Welcome From Captain Joseph Spiess

Dear Citizens,

Welcome to the First District! Our officers continue to work with citizens to decrease crime in the District. With your help, we’ve seen overall crime reduced in the District during the last three years. We recognize, however, that there are still issues that need to be resolved. We will continue to work to watch any problems in the District. I also encourage you to call police if you notice any problems in your neighborhood. We look forward to continuing to work with the citizens and businesses in District One.

Sincerely,

Captain Joseph Spiess
Commander, District One

Get Involved in Community Meetings
Public Affairs Meetings are held quarterly in March, June, September and December at 7 p.m. at various locations in the District. For more information on neighborhood meetings, see the link on this page.

Upcoming Events

Requesting a Community Outreach Officer
If you would like to request an officer to visit your school or special event for an informational presentation, please send an email to the District’s Community Outreach Officer.

2009 Officer Awards

January - Police Officers of the Month Ervin Lockhart and Mario Burns
On January 30, 2009, Officers Lockhart and Burns responded to a home where an alarm was activated. Property had been taken from the home and a door was forced open. There was snow on the ground and the officers were able to find footprints and trace them to another home a few streets away. After receiving permission to search the home, the officers located the stolen property and confirmed the suspect’s shoeprint matched that of the ones they followed. Additional stolen property from an incident in the Third District was also located. The suspect was arrested and warrants were issued in both cases. The officers displayed outstanding investigative work in this case.

February - Police Officers of the Month Joshua Becherer and Paul Wunderlich
Throughout February, Officers Becherer and Wunderlich arrested eight people which resulted in 20 felony and four misdemeanor charges. Four of the suspects were later charged with Federal crimes. The Officers were able to seize drugs and money from drug sales during their investigations. They also discovered a counterfeit check scheme in the District.

March – Police Officers of the Month David Feldmeier and Jason Sapienza
Officers Sapienza and Feldmeier are dedicated to making a difference in the First District. They were involved in a variety of arrests during March that led to dangerous persons being taken off the streets. They arrested three juvenile suspects who were responsible for a Car Jacking and Assault. They also arrested a suspect who was responsible for multiple burglaries in the Bevo neighborhood.

April – Police Officer of the Month Patrick Welch
During the month of April, Officer Welch displayed outstanding effort. He stopped multiple suspicious people and arrested nine suspects which resulted in five felony, 10 misdemeanor and 25 city charges. He was also able to locate a house where drug activity was taking place. Officer Welch’s outstanding effort resulted in multiple suspects involved in drug activity being taken off the streets.

May – Police Officer of the Month John Winter
Throughout May, Officer Winter was involved in numerous drug and weapon arrests. He was directly responsible for 27 arrests which resulted in 13 felony, 13 misdemeanor and 80 city charges.

June – Police Officers of the Month Patricia Nijkamp and Rachel Capps
During the month of June, Officers Nijkamp and Capps distinguished themselves with their dedication and professionalism during three investigations. On July 14, they located a suspect who had just committed a rape and took the suspect into custody. On July 21, they responded to a call for abduction. The victim’s boyfriend had abducted her and the officers worked tirelessly to locate the victim and arrest the suspect. On July 25, the officers were able to locate a suspect who had taken a gun from a home he had just visited. The suspect was arrest and the gun was recovered.

July – Police Officers of the Month Paul Wunderlich and Jessica Meyer
On June 16, Officers Wunderlich and Meyer began investigating a case involving an unregistered sex offender living in the First District. The officers were able to arrest the suspect who was charged with failing to register as a sex offender and living within 500 feet of a school. During the arrest, the officers also located a second person who was also charged with failing to register as a sex offender.

August - Police Officer of the Month Joseph Hill
Officer Hill arrested 17 individuals in August which resulted in nine felony drug charges. These arrests also resulted in 132 combined misdemeanor and city ordinance charges. Officer Hill was outstanding in his discovery of an active meth lab in an abandoned building. Officer Hill works tirelessly to rid the 1st District of drug activity.

September – Police Officers of the Month Joseph Scalise and Eric Arnold
On September 18, Officers Scalise and Arnold heard a broadcast of a description of suspects and a vehicle used in a burglary in the 1st District. They saw a car with the same description and followed it, eventually stopping the car. The officers were able to take five suspects into custody. The victim’s property was recovered and returned. One of the suspects was wanted for other robberies in the district. The Circuit Attorney’s Office issued warrants on three of the five suspects.

October – Police Officer of the Month Nick Weite
Officer Weite arrested or assisted in arresting 12 suspects in October. Those arrests resulted in two felony charges and 15 city ordinance violations. Officer Weite achieved these outstanding results and also trained for the International Law Enforcement Power Lifting Championships. Officer Weite earned a silver medal at the competition. Officer Weite is dedicated to all he does and displays a work ethic that makes everyone around him better.

November – Police Officer of the Month Gregory Klipsch
Officer Gregory Klipsch led the district in arrests for the second consecutive month. These arrests resulted in 45 charges. Officer Klipsch is a hard worker who is always looking to improve. Although he is a young officer, he is a leader among his peers.

December – Police Officer of the Month Chris Gwaltney
On December 28, Officer Gwaltney responded to a call. Officer Gwaltney received information about the location of a suspect and attempted to detain the suspect. After a brief struggle, Officer Gwaltney took the suspect into custody. The investigation revealed the suspect was involved in several burglaries in the area.