ROCHESTER, Minn.--The Rochester Police Department held their Annual Award Ceremony to recognize it’s members for their service.
The honorary event brought together those representing RPD and their families at the Rochester International Event Center.
Rochester Mayor Norton did the welcome for the ceremony , saying RPD provides 'state of the art policing' despite the difficulty and danger they face.
RPD chief, Jim Franklin says the officers in Rochester play a role as guardians for the city, and thanks the community for it's support.
As the award portion of the program began, it was broken up into groups for people to receive their "Letter of Recognition", "Commendation", "Lifesaving", and "Valor" awards.
There were 3 officers who received an award for "Valor". KIMT News 3 spoke with one, Sgt. Steve Thompson, who stepped into duty while he was off to assist his neighbor who had been shot. He also shared what good policing looks like.
"Be willing to help people on their worst days. which is often times what we do. and you never know what you're gonna run into on or off duty.” he says. “Just be ready to do your best. let your training take over and hopefully things will work out."
Chief Franklin also spoke on the work of his department.
“It's not lost on me that i think we've had a couple of tough years in law enforcement so again, this is our opportunity to say this is your Rochester police department and we're here to serve you."
The chief says public safety is “a shared responsibility in this community. I think that's a source of strength for this community and law enforcement has a lot of support from Rochester citizens.”
Over 60 people were awarded by RPD during the ceremony.
