Community and business leaders on the 8th Police District Advisory Council recognized seven Officers of the Month during an awards ceremony on June 6 at Crown Cork & Seal’s corporate headquarters.
Officers Daniel Shellhammer and Daniel Rubin were the award recipients for January after capturing a woman wanted for robbing five area businesses at gunpoint between Jan. 22 and 28.
On Jan. 28, Shellhammer and Rubin went to the Dollar Tree store on the 8000 block of Frankford Ave. to do a “security check” and speak with employees about the recent rash of robberies. As the officers approached the entrance, they observed a woman exiting the store who fit the description of the wanted robber.
The officers detained the suspect and spoke to a store manager, who told them that the woman had just robbed the store. The officers arrested the suspect, who was carrying a gun, a demand note, gloves and $53 cash. The woman was later charged with four additional robberies of other businesses in the area.
No Officer of the Month was selected for the district in February.
In March, Officer Joseph Hansbury earned the monthly award for making six arrests, including one in which he caught two graffiti vandals defacing neighborhood businesses, another for vandalism, one for theft from an automobile and two for driving while under the influence.
The graffiti case on March 28 involved two men ages 22 and 25 who allegedly did $9,000 worth of damage to nine businesses along the 3100 block of Willits Road that night.
Officers Dimitrios Loizos and Dan Richardson were named Officers of the Month for April for capturing two men who allegedly stole a Jeep Wrangler and used it to commit burglaries.
The officers first spotted the stolen vehicle at the intersection of Frankford Avenue and Benson Street. As they pursued it south on Frankford, a second trailing Jeep yielded to their police car. A short distance away, the stolen Jeep turned right onto Welsh Road. When the officers slowed to navigate the turn, the second jeep rammed their police car from the rear.
Police arrested the drivers of both Jeeps within minutes and discovered that they were working together as a burglary team.
Officers Dora Vidal and Natalie Crone were the award-winners for May for arresting a man who allegedly broke into a car on the 3200 block of Holme Ave. and stole a woman’s pocketbook on May 14.
Vidal and Crone met the victim and obtained a description of the suspect. A short time later, they saw a pedestrian fitting the description near the Torresdale Branch library about two blocks from the crime scene.
The officers found the stolen pocketbook in a nearby Dumpster and the victim’s wallet in some bushes. The victim identified the suspect as the thief. ••
