2023 Awards Banquet
Retirement Recognition
Sergeant Poole – 25 years of service
K-9 Bella – 6.5 years of service
Commendation Pins
these pins are awarded when officers attend training and work to advance their professionalism by achieving certifications:
- Sergeant Brady Lee – Instructor
- Sergeant Brady Lee – Accident reconstruction
- K-9 Sergeant Alan Ware – K-9
- Corporal Matthew Hagins – FTO
- Officer Trevor Huestess – FTO
- Investigator Blake Hill – Education
- Investigator Blake Hill – Military
Time in Service Pin
- Assistant Chief Grant – 20 years of service
- Lieutenant Kevin Blake – 20 years of service
Clerk of Court
Our Clerk of Court and Assistant Clerk of Court work tirelessly on behalf of our citizens, city, and officers. We are grateful for their commitment and professionalism and for that reason we recognized them for their service to our community.
Commanders Award for Excellence
This award was sponsored by TEC Equipment Rental and was awarded to Corporal Matthew Hagins.
Corporal Hagins has continuously shown compassion and professionalism in his dealings with the community through his calls for service, traffic stops or just simple interactions, such as helping obtain a bus ticket for a stranded citizen. He has also shown interest and is the driving force on implementing an Explorers program for the Police Department. His passion for our future leaders is helping to create a strong Explorers Program that will represent the City extremely well.
Corporal Hagins was promoted to Corporal this year and has taken a direct approach to his supervisor responsibilities, all while keeping up with his proactive patrol duties.
Supervisor Certificate of Appreciation
This award was sponsored by TEC Equipment Rental and was awarded to Investigator Jason Carnavale and Records Clerk Sabrina Todd. They are the recipients of the Supervisor Certificate of Appreciation.
Investigator Carnavale has assisted patrol on multiple occasions with functions that are out of the scope of his everyday operations. He, without being asked or prompted, has taken warrants to Lexington County Detention Center to be served and assisted with transports when the road was short staffed. He additionally has shown up to calls with patrol to assist without being notified by radio or phone. Investigator Carnavale goes out of his way to help his fellow officers, which has been noticed by his peers and supervisors. Investigator Carnavales dedication and selfless acts, that help in countless ways, are commendable and do not go unnoticed.
Sabrina works tirelessly to keep the Cayce Police Department compliant with State and Federal requirements for records management, FOIA request, court issued subpoenas, submitting SCIBRS data to SLED, submitting collision reports to SCDMV, emergency defense attorney request with unrealistic deadlines, processing case files for the Solicitor’s Office, and assisting the Clerk of Court’s Office. Sabrina’s dedication to the Cayce Police Department and the CPD family is evident in how hard she works, often staying late to get work done, coming in on weekends and her willingness to help anyone with their problems even if it means she must stop what she is doing which delays the completion of one or more of her many daily challenges. Sabrina’s dedication, motivation and work ethic are why she deserves the Supervisors Certificate of Appreciation.
School Resource Officer of the Year
This award was sponsored by Shellback and was awarded to Dee Cochran.
Sidayah “Dee” Cochran has built relationships with the children in her school and has made the children feel like they have a safe space to come and talk to her. Since Cochran has been with Cayce, she has implemented a “Star Student” award. This award is given out monthly to any student within her school who has been nominated or one that she has chosen. The nominated student then gets to pick something out of her store that she has created. This award is something Cochran has taken the time to do without the help of the school or the department. This program was a way of reaching the students in a positive way, while growing relationships. Cochran created the award in honor of her sister to help young women promote life skills and become strong women. Cochran has a good relationship with the elementary school that she currently works at and tries everyday to make the school a better, safer place for all the students, staff, and parents. Cochran comes to school each day with a positive attitude and a smile on her face.
Community Service Award
Presented to Shellback Tactical’s Mr. Ken Hayes
Ken Hayes, owner of Shellback Tactical, has been a part of the Cayce Community since 2019. During this time Ken Hayes has donated several items to the Cayce Police Department to help officers. After Cpl. Barr passed, Ken helped outfit every officer with a plate carrier. This was done with no questions asked and quickly helped with the safety of the officers. This goes without saying that whenever we ask for something Ken tries to get it and will do everything he can to find something that is the best quality for the officer and to help the department. Ken has always welcomed any officer that stops by his business whether it’s just to say hello, look around or add to their collection of equipment on their duty belt. We appreciate the commitment and loyalty that Ken and his company have for our officers and our department. We look forward to working with Ken for years to come. This year Ken sponsored the Rookie of the Year award. His generosity and commitment to the City are above and beyond and we are honored to present him with the Community Service Award.
Rookie of the Year
This award was sponsored by Shellback and was awarded to Officer Jordan Henderson.
Officer Henderson, since the beginning of his career at Cayce, has shown an eagerness to learn and comes in ready to serve the people of Cayce. He always shows up to work in a good mood and properly motivated. He is willing to learn and asks appropriate questions and wants to improve his knowledge in law enforcement. Officer Henderson is always willing to assist others and takes on any task with great enthusiasm for work. He comes to work in proper uniform and is willing to tackle the everyday idiosyncrasies that is police work. Officer Henderson is as an asset to the Cayce Police Department.
