Alexandria Police Officer Evans with Attorney General Loretta Evans on Friday, October 7. (Photo courtesy of the Alexandria Police Department.)
Alexandria Police Officer Bennie Evans was one of 12 law enforcement officers from nine jurisdictions across the country honored at a ceremony on October 7. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch presented Evans with the award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing, a new prestigious honor to recognize everyday rank and file officers.
Officer Evans was selected for the way he embraces community policing during field operations and through voluntary participation in projects for the police department and local nonprofit organizations. A lead instructor in the Alexandria Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team, he provides officer training in suicide intervention, substance abuse, and other issues. He also serves as the department’s homeless outreach liaison. He works to help residents in need and has helped build trust in the communities he serves. Officer Evans has successfully de-escalated numerous violent and attempt suicide calls for service.
The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing recognizes individual state, local or tribal sworn police officers and deputies who exemplify remarkable achievements in innovative community policing strategies, criminal investigations, and field operations. In the more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies throughout the country, the everyday work of individual officers previously went unsung.
