Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department awards were presented at the Dec. 13 Unified Government Commission meeting.
Receiving the Distinguished Service Award was Officer Gerardo Velasquez.
Officer Velasquez was off duty, on his way home from another job on Sept. 3, when he heard a call about a non-breathing person at 57th and Georgia, according to police officials. A 70-year-old woman was unresponsive.
Officer Velasquez responded and asked the woman’s husband if he could help to start resuscitation efforts.
The immediate actions from Officer Velasquez provided the opportunity for the victim to begin breathing on her own, Emergency Medical Services personnel said.
“Had it not been for his selfless dedication to duty, [the resident] might not have survived,” said police officials at the awards ceremony. “Officer Velasquez is being awarded the Distinguished Service Award for going beyond the call of duty, and his life-saving actions.”
Receiving the Meritorius Service Award were Officer Reed Murkin and Officer Yesenia Medina.
On Sept. 9, officers went to 61st and Leavenworth Road on reports of shots being fired, according to police officials. The officers found that several police vehicles in the parking lot of the police traffic support unit had been struck by gunfire. It was the second time police vehicles had been damaged by gunfire at the location.
After receiving information, Officer Murkin located the suspect’s vehicle and tried to stop it, according to officials. The suspect did not yield to Officer Murkin and Officer Medina, and a chase ensued, eventually into other jurisdictions.
Officers Murkin and Medina cautiously pursued an armed, dangerous felon who had shown an active aggression toward police, according to officials. When the suspect’s vehicle became disabled, the chase ended, but the suspect tried to run.
Although they knew the suspect was armed and dangerous, Officers Murkin and Medina chased him on foot, and Murkin apprehended him. After a struggle, the officers placed the suspect in custody and recovered a firearm from his waist.
“Officer Murkin’s quick actions directly contributed to the successful arrest of this armed suspect,” police officials said. “Officer Medina and Officer Murkin are being awarded the meritorious service award for their outstanding efforts in reducing violent crime.”
Four officers received the Meritorious Service Award for their efforts in reducing crime.
Officer John Landis was patrolling around the Seventh Street Casino on Oct. 27 and observed a car leaving there that he recognized as a possible suspect vehicle from a robbery, according to police officials. He followed it and conducted a computer check for registration, which revealed the vehicle was taken in a carjacking.
Officer Landis coordinated with other units to assist him in apprehending the vehicle, and broadcast directions of travel, according to police officials. The coordination helped Officer Dylan Passinese, Officer Garrett Mumphrey and Officer Nickolay Pleshka to go to the area to assist.
The suspect vehicle fled at Tremont and Central after noticing the police presence, police officials said. Because of the coordination by Officer Landis, several units were in the area to assist when the suspect began to flee.
Officer Passinese initiated the pursuit, with Officers Mumphrey and Pleshka assisting, and Officer Landis was a third unit. The pursuit went into Kansas City, Missouri, where it ended with the suspect’s vehicle hitting a stop sign and the occupants of the car fleeing on foot, according to police officials. Officers Mumphrey and Pleshka apprehended both suspects.
In addition to being suspects in the robbery, the individuals in the car were confirmed gang members, and a loaded handgun was recovered from the vehicle, according to police officials.
Officers Passinese, Mumphrey, Pleshka and Landis were awarded the Meritorius Service Award for their efforts to reduce crime, police officials said.
