One Holmes Beach police officer brought home the proverbial gold this year.
The Manatee County 100 Club presented its 2021-22 Officer of the Year Award May 19 to Holmes Beach Police Officer Chris Bennett.
Law enforcement officers from across the county can be nominated for the award, including those at the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and from police departments in Bradenton, Palmetto, Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach.
In an April 26 letter nominating Bennett for the award, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said Bennett, in his first year with HBPD, had accepted additional responsibilities, such as serving as a field training officer and conducting 31 arrests during the year.
Tokajer listed a few notable cases Bennett had been involved in, including a Feb. 28, 2021, response to assist emergency medical services with a resident who had fallen and was bleeding.
Tokajer wrote that Bennett kept the victim’s “spirits up” while EMS tended to her injuries, and cleaned up the blood from the incident.
Other cases include the Jan. 27, 2021, arrest of a motorist on supervised release for armed robbery who was found in alleged possession of marijuana and MDMA, or “molly,” and a Feb. 26, 2021, traffic stop when Bennett recovered a stolen firearm.
“We hired Ofc. Bennett in September of 2020,” Tokajer wrote. “He has quickly become an asset to the city and made the city of Holmes Beach a safer place to live, visit and conduct business due to his outstanding police work and dedication to our community.”