Last month, the East Cobb Business Association sponsored the fourth annual East Cobb Public Safety Appreciation Celebration for Precinct 4’s police and personnel. A highlight of the evening was the presentation of Officers of the Year awards. The recipients of these awards are named below. EAST COBBER reprinted excerpts of the speeches made before each award was presented.
BRADLEY BURROWS EVENING WATCH OFFICER OF THE YEAR
Officer Burrows was hired by the Cobb County Police Department in December of 2015 and, after his successful completion of mandate, was assigned to Precinct Four Evening Watch.
Officer Burrows has since become very knowledgeable in his position as a patrol officer and he continually strives to better himself every day. Over the past year, Officer Burrows has become very effective in combating crime and is one of the top producers in all categories on Evening Watch. His efforts reflect his dedication to the job and the department.
Officer Burrows, who prefers to work the northwest area of Precinct Four, has made contacts with several of the businesses on his beat which have enabled him to develop suspects in various illegal activities. This has led to him making several significant arrests including the arrest of a driver after locating a hidden box affixed to the bottom of his vehicle which was being used to conceal and transport illegal drugs and arresting a convicted felon who was wanted on an armed robbery parole warrant that was also in possession of a gun.
Additionally, in May of this year, Officer Burrows took part in the arrest of a serial armed robber that had recently robbed the Goodwill stores in Woodstock and Douglas County. Officer Burrows, along with other officers, confronted the suspect as he fled out of the Goodwill store on Shallowford Road after just committing an armed robbery in the store. Aside from his crime fighting efforts, Officer Burrows has also been a part of several life-saving incidents: such as applying a tourniquet to a victim of a stabbing, and then just last month performing CPR on an unresponsive person of a possible overdose. For these reasons, and many others, Officer Burrows is recognized and awarded as the Precinct Four Evening Watch Officer of the Year.
DETECTIVE PAUL BARNHILL 2017 CIU-4 DETECTIVE OF THE YEAR
Proper case management takes persistence, skill and intuition. Detective Paul Barnhill continues to display the talents necessary to be a successful investigator. Over the past year, Detective Barnhill has had the highest rate of arrest and maintained the highest clearance rate of assigned cases.
Over the past year, Detective Barnhill has displayed his talents throughout many investigations. In April, Detective Barnhill was called out by another precinct following an entering auto of an elections poll worker. He responded and processed the victim’s car in the parking lot of a restaurant. Paul recovered a fingerprint that ultimately led to the identification of the suspects. He was presented with an award through the Secretary of State’s Office for his actions.
Throughout the year, Detective Barnhill has been a part of a multi-agency task force investigating a commercial burglary crew targeting convenience stores, pharmacies and other retail establishments. The crew is known to have victimized 59 separate jurisdictions in Georgia, as well as several others in Tennessee and South Carolina. RICO charges are pending against more than 20 different suspects for over 150 commercial burglaries.
These cases are just a small example of the outstanding work Detective Barnhill does on a daily basis. He continues to be a fine example of the high standards required by the Cobb County Police Department and CIU-4. For these reasons and many more, Detective Paul Barnhill has been chosen as the 2017 Detective of the Year.
FTO THOMAS R. BURNS FIELD TRAINING OFFICER (FTO); MORNING WATCH OFFICER OF THE YEAR
FTO Burns joined the Cobb County Police Department on May 2006, after starting his law enforcement career with the Atlanta Police Department. He was promoted to the position as a Field Training Officer in 2015, where his responsibilities changed to directly training new recruits. His leadership and professionalism stands tall on a shift with mostly young officers who are still developing their skills as police officers. FTO Burns is an essential part of the shift as a senior and veteran law enforcement officer. He has successfully trained four recruits in the last 18 months. Three of the four officers are still on Morning Watch at precinct four and all of those voted unanimously for FTO Burns for this award along with several others. The amount of votes FTO Burns garnered from his peers is an example of his position on the shift as someone the officers he trained and those he didn’t look to for guidance. This year is especially special in recognizing FTO Burns as he has had a roller coaster of a year, beginning with his wedding in June 2017, to the sudden passing of his father, Thomas Burns III, just 19 days later. We shared in the excitement of FTO Burns’s marriage and in his sorrow and mourning of his father’s passing. As a shift, we, The FRUITBATS, again share in the excitement of this award and are thrilled to name FTO T.R. Burns as our Officer of the Year!
TRISTAN MCCULLOCH DAY SHIFT OFFICER OF THE YEAR
Officer McCulloch consistently ranks near the top in his number of arrests, citations written, incident reports written and calls for service. He is highly motivated and dependable. He is always positive when it comes to his duties and creates a positive image for the police department overall.
Officer McCulloch always arrives early for his shift and rarely requests days off. He volunteers to work overtime and comes in on his days off when help is needed. He is an officer that can be counted on with everything and is never heard complaining.
Officer McCulloch is very proactive and is quick to respond to calls. He always steps up and will be the primary officer on calls and never tries to pass off reports to other officers. He has a great working knowledge and is always lending a helping hand to new and veteran officers.
Officer McCulloch has the respect of his fellow officer’s across the board on our shift. He has a good sense of humor and is personable. He communicates well with his fellow officers and with supervision.
Officer McCulloch is a fine example of what a Cobb County Police Officer is all about. Officer McCulloch deserves to be the Day Shift Officer of the year.
This article originally appeared in the November issue of the EAST COBBER magazine, on pages 16-17. Click HERE to access the digital edition.
