BNPD K-9 OFFICERS RECEIVE NATIONAL RECOGNITION

Thursday, April 3rd, 2014

InterdictionAwards2 On 4/2/14, two officers with the Benton Police Department and their K-9’s were nationally recognized at the National Criminal Enforcement Association (NCEA) conference in Nashville, TN. The two officers that received awards were Sgt. Brian Bigelow and K-9 Lucky, and Detective Eli Fowlkes and K-9 Benton.

Det. Fowlkes was awarded the Drug Seizure of the Month for January of 2013 for seizing 48 pounds of Methamphetamine, and Sgt. Bigelow was awarded the Drug Seizure of the Month for February of 2013 for seizing 21 pounds of Cocaine. Both of these seizures were also the largest in their respective category for 2013 and they both received additional awards for the largest seizure of the year for Cocaine and Methamphetamine. Additionally, K-9 Benton (who recently passed away) was awarded the K-9 Legacy Award during the conference.

The NCEA conference is a national drug interdiction training session that included over 1,100 officers from all across the country. The training consisted of criminal interdiction techniques of passenger and commercial vehicles, interdiction for missing and abducted children, legal issues, and officer safety.

Sgt. Bigelow and Det. Fowlkes are both part of the Benton Police Department BICEP (Benton Interstate Criminal Enforcement Patrol), which is part of a grant funded program. The Benton Police Department is part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, which is a program that provides assistance to Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States.

It was a great conference honoring all of the officers from around the country for what they do, and especially officers from the Benton Police Department. It was a great opportunity for our BICEP officers to attend and be honored for their hard work and dedication to the city of Benton.

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