The Maine Sheriffs’ Associations’ annual conference and awards banquet was held March 24, at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland. Two members of the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office and two citizens from The County received awards.

 

Aroostook County Sheriff's Office
Aroostook County Sheriff's Office
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Deputy Sheriff Sgt. Kris Miller, of Ludlow,  was named the MSA 2015 Deputy Sheriff of the Year for the State of Maine. Sgt. Miller, a 26 year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, is currently the supervisor of the communications division as well as being in charge of training and recruitment. Sheriff Darrell Crandall said, “What sets Sgt. Miller apart is that she has had the very same can do attitude since the day she started and her passion for her profession has not diminished one bit over time.”

Aroostook County Sheriff's Office
Aroostook County Sheriff's Office
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Deputy Sheriff Stewart Kennedy, of Oakfield, received the MSA Presidential Award for Valor for demonstrating selfless courage in the face of danger while performing his duties as a Deputy Sheriff. In February of 2015, Deputy Kennedy and two state troopers responded to a call from a man expressing concern for the safety of his elderly mother. The caller reported that he was concerned because his brother, who had a history of violence toward their mother, was acting strangely and had access to firearms. When the officers arrived at the home the mother and son shared, the suspect hollered profanities at Deputy Kennedy and fled toward the second floor of the home, firing a handgun as he ascended the stairs. Despite Deputy Kennedy being in great personal danger, he continued to pursue the suspect to make sure that others in the home were not harmed. Deputy Kennedy caught up with the man and tried to take the handgun away from him. The man resisted and would not surrender the weapon, and ultimately Deputy Kennedy had to use deadly force to stop the threat. Sheriff Crandall said, “Although the ending was tragic for all involved, Deputy Kennedy is, in fact, a hero.”

Aroostook County Sheriff's Office
Aroostook County Sheriff's Office
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Justin and Vanessa Hodgkin, of Fort Kent, received the MSA Presidential Award for Valor – Citizen Award for their selfless efforts to save a woman who was being assaulted in a moving vehicle in 2015. As this young couple was driving down the road together, Vanessa noticed a woman being held by her hair, by the man driving the car. The door to the vehicle was open, the woman was partially outside the vehicle and the vehicle was still moving.  Justin turned their vehicle around and Vanessa confronted the driver and tried unsuccessfully to get the victim out of the vehicle. The man sped away with the woman still in the car. The Hodgkins, who had no cell phone, drove to the nearby home of a relative, called the Sheriff’s Office and provided detailed information including the plate number, vehicle description and descriptions of the suspect and victim, as well as the direction the vehicle was traveling. Deputies found the vehicle a short time later and arrested the driver. Sheriff Crandall said, “So many people are unwilling to get involved, even to the point of calling the police and reporting a crime. The Hodgkins were willing to do so much more. They put themselves in harm’s way to try to protect another human being in peril. For that, they are heroes.”

Just under two-hundred people attended the banquet, including other award recipients, their families and friends, Maine’s Sheriffs and their command staff, some of Maine’s police chiefs and supporters of Maine law enforcement.

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