
On November 3, 2015, Senior Motor Officer Paul Accornero was involved in a pursuit of a dangerous driver.  The pursuit went into west Santa Rosa where the suspect encountered heavy traffic and ultimately rammed his vehicle into Motor Officer Accornero’s motorcycle.  With extreme bravery at great personal risk, Motor Officer Accornero stayed engaged with the suspect and ultimately arrested the driver after a foot chase. 
Senior Motor Officer Paul Accornero was awarded the Medal of Bravery for his outstanding service and conspicuous bravery in the line of duty for both events.

Distinguished Service Medal - On January 8, 2016, Sergeant Rick Cox, Officer Danny Miller, and Officer John Silva were dispatched to the Sheraton Hotel for an unresponsive subject in a hotel room.  They arrived on scene and encountered an overdose victim who was not breathing and had no pulse.  Through teamwork, coordination, and CPR, all three officers began life saving efforts until medics arrived on scene.  Their quick response and life-saving efforts were credited with helping save the victim’s life.  
Sergeant Rick Cox, Officer Danny Miller, and Officer John Silva were awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for superior performance during this life saving incident. 

Medal of Valor - On April 20, 2016, officers were dispatched to a suspicious person on Howard Street near Washington Street who was confronting and yelling at passing traffic.  Upon arrival, Officer Chris Allen found a subject armed with and brandishing a knife at innocent civilians.  Officer Dario Giomi and then Sergeant Brian Miller arrived on scene.   Using sound tactics and judgement they deployed a variety of force options and containment strategies as the subject moved towards an occupied church with children present.  After three unsuccessful Taser attempts from a distance that requires you to be close enough to risk possible injury or death from a knife wielding suspect, the officers deployed the fourth and final Taser cartridge that incapacitated the suspect.  The suspect was apprehended without the use of deadly force and was not injured. 
Then Sergeant Brian Miller, Officer Chris Allen, and Officer Dario Giomi were awarded the Medal of Valor for performance of hazardous duty that risked their own lives in the line of duty to preserve the life of another. 

Medal of Bravery - On May 13, 2016, CHP was in pursuit of a DUI driver.  PPD was requested to assist as the vehicle passed through NB on US101.  The vehicle was spiked and the tires had disintegrated.  The female driver was driving on rims when it came to a stop on the Cotati grade and caught on fire.  Sergeant Rick Cox and Canine Officer Art Farinha rushed to the burning vehicle with CHP officers to save the driver.  What they found were two small children in the back seat as well.  The children were removed to safety along with the driver. 
Officer Arthur Farinha and Sergeant Rick Cox were awarded the Medal of Bravery for their outstanding service and conspicuous bravery in the line of duty. 

Medal of Bravery - On May 20, 2016, Officer Zilverio Rivera attempted to contact a suspicious person on Hopper Street when the subject pulled and pointed a gun at the officer from afar.  The subject turned quickly and fled on foot into a nearby wrecking yard.  Officer Bob Sutherland, Officer Eduardo Esponda, Officer Art Farinha, Officer Mike Pierre, Officer Dave Hutchinson, and Sergeant Rick Cox responded to the incident and established a perimeter.  Multiple attempts to communicate and negotiate with the suspect to peacefully surrender failed.  Attempts to apprehend the suspect with police canine Jimmy were unsuccessful and officers had to approach the suspect with limited cover.  They were able to detain and arrest the armed suspect without injury. 
Coporal Zilverio Rivera, Officer Bob Sutherland, Officer Eduardo Esponda, Officer Art Farinha, Officer Mike Pierre, Officer Dave Hutchinson, and Sergeant Rick were awarded the Medal of Bravery for their outstanding service and conspicuous bravery in the line of duty during this event with an armed and barricaded suspect.

Unit Citation ­- During the spring rotation of 2016, Patrol Team 2, led by Sergeant Paul Gilman faced three extremely difficult and/or dangerous incidents. 
The first on February 5, 2016 was a tragic and difficult report of a possible manslaughter case involving a child victim that had occurred in the county and the Sheriff’s Office response was delayed and they requested the assistance of PPD.
The second was a kidnapping case on March 11, 2016 when Team 2 located the suspect vehicle that exited in Petaluma and one of the armed occupants foot bailed, throwing a firearm into a nearby creek.  The driver continued to flee from officers and Team 2 intervened in the short vehicle pursuit to prevent the vehicle from going through a school zone.  They safely apprehended the driver, established a perimeter and apprehended the fleeing passenger.   The officers then entered the swollen creek and located the loaded firearm. 
The third incident occurred two days later on March 13, 2016 when Team 2 responded to a report of a vehicle theft from the front of a residence on the east side of Petaluma.  Officers, with the help of witnesses and dispatch determined there was a second stolen vehicle traveling with the most recent stolen and they were driving away together.  Pursuits were initiated and the vehicles split up.  Team 2 and Dispatch managed two separate pursuits simultaneously.  Exercising sound judgement with dangerous driving conditions, one of the two pursuits was discontinued by the officer.  The other pursuit was taken over by CHP. 
Patrol Team 2 which included Sergeant Paul Gilman, Corporal Paul Accornero, Corporal William Baseman, Officer John Antonio, Officer Danny Miller, and Officer Rob Hawkins were awarded a Unit Citation for outstanding service under extraordinary and stressful circumstances.

Distinguished Service Medal - On July 14, 2016, a suicidal subject posted on Facebook that he was going to take a gun to the Petaluma Police Department to have a police officer shoot and kill him.  This Facebook post was unknown to Department personnel until after the event.  The subject arrived at the front doors of the Police Department after hours.  Dispatcher Andrea Demo and Dispatcher Paige Morse were the dispatchers on duty and began to communicate with the subject through the intercom.  Through their training and experience, they recognized something was not right and did not let the subject into the secured lobby.  They continued to build rapport and used excellent communication skills to gain the trust of the subject who was clearly having a psychiatric emergency.  They coordinated with patrol officers and were able to convince the subject to get down on the ground in a prone position to be safely detained by officers. 
Dispatcher Andrea Demo and Dispatcher Paige Morse were awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for superior performance during what could have been a deadly police shooting. 
 
These are just a few examples of the excellent work performed by the members of the Petaluma Police Department on a daily basis.  We are proud to serve in Petaluma as we carry on our mission:
Working with the community to provide professional police services since 1858.
 
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