From Staff Reports
Officers were honored during the 2024 Tyler Police Department Awards Banquet Tuesday at the W.T. Brookshire Conference Center in Tyler.
“It was a great year for the Tyler Police Department, and we want to congratulate all the winners,” said Andy Erbaugh, Tyler PD’s Public Information Officer, in a statement.
Officers received Certificates of Merit, Civic Achievement, Life Saving Medals and a Police Shield Medal. Several civilians also received Civilian Certificates of Merit for acts done to assist the Tyler Police Department.
The Master Award winners include:
Officer of the Year: Steve Black
Black is a long-time officer and a highly respected individual. He is actively involved in community events and shows outstanding professionalism and engagement with the attendees.
His actions reflect well on the Tyler Police Department.
There are many requests from the community and organizations for police to take part in events and educate the public on topics ranging from active shooter classes to bullying advice or internet safety, among many other discussions.
Although he’s not always assigned to these events, Black will sometimes have his specialized unit requested. He will always change his shift time to help when needed to prevent an influx of overtime.
He has a way with children and often attends school programs when requested. He is happy to explain his job to anyone who asks and has a partner who is a great conversation starter.
The relationship between Black and K9 Dino is strong, and children love it when they attend events. He is excellent at explaining how Dino does his job and carefully addresses it on a level that the age group he is speaking to can understand.
Sworn Supervisor of the Year: Tim Hutson
Sworn Supervisor of the Year: Tim Hutson
Hutson regularly works well beyond his regular work schedule and is constantly networking with other agencies and divisions within the department. He is frequently tasked with making split-second decisions in high-stress situations and handles this flawlessly. He thinks outside the box and works exceptionally well with the employees he supervises.
Hutson is eager to communicate and work on issues his employees bring to his attention. He makes people feel like they matter and that their voice is being heard. His position requires him to respond to many situations, and he wears many “Hats” over the many shifts.
Plain Clothes Officer of the Year: Cory Chamberlain
Plain Clothes Officer of the Year: Cory Chamberlain
Chamberlain was instrumental in several investigations in 2023. His exceptional dedication, commitment and outstanding performance within the Crimes Against Persons Unit has made him an exemplary candidate for this recognition.
Chamberlain has been a constant source of encouragement and support from within CID and is a very reliable member of the Tyler Police Department.
Chamberlain was assigned a murder early in the year where the scene had been tampered with. It was investigated for six months, but he was able to identify the offenders and obtain three Capital Murder warrants. Another significant case for this detective was a missing person call. This was a unique case because the victim in this case was never found. Detectives headed up numerous search parties in the area where the body was believed to be dumped, but she was still not located.
An arrest warrant was obtained for the offender in this case. The grand jury indicted the offender for murder. In September, another missing person’s case turned into a murder case, but because of the prompt attention of the victim’s family and responding officers, the suspect couldn’t hide the evidence.
Chamberlain conducted a methodical interview of the suspect, during which the detective was patient but determined to find the truth. His textbook interview eventually obtained a complete confession. These cases scratch the surface of his investigative skills.
Rookie of the Year: Jonathan Austin
Rookie of the Year: Jonathan Austin
Nominees for Rookie of the Year must have less than two years of service as officers in our department. Austin is always early to work, has a good attitude, and is ready for whatever is on the schedule for the day. He is thorough when answering his assigned calls for service and sees the big picture when dealing with situations. Austin works well with everyone on shift and is ready to step up if someone needs help. Austin is great at following up on the cases he responds to, keeping up to date with emailed requests for info on other officer’s cases, and assisting when he can.
Austin has also stepped out to do extra work by becoming an Intermediate Crime Scene officer. During one shift, he had just left the jail after completing his arrest and noticed an ongoing call that could need a crime scene officer. Austin called the supervisor to volunteer for his training and said he would report to the site if requested. He keeps his eyes open to the needs of the shift and department, not just calls assigned to him.
Unit of the Year: Training and Career Development
Unit of the Year: Training and Career Development
As law enforcement agencies nationwide face increasing recruiting and retention challenges, this unit has done an excellent job promoting our department’s strengths and ongoing training opportunities. Training and Career Development are vital components in keeping sworn and non-sworn personnel compliant with state training requirements. More importantly, this unit has a direct impact on every new hire from the day an application is submitted to the day an employee retires from the city.
