Police name officer of the year, pay tribute to fallen officers
NEW CANAAN — The town’s police department this week honored those who died in the line of duty and recognized the 2020 Stephen W. Wood Officer of the Year Award recipient.
Police officers, firefighters and emergency medical services workers lined the front parking lot of the police building as Chief Leon Krolikowski on Thursday presented the Stephen W. Wood Officer of the Year Award to Rex Sprosta.
“It’s surreal. If you think about the people I was in the running with, I don't put myself ahead of anybody else. I put myself along with (them),” Sprosta said after the ceremony. “To be recognized by my peers and my command staff, it means the world to me right now.”
The late Wood was a New Canaan police officer from 1977 to 2009 and the honor is awarded to the officer each year who exhibits integrity, exceptional work and a dedication of service to the community. Sprosta was selected by his commanding officers as the most deserving recipient.
“Attitude is everything. Rex has a professional, caring, and cooperative attitude, which are qualities that we all should emulate,” Krolikowski said.
Sprosta, like Wood, served in the U.S. Marine Corps prior to becoming a member of the department. He credited his department members with keeping the same promise everyday that he gives to them.
“If I do my best to make sure they get home safely, I know that they are doing the same for me,” he said. “My attitude and the way I am with my peers speaks for itself.”
After Krolikowski presented Sprosta with the award, he pivoted toward the day’s other focus.
Krolikowski explained how May 15 is National Peace Officers Memorial Day with the calendar week around that day is known as National Police Week.
“Established by a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others,” he said.
He read the names of Chief Constable Louis Drucker, who was killed in the line of duty on Jan. 25, 1888 after being shot by a bootlegger, and Officer James Martin, who died in the line of duty during a summer storm on July 24, 1991. While paying respects to New Canaan’s own, he said the ceremony was also in remembrance of officers across the country.
“In 2020, across our nation, 264 officers died in the line of duty,” Krolikowski said, adding that 119 officers have died in 2021 already. “Today, we honor these men and women.”