From saving lives to catching bad guys, Lexington police recognize heroic deeds

A detective who discovered a local gang whose underage members were linked to 150 crimes.

A police officer who talked a suicidal man off the ledge of a downtown parking garage.

Two citizens who captured a purse-snatcher who had injured a woman during the robbery.

These heroic acts and many more were recognized Tuesday night during the Lexington Police Department's annual awards banquet at the Lexington Convention Center.

Here are a few of the winners.

▪ Detective David Collins received a professional esteem award for his work.

Collins investigated a string of auto thefts on Lexington's south side last year and discovered 30 juveniles who were part of "The Young Finesse Gang." The gang was linked to 150 cases of larceny from vehicles, stolen vehicles and residential burglaries.

The investigation resulted in several juvenile offenders being taken off the streets, police said.

▪ Officer Kevin Duane was credited with quickly establishing a rapport with a man who was threatening suicide while sitting on the ledge on the seventh floor of the parking garage at 140 East Main Street on the morning of Dec. 12. The man was upset because his girlfriend had walked away from him.

Duane reassured the man and was eventually able to persuade him to come away from the ledge. He received a professional esteem award.

▪ Daryl French and Calvin Wilson were the two citizens who nabbed the purse-snatcher.

Police said the men chased after and detained a man who had assaulted a woman and taken her purse on Blazer Parkway Aug. 14. The woman was treated for a severe cut and possible facial fractures.

"Without the actions of these two heroic men following this violent crime, the likelihood of identifying the suspect and completing an arrest would have been greatly diminished," the program for the awards ceremony stated.

▪ Detective Matthew Evans received a professional esteem award for his work on two drug investigations. In one case, he "dismantled a sizeable drug trafficking organization" that was based in Lexington, which resulted in the seizure of 25 kilos of cocaine with a street value of $1.5 million, police said. In the other case, six kilos of cocaine and 1,600 Ecstasy pills were seized, and the drug traffickers were convicted in federal court.

▪ Officer Michael Cornett received a life-saving award and citizens Kevin Burford and Dean Oschwald received the public service award for performing CPR on a man who had collapsed on Cornwall Drive last July. Burford provided rescue breaths and Oschwald provided chest compressions until Cornett arrived and relieved Oschwald. When the fire department arrived, they took over.

No one knew who the man was until later in the day, when the man's wife called a friend who is a police officer and said that her husband had gone out for a run hours before and had not come back. She went to the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital and found her husband in critical care, but he has since made a full recovery.

▪ A group of five law enforcement officers and three citizens were honored for their actions in response to an attack by a man with a machete at a coffee shop at Transylvania University.

Chief Gregg Muravchick, Transylvania's director of public safety, was awarded a meritorious service medal for taking the 19-year-old attacker into custody and rescuing a group of students who had been cornered by him.

Transylvania President Seamus Carey, who helped Muravchick capture the suspect, and Erica Lyvers, a cafe employee who picked up a chair and approached the man after she saw him assault a female student, were both given public service awards.

Marcia Figg, the cafe employee who activated the panic button, received a certificate of appreciation.

Sgt. Christopher Morrow and officers Kevin Duane, Jeffrey Horn and Zachary King received medals of merit for searching the building where the attack occurred to make sure there was no one else involved and helping get people outside to safety.

▪ Amaya Catching, who was paralyzed when she was shot while attending a sleepover for her 12th birthday, was awarded a courage medal at the ceremony.

"When officers spoke with Amaya in regards to her assault, they were immediately impressed with her courage and spirit," the program for the awards ceremony stated. "She calmly recalled the incident, which allowed detectives to quickly move forward in the investigation. When they left the hospital, they noticed Amaya was the one comforting her family and the hospital staff. From the moment she was injured and hospitalized, and throughout her lengthy rehabilitation, she has demonstrated a relentless tenacity to live her life to the fullest."

Some of the other awards winners included: Officer Stephen Cobb, Police Officer of the Year; Detective Ronnelius Arnold, Detective of the Year; Officer Ryan Holland, Uniformed Officer of the Year; Sgt. Christopher Cooper, Supervisor of the Year; Tonia Walters, Civilian Employee of the Year; Officer Ryan Raker, Field Training Officer of the Year; and Cornetta Harris, Customer Service of the Year.

This story was originally published June 19, 2018 at 10:34 PM with the headline "From saving lives to catching bad guys, Lexington police recognize heroic deeds."