York Regional Police honoured a number of its civilian and sworn members at the annual Police Appreciation Night, the first since 2019.
Ten awards were given out during the ceremony hosted by television personality Kevin Frankish at the Sheraton in Richmond Hill May 10.
The Chief of Police Professionalism Award went to the Project Takeover team, which tackled organized street racing, resulting in 70 arrests, more than 300 charges, and more than 60 vehicles impounded.
Staff Sgt. Andy Graham, who was the officer in charge of Project Takeover, said police first identified the issues in 2019 when intersections were being taken over and in some cases lit on fire. He said they realized it was an organized event and by 2021 the project was in full swing.
Using social media, police were able to find meets, target ring leaders and make arrests as the events occurred, Graham said.
“That was identified as the largest street racing project in Canada,” he said. “It crippled the street racing season of 2021 because the organizers were taken off the field."
Project Takeover was a collaborative effort involving Peel Regional Police, Toronto Police Service, and Ontario Provincial Police. Graham said he worked with "the brightest and best" on it.
“I like to refer to it as the dream team. I had the best people working this and that’s why it’s so successful,” he said.
When asked about what the recognition means to him, Graham said that everyday police officers "do fantastic things and for every one award there’s probably 20 worthy recipients."
He just marked his 30-year anniversary with York Regional Police but said this is especially meaningful for a lot of the young officers on the team.
“I’m very, very thankful to see them get recognized early in their careers that they really did a fantastic job,” Graham said.
Another award winner of the evening was Sgt. Frank Abreu, who was given the Constable Garrett Styles Courage in the Line of Duty award.
Abreu, who has been with the force for 32 years, was working at #3 District in Georgina when a 911 call came in on Sept. 13, 2019. It was for what he believed to be a car accident, but turned out to be a vehicle on fire with a person still inside.
“I wasn’t expecting anything other than just a car accident. It wasn’t until I arrived that I saw the fire and thankfully your training kicks in,” he said.
He said the recognition means a lot, especially given who it's named in honour of. Const. Garrett Styles was killed in the line of duty 10 years ago during a traffic stop when he was dragged by a vehicle.
“It’s an incredible honour. I knew Garrett Styles and his wife and kids, so receiving an award in his name means a great deal to me,” Abreu said.
Civilian staff were also recognized with awards. One of them was Bobbi Baines, a health and safety specialist. She received the Leo McArthur Civilian Recognition Award for guiding and supporting YRP through COVID-19.
She has been with the service for seven years and always dealt with some disease prevention, but the pandemic was different. Baines said she worked with York Regional Public Health to navigate through things.
After a difficult two years, she said she is honoured to be recognized with this award.
“It’s absolutely fantastic to be recognized for doing a job that you absolutely love. It’s strange for me because I am just doing my job but it’s fantastic to be recognized," she said. "I think most importantly though, seeing the employers commitment to safety has been the biggest win for me during this time."
A total of 10 awards were given out at the ceremony:
- Constable Garrett Styles Courage in the Line of Duty: Const. John Scrymgeour
- Constable Garrett Styles Courage in the Line of Duty: Sgt. Frank Abreu
- Rob Plunkett Outstanding Service to the Community Award: Det. Zabi Aryaie
- Rob Plunkett Outstanding Service to the Community Award: Special Events Team: Karen Richards, Carrie
Rutledge, Heather Treftlin, Susan Gibbs and Melissa Styles - Chief of Police Professionalism Award: Project Takeover
- Chief of Police Professionalism Award: Project Convalesce
- Leo McArthur Civilian Recognition Award: Assistant manager of finance Sunita Erry
- Leo McArthur Civilian Recognition Award: health and safety specialist Bobbi-Lyn Baines
- Herbert H. Carnegie Award: Staff Sgt. Kolin Alexander
- Herbert H. Carnegie Award: Sgt. Mina Rahravan and strategic communications specialist Susan Gibbs
