Law enforcement was a major topic at the May 9 meeting of the Winslow City Council, beginning with Mayor Robin Boyd’s proclamation of May 14-20 as Police Officers Week and May 15 as Police Memorial Day in the City of Winslow.
In addition to the proclamation, the Winslow Police Department presented awards for its Employees of the Year. Patrol Lieutenant Ken Arend recognized Marlita Jones as Officer of the Year, saying, “She has given us 200 percent every day, all day.”
Corporal Alicia Lopez was recognized as Supervisor of the Year. Lopez has been responsible for rewriting and implementing policies on field training for the department, according to Arend. “She is a delight to work with and all the officers respect her,” he said.
Sergeant Quentin Hayes presented the award for Civilian Employee of the Year to Crime Scene Investigator Doug Walton. “He responds to all types of crime scenes and makes our jobs as officers much easier,” Hayes said, noting the high success rate of closed cases in Winslow and credited that in part to the work Walton does.
Finally, the council voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Daniel Brown as police chief.
“This was an important step in some things we’ve been doing with the goal of being better,” noted City Manager Steve Pauken. He went on to thank Interim Chief Chris Vasquez for his help in putting the Winslow Police Department on the right track. “The fact that we have gotten as far as we have is because we’ve had Chris Vasquez, who will go to Eloy to be their chief,” said Pauken.
Regarding Brown, Pauken said, “I think we’ve found the right person.”
Contingent upon the successful completion of his background investigation, Brown is set to begin work with Winslow Police Department as soon as May 21.
