UCF Police leaders, officers, employees and community partners gathered Wednesday for the department’s semi-annual awards ceremony, which recognized outstanding service to campus and Central Florida.

The ceremony, held at the Wayne Densch Center for Student-Athlete Leadership, included recognitions of distinguished service, life-saving work, physical fitness excellence and more.

The officers and victim advocates who responded in the aftermath of the terror at Pulse in June were honored with Distinguished Service Awards. They are Cpl. Alan Elliot and Ofc. Chris Holt and advocates Christine Mouton, Coretta Cotton, Lauren Portal and Jessica Farnan.

“To the men and women who responded down there, my hats off to you,” said UCFPD Chief Richard Beary. “I’m very proud of the way UCFPD stepped up. We were there, once again, helping people. We were helping people we didn’t even know because it’s the right thing.”

Miguel Alvarez, the department’s auto mechanic, also received a Distinguished Service Award for his continuous efforts to quickly diagnose vehicle problems and solve them so that UCFPD’s fleet runs at maximum capacity.

Ofc. Ricky Lopez received the life-saving award for acting proactively to help a woman in distress, who he later learned had attempted suicide. No doubt that his actions to provide aid and assistance had an immediate and significant impact.

Other awards included:

Unit Citations

  • The training unit, which is Sgt. Dale Dennany, Cpl. Chuck Reising and Ofc. Amelia Bray and Curt Myhre, was recognized for its exceptional work in training new and current officers, all while enhancing UCFPD’s abilities to respond to an ever-evolving working environment.
  • The Investigations Division, which is Lt. Derrick Stockdreher; Sgts. Anthony Chronister, Chris Gavette, and Hugh Carpenter; Cpl. Erik Lashinsky; Detectives Amber Abud, Pablo Vargas, and Eric Walton; and crime analyst Breanne Tucker, was honored for its teamwork and persistence.
  • Victim Services, which is Christine Mouton, Coretta Cotton, Christey Oberbeck, Jessica Farnan, Lauren Portal and Samantha Vega, was awarded for its advocacy for anyone and everyone who needs support.

    • Chief’s Award

  • Dale Dennany and Chris Gavette and Deputy Chief Carl Metzger were recognized for their participation in the Police Unity Tour this spring, where they raised more than $6,000 and biked over 260 miles to honor fallen police officers.
  • Bill DeMott, Ofc. Frank Imparato and Public Information Officers Courtney Gilmartin and Amanda Szylin were awarded for raising awareness about the impact of impaired driving.
  • UCFPD Human Resources Coordinator Kellie DeArmas was honored for her assistance with local and national law enforcement memorials that honor the memory of fallen police officers and support their families.

    • Commendations were given to the following staff members and officers for their hard work: Fleet Manager Rany Sulter; Ofc. Freddy Tirado, Jr.; Ofc. Matheus Flores; Ofc. Agustin Gonzalez; Ofc. Ricky Lopez (2); Ofc. Mica Wenner; Ofc. Matthew Ahearn; Ofc. Chase Crane; Ofc. Luis Rivera; Ofc. Chris Holt; Ofc. Melissa Guadagnino; Community Service Officer Daniel Hooker; CSO Jade Mast; CSO Victoria Scott; and CSO Ernesto Garcia.

    The following officers were recognized for completing their physical abilities test, or PAT test, in under 4 minutes: Sgt. Matthew Fazi; Sgt. Chris Gavette; Cpl. Adam Casebolt; Ofc. Terrell Alexander; Ofc. Chase Crane; Ofc. Ricardo Delbrey; Ofc. Jean Quiles; Ofc. Jerad Engel; Ofc. Agustin Gonzalez; Ofc. Melissa Guadagnino; Ofc. Day Ryley; Ofc. Dave Manuel, Ofc. Nelson Mendez; Ofc. Jeff Panter; Ofc. Matthew Scott; Ofc. Ryan Stoner; Ofc. Freddie Tirado Jr.; Ofc. Maurice Thompson; Ofc. Jade Mast; and Ofc. Alex Deluca.

    The following community partners were recognized for their support of UCFPD and its mission: Father Ben Berinti, Catholic Campus Ministries; Rasha Mubarak, Council on American-Islamic Relations; Maha Quereshi, UCF Muslim Student Association; Kim Kapes, Canine Wounded Heroes; Christine Musselman, Wawa Oviedo; Logan Pounders, Jets Pizza; Charlie Fish, Chick-fil-A; and Joseph Morton and UCF Football player Tristan Payton, who helped UCFPD apprehend a video voyeurism suspect last month.