Herndon Police Chief DeBoard Hosts Public Awards Ceremony Delayed By COVID-19 Pandemic

HERNDON, VA — With community spread of COVID-19 remaining at low levels, the Herndon Police Department decided it was safe to finally host a public ceremony to recognize all of the officers and volunteers who'd received awards from 2019-2021.

On Saturday, HPD hosted a semi-formal buffet dinner at a local venue for the award winners and their families, according to HPD spokeswoman Lisa Herndon. Town staff and council members were present as well for the ceremony, in which Chief Maggie DeBoard presented the awards and posed for photos with the recipients.

"It's one of the only times that we get to see spouses and family members, and we have so many new officers over the past couple of years," Herndon said. "Some of them, the chief has never met their families, so it's a good time to just get everybody together and reconnect."

Three different types of awards were presented during the ceremony. Candidates for the department awards are chosen through a nomination process, with everyone in the department voting on the nominees.

Recipients of the Meritorious Action Awards were chosen by supervisors to honor individual acts by an officer deemed worthy of recognition. Some recipients received more than one Meritorious Action Award, according to Herndon.

Each year the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce present Valor Awards to public safety personnel throughout Fairfax County.

2019 Award Winners

• Officer of the Year - Senior Police Officer Anthony Depoto
• Supervisor of the Year- Corp. Mark Fraser (now sergeant)
• Civilian of the Year- Chuck Foster (former parking enforcement officer)
• Volunteer of the Year- Steve Marshall (former Herndon Police Citizen Support Team member)
• Extra Mile Award- Senior Police Officer Warren “G” Brathwaite (retired)

Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce Valor Awards:

• Gold Medal - Pvt. 1st Class Stephen Phelps (now Corporal)
• Certificate of Valor - Sgt. Chad Findley (now lieutenant)
• Certificate of Valor - Sgt. Brian Hamilton

Meritorious Action Awards:

• Lt. Justin Dyer (now captain)
• Lt. Jim Moore (retired)
• Lt. Steve Pihonak (now captain)
• Senior Sgt. Claudio Saa
• Sgt. Steve Brown
• Sgt. Chad Findley (now lieutenant)
• Sgt. Jeff Lange (now lieutenant)
• Sgt. Jim Rider
• Corp. Jon Sorg (now sergeant)
• Senior Police Officer Warren “G” Brathwaite (retired)
• SPO Eliezer Calo (now Corporal)
• SPO Jay Choi
• SPO Ron Eicke
• SPO Mike Murn
• SPO Drew Stanley (now corporal)
• SPO Scott Stein
• Pfc. Steven Mather (now corporal)
• Pfc. Gabriel Miranda (now corporal)
• Officer Zach Selph (now private first class)
• (Former) Officer Lucy Scott
• Officer Colin Springer (now private first class)
• (Former) Communications Technician Laura Bramhall
• CT Sandra Harman
• CT Holly Woods
• Citizen Support Team Fred Kibler
• Commendation: (Former) Officer Lucy Scott

On Thursday, only the names and photos of the 2019 award winners were available on the department's Facebook page. The remaining award winners will be added over the next few days, according to Herndon.