Davison Township Police honor six officers, staff

Mary Pavelock receiving her Letter of Commendation from Hrinik. DAVISON TWP. — The Police Department honored six of its own May 9 during its 17th annual awards ceremony.

Police Chief Larry Hrinik said the department has given out a total of 121 awards since the inception of the ceremony.

This year six were recognized for their efforts.

Hrinik said the awards are not the only indicator of success within the department, but he also pointed to declining crime rates in Davison Township.

“Crime overall in Davison Township fell 18 percent in the past year. Major crimes ... fell 24 percent,” he said. “Our officers are doing a good job keeping the township safe.”

Honored at the ceremony were:

 Ofc. Philip Yurk — Marksman of the Year

Yurk is currently assigned as the School Liaison Officer. He beat out last year’s marksman, Ofc. Randy Forman, by just more than 1 percent with a score of 98.2 percent. This is the sixth time Yurk has qualified for this award.

Chad Haynes receiving his Letter of Commendation from Hrinik.  Ofc. Harold Payer and Ofc. Corey Haynes — Safe Driving

This award is presented to the police officer who, over the course of five consecutive years, does not have a chargeable accident.

“An officer normally drives in excess of 100,000 miles in a five year period. Considering the conditions under which an officer drives, storms, blizzards, pursuits, and emergency driving, it is quite an accomplishment simply to go five years without an accident,” said Hrinik. “This year the department has two officers who qualify for a five-year award.”

 Det. Mark Cuneaz — 10 Year Award

Det. Mark Cuneaz, left, receives an award for serving 10 years on the Davison Township Police Department from Chief Hrinik.  Mary Pavelock — Letter of Commendation

This award is presented to a police officer or civilian personnel who has performed a valuable service to the department in carrying out a specific task.

Pavelock has been employed with the police department for 19 years. The department was in the process of changing Record Management Systems and she had the task of changing over from the previous system. This involved a great amount of work above and beyond Mary’s normal duties,” said Hrinik.

“This involved populating drop down menus for everything from street names, subdivision names, employee names past and present to a complete audit of past records and evidence database to ensure accuracy which is a must,” said Hrinik.

Ofc. Corey Haynes, left, and Ofc. Harold Payer, right, received their Safe Driving Awards May 9 from Chief Larry Hrinik, center. Photos by Gary Gould  Officer Chad Haynes — Letter of Commendation

Presented to a police officer or civilian personnel who has performed a valuable service to the department in carrying out a specific task.

Haynes has been employed with the police department for 10 years. The department was in the process of changing how traffic crashes were reported (hand written vs digital). He was instrumental in creating a template for every major intersection in Davison Township.

“This was a huge undertaking considering the number of major intersections and the detailing involved for each to be stored in the system,” said Hrinik. “As a result officers just need to click on these pre-made templates to create and finish their crash reports.”

Hrinik also mentioned some of the accomplishments of his staff:

 Lt. Christi Markwardt recently graduated from the MACP New Chief’s school “Taking Charge”

 Ofc. Kevin Roberts completed Medical First Responder training.

 The entire Department was re-certified in CPR, AED and Air borne and Blood borne Pathogens.