Kane-based State Trooper Among 48 Honored With DUI ‘Top Gun Award’

Law Enforcement To Be Honored For Vigilance in DUI Enforcement

State Trooper Matthew Petrof from Kane Troop C will be honored on October 21 at 7 pm during the PA DUI Association’s 31st annual meeting at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Seven Springs, PA. The ‘Top Gun Award’ is presented in recognition of the number of DUI arrests made by officers.

The following is the PA State Police news release:

The Pennsylvania Driving Under the Influence Association will honor 21 municipal law enforcement officers and 27 State Police troopers with 2010 DUI Top Gun Awards.

The awards will be presented Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. at the association’s 31st annual meeting at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Seven Springs, Pa.

“The number of alcohol-related fatalities in Pennsylvania dropped from 567 in 2008 to 451 in 2009, said C. Stephen Erni, executive director of the PA DUI Association.  “We are taking this opportunity to honor those officers in Pennsylvania who were leaders during 2009 in either making DUI arrests or conducting drug influence evaluations on impaired drivers.”

“I applaud these officers and all those who work so hard to identify and arrest impaired drivers,” said Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank E. Pawlowski.  He noted that his department made a record 16,900 DUI arrests in 2009.

The awards recognizing the number of DUI arrests will be presented to:

Municipal Officers

• Officer William Meisel Jr., Brentwood Police Department, 203 arrests;
• Officer Kevin Carey, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, 126 arrests;
• Patrolman Robert Olecki Jr., Scranton Police Department, 117 arrests
• Officer Isaiah Emenheiser, Northern York Region Police Department, 104 arrests;
• Patrolman Franklin Roesch, Altoona Police Department, 86 arrests;
• Patrolman James Falconio, Pleasant Hills Police Department, 80 arrests;
• Patrolman Jared Hahn, Lititz Police Department, 74 arrests;
• Officer Ronald Tobias, Central Bucks Regional Police Department, 68 arrests;
• Patrolman David Howells III, Allentown Police Department, 66 arrests;
• Officer Stephen Curley, Upper Moreland Twp. Police Department, 64 arrests;
• Officer Juan Terry, Pittsburgh Bureua of Police, 62 arrests;
• Cpl. Michael Georgiou, York Area Regional Police Department, 61 arrests;
• Officer Sean Stafiej, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, 56 arrests;
• Patrolman Guy Kuzak, Cecil Twp. Police Department, 53 arrests;
• Patrolman Martin Hanes, State College Police Department, 51 arrests;
• Officer Adam Bruckhart, West Manchester Twp. Police Department, 50 arrests;
• Sgt. Douglas Ogden, Moon Twp. Police Department, 50 arrests;
• Officer Michael Hine, Northern York Regional Police Department, 49 arrests.

State Police Officers

• Tpr. John Pash, Troop B, Waynesburg, 112 arrests;
• Cpl. Robert Thompson, Troop E, Erie, 102 arrests;
• Tpr. Thomas Armour, Troop B, Pittsburgh, 74 arrests;
• Tpr. Craig Finkle, Troop H, Chambersburg, 69 arrests;
• Tpr. Bryan Schutz, Troop B, Pittsburgh, 66 arrests;
• Cpl. Thomas Hothouse, Troop N, Swiftwater, 64 arrests;
• Tpr. Christopher Cole, Troop B, Uniontown, 63 arrests;
• Tpr. Matthew LoPresto, Troop M, Trevose, 63 arrests;
• Cpl. Sean Taylor, Troop H, Carlisle, 62 arrests;
• Tpr. Brian Hook, Troop N, Swiftwater, 61 arrests;
• Tpr. Michael Thomas, Troop N, Swiftwater, 59 arrests;
• Cpl. Joseph Loughran, Troop A, Ebensburg, 57 arrests;
• Tpr. Matthew Rudella, Troop H, Harrisburg, 56 arrests;
• Tpr. Pasquale Russo, Troop M, Bethlehem, 56 arrests;
• Tpr. Scott Smith, Troop A, Indiana, 56 arrests;
• Tpr. Christopher Zukowsky, Troop M, Bethlehem, 56 arrests;
• Tpr. Patrick Bouch, Troop H, Chambersburg, 55 arrests;
• Tpr. Peter Minko, Troop J, Lancaster, 55 arrests;
• Tpr. Matthew Petrof, Troop C, Kane, 54 arrests;
• Tpr. Eric Miller, Troop D, Mercer, 53 arrests;
• Tpr. Jeremy Baluh, Troop H, Harrisburg, 52 arrests;
• Tpr. Gerald Powell Jr., Troop H, Chambersburg, 52 arrests;
• Tpr. John Witkowski, Troop H, Carlisle, 50 arrests.

The awards recognizing the number of drug influence evaluations conducted will be presented to:

Municipal Officers

• Sgt. Terry Donnelly, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, 70 evaluations;
• Officer Ron Wolfe, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, 68 evaluations;
• Officer Michael Sampere, York Area Regional Police Department, 46 evaluations.

State Police Officers

• Tpr. Eric Miller, Troop D, Mercer, 79 evaluations (also honored for DUI arrests);
• Tpr. Frank Cichra, Troop D, Butler, 74 evaluations;
• Cpl. Brian Torkar, Troop H, York, 73 evaluations;
• Tpr. Daniel Acklin, Troop D, Butler, 61 evaluations;
• Tpr. Christopher Nacios, Troop M, Trevose, 54 evaluations.

Drug influence evaluations are conducted by officers certified as drug recognition experts.  The Drug Evaluation and Classification Program is a national effort to train police officers to determine when an individual has been driving under the influence of drugs and to identify the type of drug causing the impairment.