Scholarship Named After Branford Cop Who "Goes Above and Beyond"

BRANFORD, CT - Being a police officer can sometimes be a thankless job. Many times cops only get their names in the news for bad things.

But there is one Branford cop who is being singled out for all the right reasons - that is Officer John Abely, who has the Junifer Point area as part of his regular patrol.

The Junifer Point Association thinks so much of his service that it has written a letter of appreciation - and is donating funds to have a scholarship in the officer's name. The letter was read at the most recent Board of Police Commissioners meeting.

Here is what it said:

'The Juniper Point Association would like to submit this letter of appreciation and commendation for the tremendous service Officer John Abely provides our neighborhood. Officer Abely does so much more than simply routinely drive through our streets.

'He engages with our residents face to face and often communicates with us via text messages to keep us apprised of situations we need to be aware of. He keeps us on our toes regarding safety measures to take to protect against car thefts, being cautious about strolling the trolley trail alone, and mindlessly leaving home with our garage doors open or doors unlocked. John routinely performs above and beyond the call of duty, keeping our community safe and fostering a collaborative relationship with Branford police.

'He has shared his cell phone number with us and has repeatedly reminded us he can always be reached with a simple phone call or text message if need be. Most recently, this past holiday season, Officer Abely volunteered to work with us to collect Toys for Tots. On his day off, he made time to pick up contributions from our Association and bring them to an official drop off site. As you know, JPA has chosen to honor John for his service with a scholarship in his name for Branford High School students.

"As President of our homeowner's association, I want to thank you for making this suggestion and helping us implement the Officer John Abely Recognition scholarship. JPA would like to work with the school and police department to announce the creation of this scholarship in February and to announce the presentation of the award at the annual Senior Scholarship Awards Night ceremony tentatively scheduled for June 5, 2019.

"The opportunity to collaborate on promoting this scholarship is just another example of Officer Abely's positive impact on police/community relations here in Branford. All of us at Juniper Point hope you will include this letter or appreciation/commendation in Officer Abely's file and forward it internally within the police department to your award committee for their consideration."

Warmest Regards on behalf of everyone at JPA. Benchecke a. Blanka Michelle A. Blank, Ph.D President, Juniper Point Association

After reading the letter out loud to the Board of Police Commissioners, Police Chief Kevin Halloran said Abely always went the “extra mile.”

Halloran also joked: “I’ve been a cop for 30 years and I never had a scholarship named after me.”