During 2023, there was a heavy emphasis placed on in-service and academy training. The Training and Career Development Unit was responsible for receiving a lot of new equipment and was also tasked with implementing all new Taser7 and Taser body cameras as well as axon fleet 3 video training. Upon the Tyler Police Department being awarded an Academy provider contract from TCOLE, this unit coordinated two Basic peace officer courses, with a third being planned. This unit has also coordinated several Dispatch Academy licensing courses, allowing area departments to send telecommunicators to a three-week class for dispatching skills.
This year’s Unit recipient has not been recognized in almost 30 years. This is despite their excellent collective efforts to provide quality training, retain current employees and recruit new applicants to serve the Tyler community.
This includes Lt. Mike Malone, Sgt. Blake Lockhart, Sgt. Mike Saxion, Officers Tyler Pride, Shane Jasper, Nathan Elliott, and Judson Moore.
Telecommunicator of the Year: Robbyn Stockton
Telecommunicator of the Year: Robbyn Stockton
This position is vital to the success of the department. This award is new this year and well-deserved. Our dispatch receives thousands of community contacts each year, including emergency calls, reports, and questions from callers.
Dispatchers are trained to handle emergencies, communicating needed info to those in crisis or upsetting situations. Stockton is great at giving officers accurate and detailed information as they head to a scene and is soothing for frantic callers as they wait for assistance.
Stockton has a great attitude in stressful situations and is always helpful with all incidents she is involved with. This employee “does a phenomenal job on the radio whether working the main channel or investigating. She contacts all the officers and knows where and what calls they are working. She maintains good professional relationships with all officers.”
She also coordinates get-togethers to have officers stop by dispatch, usually with the offer of food, which is a great and tasty motivator for socialization. These actions have assisted in building a bridge of camaraderie between dispatch and patrol.
Over the last year, she’s become a contributing member of the East Texas Critical Incident Stress Management Team and part of our negotiating team.
Civilian Supervisor of the Year: Marisa Pittman
Civilian Supervisor of the Year: Marisa Pittman
Pittman is respected by subordinates and supervisors, both sworn and civilian. She’s proven to go above and beyond for employees, other departments or agencies, and citizens from all over Texas through phone calls, emails or even those individuals showing up at the PD lobby with requests for assistance.
Pittman’s unit is involved in all efforts of the PD but is mainly our customer-facing unit, and it deals with all sorts of requests and complaints. Her attitude and willingness to do everything possible to help is a quality everyone sees in her. She has received much recognition from satisfied citizens, and she represents the Tyler Police Department very well. Pittman steps in when others are out to keep the department running smoothly. She helps officers when they have questions about crime stats or need case information.
Civilian Employee of the Year: Lisa Blackmon
Civilian Employee of the Year: Lisa Blackmon
Blackmon has been described as “Going above and beyond to help…and answer all questions.” She works with officers and citizens alike and has been complimented on the jobs performed. She took on large projects in 2023, mostly working alone, but always had a smile on her face.
Blackmon “does the work of multiple people in the Property and Evidence department, processing, organizing, and maintaining the massive number of items in the department’s custody. More importantly, she is also the point of contact for detectives, the public, and other agencies to view and release items. Blackmon is patient, kind, and understanding as she does her best to explain” the process. “For our transient population, she goes out of her way to…return to them their few but highly valued possessions while treating them with kindness and respect.
Volunteer of the Year: Anita Strong
Volunteer of the Year: Anita Strong
Many dedicated people volunteer their time to assist the Tyler Police Department. They cover many departments, such as data management, helping transport vehicles, and even being on call as a chaplain to assist victims or officers.
Strong has been with us for several years and worked over 500 hours at the PD in 2023. She was nominated for this award with descriptions such as “no stranger to hard work,” “attention to detail,” and “always has a smile.” She played a huge role in digitizing the PD’s archives. She is an example of excellence and has even been asked to assist other departments within the city on important projects because of her abilities and willingness to serve.