Aurora police to name Employee of the Year

Eighteen Aurora police officers and five 911 operators who were all named Employees or Co-Employees of the Month in 2014 will be eligible for the annual "Employee of the Year" award during a ceremony at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, at Aurora Police Department's headquarters, 1200 E. Indian Trail.

All the employees performed specific acts that went above and beyond the call of duty.

Those being recognized are:

• Officer Doug Rashkow, who brightened Christmas for the three children and the mother of a suspect he had arrested by purchasing Christmas gifts for the children with money out of his own pocket and securing a check for their care through a local veterans' organization.

• Emergency 911 operators Tracie Whalen, Tina Brian, Rosa Bocanegra and Craig Kowalski for their actions during a tragic crash on I-88 and Eola Road, where 39-year-old tollway worker Vincent Petrella was killed and Illinois State Police Trooper Douglas Balder was seriously injured when a semitrailer plowed into their vehicles while they were assisting the driver of a second semi that was disabled.

• Officer Sam Aguirre for his heroic attempts to render aid to Vincent Petrella. When he arrived on the scene, both Aguirre and fellow officer Dave Brian tried to get Petrella out of his burning truck. As Brian was trying to open the passenger side door, Aguirre climbed up on the hood of Petrella's vehicle and removed the windshield with his bare hands.

He then attempted to comfort Petrella by holding his hands, encouraging him to hang on, and assuring him help was present. Aguirre stayed close to Petrella despite the heavy smoke and flames until he was removed from the vehicle.

• Officer David Bemer, who, while on routine patrol, spotted a vehicle occupied by four men who he knew to be associated with gang and narcotics activities in a near West Side alleyway. When he approached the vehicle, he saw they were smoking cannabis and as he questioned the group, one of the men tried to run.

Bemer was able to latch onto the suspect and, after a brief struggle, took him into custody. When backup help arrived, it was discovered another man had a pistol in his waistband and then, while searching the vehicle, the other two firearms were located which led to weapon and drug charges against the four.

• Officers William Melendez, Christopher Grandchamp, Peter Briddell and Patrick Camardo for their response to a particularly brutal domestic violence call at which they had to force their way into an apartment and fight with the male suspect in the case who refused to follow their orders and who had locked himself in a bedroom.

They ended up taking the man into custody, but not before two of the officers were injured. The victim told police that the man told her he was going to beat her into a coma.

• Officer Ted Grommes for his actions involving the robbery of a 16-year-old boy by two other juveniles. Based on information received in the initial investigation, Grommes identified both offenders, and then combed through an apartment building's garbage Dumpster looking through every bag of foul-smelling trash for evidence. He not only found items stolen from the victim, but other evidence that tied the robbers to the crime.

• Officer Jim Brown for his off-duty heroics that saved the lives of an elderly Wisconsin couple while he was camping with a friend in a remote wilderness area in Canada. Brown and his friend came across the couple who had been trapped in severe thunderstorms, became disoriented, and were suffering from hypothermia. The two used the couple's motorboat and tried to take them back to their lodge, which was about 20 miles across the lake. Fortunately, they came across a search party after being on the water for 90 minutes.

• Officers Greg Spayth, Brian Hester, Nikole Petersen, David Bemer and Chris Bosson, along with Investigator Angel Nieves, for their teamwork in a lengthy investigation that led to the solution of two taxicab robberies and a theft from a downtown motel by the same suspect. The officers were able to establish the identity of the offender through surveillance video and the suspect's Facebook page.

When the man was taken into custody, it was clear that he was preparing to rob another taxi driver, and by securing additional evidence from that final stop, the officers were able to present their cases to a grand jury which indicted the offender.

• Officer Kyle Hoffman for his efforts during an early-morning traffic stop on a suspicious vehicle that led to charges against several gang members and associates. When Hoffman approached the vehicle, he found it was occupied by five individuals and also smelled cannabis emanating from the inside. Hoffman was able to charge one of the occupants with the cannabis and two others with violating curfew. He released the other two subjects at the scene.

As one of the released subjects was walking away, Hoffman noticed him acting nervous and repeatedly looking toward a building close by. Based on those actions, Hoffman summoned a K-9 unit to perform a search of the area, which led to a pistol being discovered in some bushes.

• Patrol officer Jason Sheldon and 911 operator Melissa Johnson for their response to a call to assist a 68-year-old woman who fell unconscious and stopped breathing. Johnson immediately collected all of the needed information from the 911 caller so she could relay it to the responding police and medic units and then provided CPR instructions over the phone.

When Sheldon arrived at the home, he immediately began chest compressions, continuing them for several minutes until paramedics arrived and applied an AED shock to the woman's heart. She was then finally able to breathe on her own and was transported to the hospital.

• Officer Marco Gomez for his actions that led to the confiscation of a handgun and charges against the 14-year-old boy who possessed it. While on routine patrol, Gomez saw several male juveniles acting suspiciously. Gomez followed the group after they had run and saw the 14-year-old near a fence looking like he was getting ready to dispose of something. The subject then ran.

Gomez proceeded to detain two other subjects, and called for backup. The backup officers located the 14-year-old hiding in a house and took him into custody. When Gomez and his fellow officers checked the fence line for any contraband that may have been tossed by the juvenile, they located a .40-caliber handgun that was later found to have been stolen in an earlier home invasion in Aurora.

• Officer Steve Lueders, who on a weekday afternoon approached three juveniles with whom he had previous contact and asked them why they weren't in school. The boy and two girls immediately began to act nervous and gave answers that did not add up.

Lueders arrested the juveniles for truancy and, when he searched them, found a large amount of cash, jewelry and electronics in their possession. Later the same day, police received calls from several residents saying their homes had been burglarized. Believing the property taken off the juveniles he had arrested earlier were proceeds from the burglaries, Lueders enlisted the help of other officers who showed pictures of the items to the burglary victims who immediately identified the property as being theirs. All three of the juveniles were each charged with two counts of residential burglary.