DGSO Sheriff's Winter Awards - 2022

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office celebrated its second annual Winter Awards Banquet on Saturday, Dec. 4, at Maceli’s with about 250 DGSO employees, family members, friends and guests from partner agencies and the community in attendance.

Sheriff Jay Armbrister presented several commendations to DGSO employees for heroic and life-saving actions they took and awards to members of partner agencies and the public who assisted the agency throughout the year.

“Since we started the Winter Awards, it has become an inspiring evening to gather and hear so many stories about heroic acts by many in the Sheriff’s Office and the community,” Armbrister said. “Being able to gather and celebrate the work of many that often goes unnoticed is important in supporting those who work in the Sheriff’s Office as deputies, in corrections and as civilians, as well as those in our wonderful community who step up whenever they are needed.”

The 2022 award winners:

Operations Commendations

Life-Saving Awards

• Deputy Travis Warren on Dec. 14, 2021, recognized signs of a person experiencing a drug overdose and responded to a call in Lawrence to administer Narcan to save the person and provide patient care until medics could arrive.
• Deputy Breanna Pence on Dec. 2, 2021, administered CPR to a Douglas County resident experiencing cardiac arrest. Her actions contributed to the resident regaining his pulse and being transported to an area hospital.
• Master Deputy Nick Nelson on Aug. 5, 2022, recognized signs of a person in Lawrence experiencing a drug overdose and administered his Narcan to the person. His actions directly contributed the person becoming responsive before being transported to the hospital.
• Deputy Troy Miller on Sept. 26, 2022, administered CPR to a Douglas County resident who was found experiencing a mental health crisis. His actions contributed to the woman regaining breathing and consciousness so she could be transported to a hospital for physical and mental health treatment.

Corrections Commendation

• Corrections Officer IV Chance Vopat on June 26, 2022, was directly responsible for saving the life of a person in custody when he acted quickly to stop the person from jumping from an upper-tier railing. Corrections Officer Vopat was able to prevent life-threatening injury and possible death by his quick decision and ability to act upon it.

Investigative Commendation

• Detective Sgt. John Hanson, Detective Lance Flachsbarth, Detective Andrew Haney and Detective Mike Folks over several weeks worked tirelessly to collect information to find the driver of a van that struck a motorcycle and killed 10-year-old Brooklyn Brouhard of Eudora on May 14, 2022. Their actions resulted in authorities arresting the driver in Indiana, and he has since pleaded guilty to his crimes. The actions of the detectives in the investigation showed dedication to Brooklyn, her grandfather Barry Larson, the citizens of Douglas County and to this agency.

Corrections Supervisor of the Year

• Andrew Burgen

Operations Supervisor of the Year

• Phil Weinmaster

Corrections Deputy of the Year

• Deputy Pablo Maldonado

Operations Deputy of the Year

• Deputy Chase Reiling

Corrections Officer of the Year

• Corrections Officer IV Gabriel Segui

Corrections Civilian Employees of the Year

• Douglas County Reentry Team: Carrie Neis, Rebecca Sudja, Shelby Barmann and Taylor Bennett

Operations Civilian Employee of the Year

• IT Supervisor Brad Schwab

Contract Employee of the Year

• Rebecca Elliott – a licensed clinician who holds several hours weekly for DGSO employees as part of supporting the mental health of first responders.

Team Work Awards

• Kim Martin, IT Network Admin I for work on IT projects and support.
• Corrections Officer II Allison Brown for work in the Classifications Unit at the Douglas County Correctional Facility.
• Rita Fulton Mays for her work in establishing the new Douglas County Coroner Scene Investigation unit under the Sheriff’s Office.

Peer to Peer Awards

• Corrections Officer IV Andrew Schultz for his work as a DGSO Peer Support team member that offers support and connections for mental health services to DGSO employees and first responders.
• Alex Kliem for his work in checking on dispatchers after major emergency calls and participation in 2022 in the West Coast Post-Trauma Retreat, WCPR, which provides an educational experience designed to help current and retired first responders recognize the signs and symptoms of work-related post-trauma stress injuries.

Citizens Awards of Excellence

• Mike Wintermantel – The rural Baldwin City resident broke a window and rescued a child from a burning vehicle after a crash on Oct. 15 in rural Douglas County.
• Freddy Hernandez – He rescued victims from a vehicle that had caught fire on Oct. 12 on 31^st Street in Lawrence after a fatality crash in the area.
• Peter Meiusi, Erin Carbrey and Megan Hiebert – The owners of Clinton Lake Marina gave support and space in July to family members of a 22-year-old man who drowned in the lake that afternoon.

Sheriff’s Excellence Awards

• Detective Kim Nicholson and Detective David Garcia of the Lawrence Police Department for their actions assisting in the Brooklyn Brouhard hit-and-run fatality on Kansas Highway 10. Det. Nicholson pored over extensive video footage which helped DGSO deputies eventually locate the vehicle in the Kansas City area. Det. Garcia assisted with translating interviews with witnesses in the case and eventually obtained a confession from the suspect, who pleaded guilty.
• Deputy Kyle Zeller for his work in the Correctional Facility in seeing mistakes or potential problems and ensuring they did not materialize as much.
• Deputy Karrington Johnson for his work in following up with a victim days later to see if they were OK.

Sheriff’s Office Legacy Award

• Corrections Officer Robin Mather, who retired in 2016 as a DGSO deputy after 27 years, but has returned to work since then for several years in corrections.

Douglas County Emergency Communications Center Awards

Telecommunicator of the Year: Corey Ball

Communications Officer II of the Year: Kate Haehl

Supervisor of the Year: Dagna D’Ercole

Unit Citation Awards

Edna Brubaker, Darren Johnson, Jenni Primo, Andi Kent, Corey Ball, Janine Austin

Over the course of the year, this team worked together on a train derailment, a vehicle pursuit with shots fire at officers, three major injury motor vehicle crashes and a drowning at Clinton Lake. 

Dagna D’Ercole, Tim Reisbig, Kaitlin Schulz, Brenda Dill, Bailey Ngnatat

This team worked three homicides, numerous days with multiple county grass fires that are suspected to be arson and most recently two murder-suicide calls. 

Teamwork Awards:

Jenni Primo, Summer Lavullis, Andy Miller

These three have gone above and beyond to always do what is needed for their peers, the responders they work with and the agency!  They are also all trainers so they are constantly sharing their knowledge and helping all employees learn and enhance their skills to be the best that they can be.  They come to work with a positive attitude and go out of their way to create a good work environment for others. 

Distinguished Service Awards:

Bailey Ngnatat – Bailey has taken a large amount of high-priority calls, including a murder-suicide at the cemetery.  She has also taken many cardiac arrest calls and is one of the most resilient employees we have. 

Traci Ellis – Traci was working law enforcement dispatch during LPD’s officer-involved shooting and helped ensure that everyone was accounted for and that medics were on scene as quick as possible.  She remained calm and was the voice of help when it was needed. 

Years of Service Award (33):

Dagna D’Ercole