December 2013/January 2014 Smart, Safe & Sober Newsletter

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Greater Washington Law Enforcement Lauded for Fight Against Drunk Driving
16th-Annual Event Honors Local Police in Fight Against DUI

Washington, DC, Dec. 13 – One-dozen Washington-metropolitan area police officers were cited today for their “outstanding commitment in the fight against drunk driving in Greater Washington” and presented with the area’s 16th-annual “Law Enforcement Awards of Excellence for Impaired Driving Prevention.”

Presented this morning at a regional ceremony held in McLean, Virginia, the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) presented its 2013 Law Enforcement Awards to:

• City of Alexandria Police Department Officer John Brattelli
• Arlington County Police Department Officer Tracey Bates
• City of Falls Church Police Department Officer Sameer Khan
• Fairfax County Police Department Master Police Officer Patrick Nolan
• Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Alexander Bracke
• Maryland State Police Trooper Brian R. McInerney
• Metropolitan Police Department Officer George H. Donigian, Jr.
• Montgomery County Department of Police Officer John Romack
• Prince George’s County Police Department Officer First Class Justin Black
• Prince William County Police Department Officer II Jeremy A. Schenck
• United States Park Police Officer Matthew Manning
• Virginia State Police Trooper Kevin S. Fleenor

The annual awards, presented at a ceremony this morning at Maggiano’s Little Italy in the Tysons Galleria, were bestowed by WRAP in memory of Metropolitan Police Department’s Motor Patrol Officer Anthony W. Simms. Officer Simms, as a result of injuries sustained while on duty, lost his life to an impaired driver during Memorial Day weekend in 1996. WRAP’s 2013 Law Enforcement Awards were presented by Officer Simms’ widow, Lieutenant Pamela Simms, also formerly with the Metropolitan Police Department, along with News4’s (NBC) News Anchor Aaron Gilchrist. Today’s event speakers included the Superintendents of both the Maryland and Virginia State Police, Colonel Marcus L. Brown and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, respectively.

“Today’s awardees represent the front lines in the fight against drunk driving in Greater Washington,” said Kurt Gregory Erickson, WRAP’s President. “It is only through their commitment in stopping the threat that impaired driving presents to all our friends and families that the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia each posted declining numbers of alcohol-impaired traffic fatalities last year.”

In addition to receiving the Law Enforcement Awards, each of the 2013 WRAP honorees also received a Checkpoint Strikeforce briefcase, shirt and ticket board as well as a pair of complementary Washington Nationals tickets (courtesy of the Washington Nationals) and a $ 25 gift card to Glory Days Grill (courtesy of Glory Days Grill).

Founded in 1982, the nonprofit [501(c)(3)] Washington Regional Alcohol Program is an award-winning public-private partnership working to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking in the Washington-metropolitan area. Through public education, innovative health education programs and advocacy, WRAP is credited with keeping the metro-Washington area’s alcohol-related traffic deaths consistently lower than the national average. WRAP, however, may best be known to area residents via the organization’s popular free cab ride service for would-be drunk drivers, SoberRide®.

For more information, visit WRAP’s web site at www.wrap.org.

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