Respect. Honor. Remember.



 June 2007:
Detective II John O'Toole, Los Angeles Police Department

May 2007:
Detective Bryan McMahon, Lowell (MA) Police Department

April 2007:
Master Officer Ken Hammond, Ogden City (UT) Police Department

  

OFFICER OF THE MONTH - JANUARY 2000


SERGEANT STEVEN T. BARBIERI
SPOKANE COUNTY (WA) SHERIFF'S OFFICE

 November 2008:
Officer Justin Bowman, Chesapeake (VA) Police Department and Officer Brandon Bowman,Virginia Beach (VA) Police Department

October 2008:
Senior Officer Specialist Melissa Foy, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)

September 2008:
Detective Thomas McHale, New York and New Jersey Port Authority Police Department (PAPD)

August 2008:
Detective Sergeant John Jedrejczyk, City of Passaic (NJ) Police Department

July 2008:
Detective Eric M. Kovanda, Bloomfield (CT) Police Department

June 2008:
Officer III Andrew Taylor, Los Angeles Police Department

May 2008:
Sergeant Travis Ash, Baker County (OR) and Sr. Trooper Christopher M. Hawkins, Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife

April 2008:
Officers Christopher Timms and Krzysztof Gesla, Baltimore (MD) Police Department

March 2008:
Officer Brian Bobick, DC Metropolitan Police Department

February 2008:
Officers Derrick Dottin, Alex Capobianco, Steven St. Hilaire, Somerville (MA) Police Department

January 2008:
Officer Benjamin Henrich, City of Prescott (WI) Police Department

December 2007:
Sergeant Stephanie Jackson, Tulsa (OK) Police Department

November 2007:
Special Agents Donovan Williams and Kendall Beels, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security

October 2007:
Detective Michael J. Madonna, Oakland (NJ) Police Department

September 2007:
Special Agent Paul Buta, United States Secret Service

August 2007:
Corporal Philip Crosby and Patrolman Christopher Denton, Fayetteville (AR) Police Department

July 2007:
Detective Tina Lacertosa, Broward County (FL) Sheriff's Office

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) has announced the selection of Sergeant Steven T. Barbieri, of the Spokane County (WA) Sheriff's Office, as its Officer of the Month for January 2000.

At 2:00 p.m. on June 3, 1987, Steven T. Barbieri received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Eastern Washington University. By 6:00 p.m. that evening he was already on the job, as the resident deputy sheriff for Bonner County, Idaho. For the next two years, Deputy Barbieri worked a regular shift in addition to being on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He would cut his law enforcement teeth on almost every type of crime imaginable and experience any cop's worst nightmare, the violent death of a trusted and beloved colleague.

After a home invasion burglary and a shootout with officers in an unmarked car, two felons escaped on foot into the wilds of Idaho. Deputy Barbieri and U.S. Forest Service Officer Brent Jacobson, with whom he was partnered, along with officers from several other law enforcement agencies, pursued the felons for over 23 hours in waist high snow. As Deputy Barbieri and Officer Jacobson closed in on the criminals, they were ambushed and Officer Jacobson was gunned down. Following an intense firefight, the suspects surrendered.

The loss of his partner and friend was a turning point in Deputy Barbieri's career. As he describes it, "Up until that point, the job was fun, but when Brent was killed, I realized there is more to law enforcement." At that point Steve Barbieri's life and career could have taken a much different path, in fact, given similar circumstances, many would have left the law enforcement profession. Deputy Barbieri, however, became more dedicated to his vocation and sought new challenges. Six months after the death of Officer Jacobson, he left Idaho and joined the Spokane County (WA) Sheriff's Office. Like so many law enforcement professionals Deputy Barbieri's greatest weapon in fighting crime has been his intelligence and the knowledge of the criminal justice system, rather than his firearm. The shooting in Idaho is the only time Deputy Barbieri has fired his weapon in trying to subdue a suspect.