DPS Honors Employees, Community Members at Annual Awards Ceremony

The Department of Public Safety will honor 10 of its employees, along with the Syracuse University Ambulance division and one member of the University community, at the fifth annual DPS Awards Ceremony, held Drumlins Country Club at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 2. The awards honor the exceptional achievements of DPS staff members throughout the 2012 calendar year. Their outstanding accomplishments continue to contribute to the safety and security of the Syracuse University community.

The award recipients are:

Bryan Scheib, a teaching assistant in the School of Architecture, will be presented with a Recognition Award for his quick action and selflessness in pursuing a burglary suspect from Slocum Hall, engaging the suspect in a physical altercation and recovering a student’s stolen property.

Syracuse University Ambulance will be  recognized with a Division Award for the dedication, quick response, professionalism and assistance that Syracuse University Ambulance personnel provide the Department of Public Safety on a daily basis.

Officer Michael Patsos will be presented with a Community Engagement Award for his dedication and determination to providing community service, as a volunteer, fundraiser and leader for initiatives like the department’s Health and Wellness Committee.

Detective Cleveland McCurty Jr., Detective James Thompson and Community Service Officer Nora Downey-Easter will be presented with the Major Grant Williams Community Service Award. The award commemorates the dedication and commitment to service exemplified by the late Major Williams in his four decades of service to the Department of Public Safety and to the University. Detectives McCurty and Thompson were recognized for their work on Crime Prevention initiatives across campus and with specific student organizations, and Officer Downey-Easter was commended for her outstanding interactions with students, department staff and visiting patients at the newly opened stationary security post in Peck Hall.

The Distinguished Service Award will be given to three members of the department for their continuing commitment to going above and beyond their required duties. Officer Daniel Lebron, Officer Timothy Salanger and Emergency Communications Coordinator Shannon Day will be presented with this award—Lebron for his work with the New York State Attorney General’s Office Organized Crime Task Force last year, Salanger for his consistent leadership skills and willingness to work past his assigned hours and duties and Day for her unfailing professionalism, calm under pressure and anticipation of necessary tasks within the Emergency Communications Center.

Public Safety Officer Christopher Daloia will receive the Meritorious Service Award for his proactive policing during a disturbance on Marshall Street, which involved the successful confiscation of a firearm and subsequent arrests and charges.

The Vice Presidents’ Award is presented to an officer who performs a series of acts of exceptional achievement to the department and the University. This year, Officer Michael Gabriell is honored for his outstanding work on three separate robberies and larcenies that occurred on University property and in the surrounding community. His actions and initiative resulted in the arrests of numerous suspects, the recovery of several items of stolen property and effectively resulted in arrests and the solving of several cases of robbery and larceny.

Each award recipient significantly impacted the collective efforts of the Department of Public Safety, and it is due to their efforts that the reputation of DPS as a service provider and professional law enforcement agency has continued to flourish.