NORWICH POLICE OFFICER TO RECEIVE FEDERAL AWARD

Norwich — A local officer next week will be honored with a federal award for his outstanding community policing work, Sgt. First Class John Perry said in a Wednesday evening news release.

Officer Christopher Chastang will receive the award during a U.S. Department of Justice awards ceremony on Oct. 7, which is the last day of the DOJ’s National Community Policing Week.

According to Perry, Chastang has been part of the Community Policing Unit since it was created in 2011. In that time, he’s been able to create partnerships in which officers and residents work together to solve problems, Perry wrote.

Some of Chastang’s community policing efforts include:

volunteering as a Police Athletic League basketball coach while off duty to coach and teach 5- and 6-year-old Norwich children about team support, friendship, good sportsmanship and athletics.

spearheading the Norwich National Night Out event for three years, which entailed planning the event, raising donations, coordinating vendors’ efforts and evaluating past National Night Out events.

monitoring the actions, places of employment and places of residency of the city’s registered sex offenders as the sole member of the department’s Sex Offender Registry Unit.

attending monthly neighborhood watch meetings and assisting residents with solving problems in their neighborhoods.

“Officer Chastang engages in the broad spectrum of ‘community’ and he creates a sustainable atmosphere in which the citizens of Norwich can work, play and raise families,” Perry wrote. “The members of the Norwich Police Department are truly proud of his efforts.”