Aurora police officer wins national honor
Three years ago, Michael Nilles was named Aurora's 2005 Police Officer of the Year.
Now he's about to be honored on a much larger stage.
Nilles has been named the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Parade Magazine's 2008 Police Officer of the Year - one of law enforcement's most prestigious awards.
Nilles was chosen from among hundreds of nominees across the nation for his work on the yearlong, multiagency investigation dubbed "First Degree Burn," which resulted in 179 counts of first-degree murder charges being lodged against 31 gang members or associates.
He will receive the award Tuesday in San Diego.
"I never figured I'd win. I was expecting someone to rescue a drowning baby from the big bad wolf with bullets whizzing past their head to come in and take it," Nilles said with a laugh Thursday. "But this is a tremendous honor and I'm realizing that I'm in some pretty special company."
Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said the investigation resulted from information gleaned from gang members or associates who were charged with federal drug and weapons conspiracy violations in a number of investigations conducted in Aurora and Kane County with the FBI, ATF, and other federal agencies since 2002.
In exchange for lighter sentences, many agreed to cooperate with Aurora police and federal and county authorities on dozens of homicides and other gang-related crimes dating since 1989.
Nilles said he and FBI Special Agent Cory McGookin interviewed hundreds of witnesses from all over the United States and Mexico who provided information on crimes.
"We had all the right people in all the right places but we had no idea we'd get 30 out of 31 suspects we wanted," Nilles said. "For that reason alone, I wish they gave out 300 of these so every person that worked on this investigation could be recognized. It was a huge cooperative effort and many lifelong friendships were formed."
Aside from those charged as part of "First Degree Burn," information on other cases also was collected that led to additional crimes being solved, including the 1996 murder of 6-year-old Nicholas "Nico" Contreras.
"The number of hours that Mike and the others expended on investigating these crimes will never be known," Aurora Chief Greg Thomas said. "They missed family and other personal events to put those victimized by gang violence first. This recognition is not only good for all of the agencies involved but also for the entire city of Aurora."
The chief's association and Parade Magazine have teamed since 1966 to recognize exemplary performance in police work. As one of the top law enforcement awards in the country, the Police Officer of the Year honor symbolizes the highest level of achievement among police officers.