Oswego Police Officers Earn Statewide Honors

The following announcement was provided by the Oswego Police Department.

The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP) recently announced the winners for its 2010 “Looking Beyond the Safety Belt” awards program, and three officers were among the winner.

This program was established to recognize law enforcement officers whose observations during a traffic stop based solely on a safety belt violation, result in the discovery of evidence of a crime and/or apprehension of criminals.

Case histories submitted by law enforcement agencies assist in substantiating the importance of traffic stops as a tool in uncovering other crimes.

All too often we hear of traffic stops referred to as being “routine”, when clearly they are not. Every day, law enforcement officers apprehend fugitives and recover evidence of other crimes based on traffic stops for “routine” violations.

The ILACP and its Traffic Committee supports enforcement of the state’s primary safety belt law and encourages officers to take enforcement action in their jurisdictions.

On Aug. 24 at the Peoria Convention and Civic Center three Oswego Police Officers were recognized in the Municipal Police Category.  Officers Patrick Wicyk and David Cannon, and Detective Chad Dickey, were presented the award for the 2010 Looking Beyond the Safety Belt Category. 

The incident these officers were involved with in May 2010 stemmed from a traffic stop for a Safety Belt violation.  This led to the identification of suspects in a recent attempted burglary at an Oswego business. 

Two occupants of the vehicle stopped were later charged with two felony offenses for their involvement in the attempted burglary that had occurred a few days prior to the traffic stop.

The Oswego Police Department would like to extend their congratulations to these officers for their hard work, dedication, and professionalism in receiving this recognition and award.