Pea Ridge officers recognized for performance

Pea Ridge Police officers were recognized at the annual Christmas dinner Dec. 7.

Awards presented were:

Letter of commendation

• Officer Wyatt Varner received a letter of commendation for his high degree of initiative and professionalism in the performance of his duties. Officer Varner led the department in arrests for 2019 with over 100 arrests which included multiple felony, DWI and drug-related arrests. His proactive patrol through the city on the midnight shift has also helped deter property crimes throughout our neighborhoods.

“Officer Varner represents the department in an outstandingly professional manner, and we are proud to have him as an officer with this department,” Police Chief Lynn Hahn said.

• Captain Chris Olson and Lieutenant Michael Lisenbee both received letters of commendation for their efforts in running the operations of the police department in the absence of a police chief during the first half of 2019. They both represented the department in an outstanding and professional manner and have continued to do so to this day.

Citizen of the Year

• Cassey Hensen was named Citizen of the Year, an award which is not normally an employee, but this year it is indeed Police Clerk Cassey Hensen. She is the only non-sworn employee of the Police Department. She is the face of the department when citizens come to the department. She has a huge heart. Not only does she truly care about Pea Ridge residents, but she cares about our officers and she does everything within her power to assist both. Her job is overwhelming, but she handles it with professionalism and grace.

Officer of the Year

• Corporal John Langham was awarded the Pea Ridge Officer of the Year. Cpl. Langham was also the officer of the year in 2015. The officer of the year is often chosen based solely on performance stats such as traffic stops or arrests. Sometimes on acts of valor. This year’s Officer of the Year has been a police officer for many years and has plenty of stats and acts of courage on his resume.

Besides excelling at his daily patrol duties, Cpl.

Langham oversees the evidence department and in 2019 was instrumental in the progression of the Police Department by assisting with the installation and setup of computers in all of the patrol vehicles. This effort single-handily saved the Police Department and the city anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000. Cpl. Langham also completed training in 2019 as a Crisis Intervention Officer and Hostage/Crisis Negotiation.

Commendation letters were all from Chief Hahn. Both the Citizen of the Year and Officer of the Year were chosen by the entire staff.