The Salem Police Department has named Patrolman Ian King as it’s Officer of the Year and Juana Gilbert as its Telecommunicator of the Year.
King was honored for his continued efforts to go above and beyond fighting crime and serving the community with the utmost professionalism. He also received a Commendation Letter for his role in recovering a stolen vehicle that was located at one of the hotels in Salem on November 1st. King’s investigation into the stolen vehicle, through proactive patrols, coordinating and sharing information with other agencies, and following leads he was able to locate and apprehend the suspect. King joined the department in May of 2019.
Gilbert first joined the Salem Police Department in February 1980 for what she planned to be a temporary job until she could start college but fell in love with the work. She was honored for assisting the agency with numerous changes over her nearly 44 years of service. Gilbert was part of the team of six communications officers who answered over 17,000 police-related calls and nearly 4,000 fire and EMS calls for service in 2023.
Several others were also honored. Telecommunicator Emily Meador-Day received a commendation letter and the Life Saving Medal for her role in coordinating first responders to a structure fire with a person trapped on July 1st. She was able to keep in contact with the caller, keeping the caller calm, and providing lifesaving instructions until firefighters could get to the caller.
Detective Sergeant Tyler Rose and K-9 Patrolman Grant Green received Commendation letters for their work is solving the armed robbery of the Circle K store in May. Green with his K-9 partner were able to track articles involved in the armed robbery from the suspect. Rose spent many hours gathering and reviewing videos, conducting follow-ups, and suspect interviews.
Agent Garden with the Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force received a Commendation Letter for opening over 20 cases for the delivery of narcotics which has led to 12 arrests, nine of which were Class X felonies.
