We have selected Officers Daniel Riley and Chandler Barney from The Albion Department of Public Safety Department as 2023 Police Officer Of The Year recipients for their teamwork and quick thinking in protecting innocent lives from an armed and dangerous subject.
Swift Response To Armed Forcible Entry
At around mid-afternoon in June 2022, officers in the Albion Department of Public Safety received a dispatch call conveying the message of a man with a gun. According to 911, an adult female caller had described the situation as the armed subject attempting to force entry into their home. The household had adult and children occupants in immediate danger of the gunman’s advances. Officers Riley and Barney were the first to respond to the distress call and immediately entered the building. The officers made their way through the threshold, spotting an armed suspect with a handgun in his pocket heading toward the kitchen in pursuit of the house occupants. Officers Riley and Barney assumed a tactical position and cautiously followed the man toward the direction of the kitchen.
A Life-Threatening Judgment Call
The armed suspect had his back turned against the officers as he pointed his gun at the kitchen. At that point, Officer Riley commanded the suspect to drop his weapon twice but was ignored. Instead, the gunman held onto his weapon at a 45-degree angle toward the floor and the wall to the right of Officer Riley, turning to face the officers.
Officer Riley instinctively responded by firing two shots at the armed trespasser, fatally wounding him and ending the threat to the household despite the officers’ best lifesaving attempts on the suspect.
The footage captured by the officers’ body cameras and witness accounts, coupled with other supporting documents, all point that Officer Riley had acted courageously in self-defense in a highly stressful and dangerous situation while safeguarding his fellow officer and the innocent occupants of the household.
Commitment to Protecting Those In Need
Officer Riley has been with the Albion Department of Public Safety for nearly seven years and is a member of the Calhoun County Special Response Team (SRT) and Calhoun Area Multi-Jurisdiction Evidence Team (CAMJET). Officer Riley devotes most of his time to his wife and three children when off-duty. Officer Chandler continues to work closely with his fellow officers at The Albion Department of Public Safety, focusing on providing the community with the highest law enforcement standards.
POAM recognizes and rewards the most courageous law enforcement team members for their bravery and contributions in the face of immediate danger. For their selfless commitment to preserving justice and saving a household from imminent injury and casualty, we present the 2023 P.O. Of The Year Award to Officers Daniel Riley and Chandler Barney.
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