The Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce on Friday honored dozens of law enforcement and public safety workers on Friday in an annual recognition event.
The 16th Annual Public Safety Awards presentation was produced in advance and posted on YouTube.
The honorees were:
Gaithersburg Police Department
• Detective Cpl. Robert Scire was given a distinguished service citation for his work closing an attempted murder case involving an incident at a hotel.
• Officer Ray Sample was given a meritorious service citation for his response to multiple attempted armed robberies in Old Towne Gaithersburg. He arrested a suspect who was linked to three other robberies.
Montgomery County Police, 6th District
• Cpl. Joseph Marquart and Officers Matthew Wagner, Kelly Cox, David Hall, Anand Badgujar, Carla DeSousa, Andrew Curran, Andrew Byrd and Rachael Bouley were given a citation of bravery for their response to a call in which a woman was shot in the face. They performed lifesaving measures and went after the gunman.
• Officers Bryan Volz, David Hall, Andrew Curran and Daniel Kim were given a citation of bravery for their response to a call of a man trying to kill himself. The man was safely taken into custody.
• Officers Geoff Rand and Brandy Malocha received a citation of bravery for their response to a call of a stabbing in progress. The officers treated a man who had severe stab wounds (but fully recovered) and arrested the suspect.
Montgomery County Police, 5th District
• Officers Michelle Morgado and Christopher West received a distinguished service citation for saving a man who was in the act of trying to kill himself.
• Officers Mohammad Afifi, Glenn Altshuler and Dominic Markajani received a citation of bravery for apprehending a man who was threatening to kill himself at a Germantown apartment complex.
• Cpl. John Kennedy; Sgts. William Knowlden, Neal Ridgeway and James Ross; and Officers Matthew Frasca, Steven Pascali, Brian Fockler, Simon Howard, Brian Alley, Andres Naranjo-Cano, Wesley Allen, Sarah Medelin, Samantha Hunt, Mark Kopp, Jennifer Hansen, Danny Vaca, Joshua Wurst, Austin Fogarty, James Baker, Tyler Johnson, Lee Guzinski, Ryan Grzybowski, Colton Peterson, Dominic Markajani and Mike Murphy were awarded a distinguished service citation for keeping order during a large unscheduled protest in the spring of 2020.
911 Emergency Communications Center
• Public Safety Emergency Communications Specialists Tamara Gual, Hayley Nelson, Diana Morales and Cameron Ivory received a meritorious service citation for helping parents deliver babies in cars four separate times in 2020, including once along the side of I-270.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
• Sgt. Vithaya Iem and Deputies Steven McDonald, Lisa Titus, Kendra Meredith, Hector Navarrete and Gabriel Cabrera, along with K-9 Deputy Corey Clifford, were awarded a meritorious service citation for their response to a mental health call about a man’s safety. The man was armed with a dagger, but authorities got him to drop it.