Lamoille County cops awarded for service in different ways

All four local agencies honored one of their officers, and the state’s attorney’s office named one.

Receiving the state’s attorney’s nod was deputy Florian “Flo” Delva of the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department. Gerhard presented the award, saying Delva “tirelessly advocates” for domestic assault victims, and often follows up with them at homeless shelters or wherever they may be.

“Whether he is seen at a local basketball game, riding a skateboard, receiving the infamous Girl Scout cookies, or partaking in various community events, Flo is there with a smile on his face,” Gerhard said. “He cares deeply about Lamoille County, and he maintains a level of professionalism that is to be admired, regardless of the situation he is in.”

The sheriff’s department honored deputy Heidi Patch, who serves as the department’s quartermaster and who has been with the agency since 2005 — she was a key part of the dispatch team before going to the police academy in 2008.

Sheriff Roger Marcoux said Patch does it all, but pointed to her initiative in making sure thousands of people get fingerprinted for employee background files. Last year she did the fingerprints for 1,200 school employees in Chittenden County, going to every school with a high-tech fingerprint machine. This year, she started doing the same for all the nurses in the state.

“This might not sound like a big deal, but if somebody doesn’t do it, these folks can’t continue to operate,” Marcoux said.

Sgt. Brooke O’Steen was the recipient for the Stowe Police Department. Her senior detective colleague, Lt. Fred Whitcomb, said in his remarks that O’Steen “exemplifies the word ‘service.’”

“(She) acts not only as a mentor, but also as a role model and friend for other officers. Her sound judgment, impeccable character, and vast knowledge exceed expectations on a daily basis. She is humble and kind, with the perfect blend of empathy sprinkled into mix,” Whitcomb wrote. “Sgt. O’Steen continues to adapt to the constant shifting paradigm and trends in policing.”

The Vermont State Police gave its award to Trooper Clay Knight, who Gerhard said is the most omnipresent trooper in the county — she said, so far this year, Knight has worked more than 100 total cases, including 70 traffic stops, and made 13 arrests.

Gerhard said Knight, whose youthful appearance belies his senior officer status, works the third shift and fields phone calls from the state’s attorney’s office at all hours of the night.

“He also has a habit of finding himself in the middle of every gunfight, hostage situation and other very volatile situation in the county,” Gerhard said.

Morristown Police Department honored senior patrol officer Lance Lamb. Chief Jason Luneau said the easy-going officer — true to his name — is first and foremost a diplomat and makes it a habit to build relationships with business owners and others in town as a proactive way of keeping things safe.

“I once worked for a boss who told me that the best tool police officer has isn’t his gun or his taser, it’s actually his mouth,” Luneau said. “A good police officer needs to be able to communicate and talk with the people they deal with on a daily basis, and this is something that patrolman Lamb does very well.”

Also getting a nod — and a bunch of pats and ball tosses — was four-legged officer Kubo, the recently retired police dog of Morristown detective Chris Tetreault. Kubo, who is 8 years old, began his career in 2016 as a puppy.

According to Luneau, during his career, Kubo participated in more than 100 deployments and is estimated to have seized over $50,000 in cash, 1,100 bags of heroin and eight ounces of crack cocaine.

And that doesn’t count his last big bust, made just before retiring at the end of last year — 900 grams of fentanyl, 48 grams of crack and several prescription pills.

His last haul? A big bag of dog biscuits from the state’s attorney’s office.