Hellertown Police Officers Presented with Awards

Monday night's Hellertown Borough Council meeting was a special occasion for some of the borough's men in blue and their families.

Hellertown Police Chief Robert Shupp and Mayor Richard Fluck began the meeting with a presentation of the police department's annual officer awards, which Shupp explained were first presented last year.

The awards are a way of thanking "officers who showed a true commitment to the borough of Hellertown and keeping the residents safe," Shupp said before presenting awards to a total of five officers.

The first award presented was the department's Narcotics Award, which is given to any officer who makes at least 12 narcotics-related arrests during the course of a year, he said.

The four recipients of the 2010 Narcotics Award were Investigator Matthew Andree, Officer Michael Dattilio, Officer John Donato and Officer Kevin McCartney.

Dattilio and McCartney both received the Narcotics Award last year as well, Shupp noted.

The department's DUI Enforcement Award, which is given to any officer who makes a minimum of 12 DUI arrests during the course of a year, was presented to Donato, who made 12 arrests, and Andree, who made a total of 40 arrests throughout the year.

A special community service award was presented to Fragano, who Shupp said had gone above and beyond the call of duty by spearheading the development of a police department mentorship program last year.

and now plans to pursue a career in law enforcement, he added.

Finally, Shupp presented the department's Officer of the Year award, which he said is "judged by fellow officers," himself and the mayor.

"We hand out blank sheets to all the officers and they all list somebody and why they think they should receive this award," Shupp said.

The chief commented that this year it was particulary difficult to choose a recipient for the Officer of the Year award, because two candidates were both worthy of the designation.

Ultimately, however, the 2010 award went to Investigator Matt Andree, who was presented with the honor by Shupp, the mayor and Officer McCartney, who was last year's recipient of the award.

Immediately following the ceremony the officers posed for photographs in the vestibule area outside of council's meeting room.