Award of Outstanding Commendation
This award was sponsored by Amick’s Firearms and was awarded to Investigator Jason Carnavale.
Investigator Carnavale was one of the responding officers to a barricaded subject, who was known to have firearms in the home. While other officers held the house and perimeter, Investigator Carnavale was able to make contact with the subject. Investigator Carnavale was able to approach the subject and establish a rapport with him. With his understanding and commitment, especially to his and others’ wellbeing, Investigator Carnavale was able to talk the subject into custody without any further incident. The subject was then transported to the hospital where he could receive the proper treatment.
Shift of the Year
Delta Shift (Sergeant Lee, Corporal Hagins, K-9 Sergeant Ware, Officer Heustess): This award was sponsored by TEC Equipment Rental.
Delta shift has approximately 639 issued citations, many of which resulted in arrest and were a result of self-initiated activity. Proactive police work is paramount to suppressing crime and making our city safe. Delta shift also has approximately 82 arrest warrants where many were also a result of self-initiated activity. Delta shift has assisted other jurisdictions numerous times through mutual aid with K-9 tracks, scene security and other services while not neglecting their duties to the City of Cayce. Delta shift is constantly striving for doing things better and striving to be the image of the Cayce Police Departments commitment of excellence.
Investigator of the Year
This award was sponsored by The Public Safety Foundation and Retired Sergeant Brandon Poole. The recipient of this award was Investigator Robert Garman.
In the past year Investigator Garman has carried a regular case load, assisted with training new investigators assigned to CID, and worked patrol shifts as needed. Investigator Garman accomplished all of this while working with the Secret Service to build the cell phone/electronic device examination program. This new and unique program has required Inv. Garman to travel out of state for extended periods of time for training and to be away from the CID office to work in the Secret Service lab. Investigator Garman does not allow his case work for the Cayce Police Department to suffer while working to establish the program; which is an ongoing process. Due to Investigator Garman’s persistence, diligence and hard work, the Cayce Police Department is able to conduct cell phone examinations with a completed report in less than two weeks. Had the devices been sent to an outside agency, due to their backlog, the average examination and report could take two months. Neighboring agencies have also benefited from the program. Because of Investigator Garman’s efforts we are able to obtain information faster, which enables cases to come to a resolution quicker, in return the department and victims are better served.
Support Officer of the Year
This award was sponsored by an anonymous donor and the recipient was Kristen Hall.
Kristen has been with Cayce Police Department since August 2022. When Kristen arrived at the police department, she was met with several obstacles that had to be overcome and adapted to working in a very challenging area. Kristen completely revamped evidence and has worked hard to fix problems that were an issue in the past. Kristen took the time to understand what the department needed to make evidence better and easier for officers when entering or handling evidence. Kristen has taken the time to go to other agencies to understand the best way to handle evidence and learn easier ways to help officers with less paperwork and steps when entering evidence. Kristen took the time to help with Smart Cop and make it more efficient for all officers. Kristen also has helped with several community events during or after hours. She is always willing to learn something new that will better our department. Kristen’s commitment to the Cayce Police Department each day that she comes to work is apparent in her work ethic and her attitude in everything she does.
Supervisor of the Year
This award was sponsored by Ace Hardware and the recipient was Lieutenant Trevor Hall.
Lieutenant Hall may not have been in this position for very long, however he exemplifies what a true leader should encompass. Lieutenant Hall is always looking out for his team and going above and beyond to make sure that his team has adequate team members out on the road. Even though he is a supervisor he responds out to calls, will come in day or night as needed, and even takes the extra step to encourage and train team members to help them be successful when they are promoted to supervisory positions.
For example, during several recent promotions, Lieutenant Hall took the extra step to ride along with them to make sure that they were comfortable in all the duties that being a supervisor entailed. This is very admirable, because not all supervisors would go above and beyond like that.
Not only does Lieutenant Hall look out for team #1, he looks out for all Cayce Team Members, and he is trusted and well respected. When a team member feels that they need to talk, wants some advice, or just wants to have a good conversation, they call on Lieutenant Hall because they know he will listen and give them the necessary advice or support. Lieutenant Hall truly cares, and it shows.
Roy Barr Officer of the Year Award.
Roy Barr Officer of the Year Award.
Sergeant Lee has shown that, through great adversity and tragedy, a person can show unwavering support for the department. His attitude and passion for Cayce is clear and cannot be overlooked. Sergeant Lee has, in the past year, been promoted to Corporal and Sergeant. He has shown the significant qualities of a leader that must be present to support his fellow officers and his ability to relate to them as well. He has proven to be a great teacher and student at the same time, which is essential for a leader. Leadership is not based on how many tickets, warnings or warrants that you have written, it is based on your peers and fellow supervisor’s thoughts and beliefs of you as a person. His love for this department shows through in his passion for law enforcement and his commitment to this department and his officers. Sergeant Lee is the epitome of a working leader.