The Castle Rock Police Department is celebrating the accomplishments of its officers following the 2022 annual awards ceremony. On Wednesday, May 18, CRPD handed out 61 total awards to officers, professional staff and one resident for accomplishments dating back to 2019.
“We canceled the awards ceremony in 2020 due to the pandemic,” Police Chief Jack Cauley said. “Last year’s awards ceremony really focused on how our officers adapted and excelled during COVID-19. We felt it was important to go all the way back to 2019 and give these officers the recognition they deserved in a formal setting.”
“Additionally, some of these cases were multi-year investigations,” Commander Sam Varela explained. “We saw a couple of major convictions in 2021 due in part to the excellent police work by our officers and investigators.”
On Wednesday, a total of 31 Meritorious Unit, or team, awards were given for six different cases, two of which made headlines last year. In December of 2021, a man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his involvement in a shooting in a local grocery store parking lot. In October, another man received a 20-year sentence for posing as a fire inspector to burglarize Castle Rock businesses.
CRPD also announced eight life-saving awards, a Citizen Commendation, three Police Merit Awards and one Police Achievement Award. Another 18 individuals were recognized for exceptional tactics used while de-escalating dangerous situations.
Chief Cauley concluded the ceremony with his annual One-By-One Policing Award, given to an officer who exemplifies CRPD’s vision statement of serving those in the community as if they are members of one’s own family.
Due to limited seating, the annual awards ceremony was not open to the public.
