Police, Firefighters Honored With Elks Awards
The Dalton Elks Lodge recently honored three members of the City of Dalton's public safety agencies with the club's annual awards. Detective Jason Robinson and Sergeant Chris McDonald were recognized from the Dalton Police Department while Lt. Scott Brock was honored from the Dalton Fire Department.
Detective Jason Robinson was honored with the Elks' Public Safety Officer of the Year Award. Robinson has served the department with distinction since 2006, but was nominated for the award based on the work he's done in more recent years as the agency's intelligence analyst in the Criminal Investigations Division. In that role, Detective Robinson was able to investigate a series of online scams that were originating in Dalton last year and locate and arrest the suspect while also identifying additional victims of the scam. In February of 2021, Detective Robinson studied a series of burglaries targeting businesses along I-75 and developed strategies for Dalton patrol officers to try to prevent them from striking in the city. Detective Robinson's plan worked. Last fall, Detective Robinson assisted the patrol division in identifying the owners of stolen property recovered from a suspect who was removing catalytic converters from vehicles at a local car dealership. Also, in September, Detective Robinson was asked to follow up on a case that involved some suspicious activity surrounding potential fraud. Detective Robinson was able to take limited information and discover a group of suspects that were using multiple stolen identities to purchase high value items including vehicles and guns. His investigation has led to a case being prosecuted in Federal Court because it covers multiple states and a large group of suspects. In December, Detective Robinson investigated an online threat against schools made through a social media app. He was able to track the origin of the threats and assist in identifying the suspect responsible for making them.
Sergeant Chris McDonald was the police department's recipient for the Elks Dedication To Service Award. Sergeant McDonald is a mentor to many of the department's officers, having served many years as the agency's training coordinator and now as a supervisor in the patrol division. In his nomination, Assistant Chief Chris Crossen said that McDonald has "served to build the professionalism of the other officers in the agency and expanded the training offered by the department and made some major improvements in the area of training... Sergeant McDonald is recognized by the officers in our agency as a reliable source for training and has been recognized by many surrounding agencies for his skills in this area as well." Sergeant McDonald is a 25 year veteran of the police department.
Lt. Scott Brock is the fire department's recipient of the Elks Dedication To Service Award. Lt. Brock has served the fire department for more than 23 years and is currently the A-Shift lieutenant at Station 5. In his nomination, Battalion Chief Brandon Bray noted that Lt. Brock's service extends beyond his shift hours. Bray wrote, "He spends countless hours on and off duty to extend service to the homeless in his district. Lieutenant Brock knows the names and location (camps) of most of the homeless in district 5 and 3. He has collected jackets and sleeping bags and distributed them to most of the homeless on the north end of the city. He knows most of them by name and keeps an open dialog with them on a regular basis. He often demonstrates compassion and treats the homeless with respect. I consider him an example to how we should treat people." Lt. Brock also goes on annual mission trips off-duty to serve those less fortunate.
The City of Dalton congratulates these exemplary employees on the honors.
Below (left to right): DPD portraits of Detective Robinson and Sergeant Chris McDonald; Lt. Scott Brock is congratulated by Fire Chief Todd Pangle,
