Ottawa police officers receive recognition ahead of National Police Week

The Ottawa Police Department honored officers for their years of service Tuesday as part of the city’s recognition of National Police Week from May 11 to 17.

During Tuesday’s Ottawa City Council meeting, Mayor Robb Hasty formally proclaimed the week in honor of law enforcement officers, both local and nationwide.

Commissioner Tom Ganiere led the presentation of service awards, recognizing officers for milestones ranging from one to 25 years of service.

Sgt. Robert Nilles was honored for 25 years with the department, the longest tenure among this year’s awardees.

Other officers recognized included:

• Detective Randy Nelson, 20 years
• Cpl. Andrew McLaughlin, 20 years
• Officer Daniel Sovero, 20 years
• Sgt. James Bell, 20 years
• Sgt. Scott Harden, 19 years
• Cpl. Wesley Pender, 17 years
• Sgt. Matthew DeVries, 17 years
• School resource officer Stephen Hopkins, 15 years
• Cpl. Adam Jobst, 13 years
• Detective Sgt. Matthew Najdanovich, 12 years
• Detective Cpl. Joseph Hilton, 10 years
• Cpl. Jonathan Berninger, nine years
• K-9 officer Brandon Anderson, six years
• Officer Brett Wiedeman, six years
• Officer Cole Klicker, six years
• Detective Mason Sarti, five years
• Officer Eric Ganiere, five years
• Officer Christopher Culjan, five years
• Officer Kathleen Passini, four years
• Officer Tyler Brewer, four years
• School resource officer Kari Luna, four years
• Detective Andrea Harden, four years
• K-9 officer Charlie Hooper, three years
• Detective Ozvaldo Landeros-Leon, three years
• Officer Joshua Jabczynski, three years
• Officer Joel Smith, three years
• Officer Chandler Kiesling, two years
• School resource officer Marisol Hildalgo, two years
• Officer Andrew Martin, two years
• Officer Jacob Callahan, two years
• Officer Steve Ramirez, one year
• Officer Megan Orsini, one year
• Officer Carter Piercy, one year
• Officer Daniel Rodriguez, one year
• Officer Sophian Riahi, one year

Hasty and the City Council thanked the department for its ongoing dedication to public safety. The awards were presented during the council meeting at Ottawa City Hall.

“Since the first recorded death in 1786, more than 24,000 law enforcement officers in the United States have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Hasty said. “I encourage all citizens to publicly salute the service of law enforcement officers in our community and in communities across the nation.”