Sheriff Sean Casey and the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office celebrated staff accomplishments with an employee awards ceremony on April 30. Several City officials attended the program which honored employees who had been selected by their colleagues for recognition.

The ceremony began with the Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard presenting the colors and Deputy Omar Herring singing the national anthem. Master Deputy Todd Stubblefield provided the invocation and offered a moment of silence for the four law enforcement officers killed in Charlotte on April 29. Captain Treska Lytle served as emcee and welcomed guests, and then retired Army Colonel Jim Paige, executive director of Concerned Citizens Network of Alexandria, delivered the keynote speech.

In the first presentation, representatives of American Legion Alexandria Post 24 announced Deputy Carlos Cañas as their 2024 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. Deputy Cañas was recognized for his outstanding work in training and community outreach and as a member of the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team, Civil Disobedience Unit, Honor Guard and Project Lifesaver team, in addition to his regular duties. Post Commander Kelly Niernberger and Vice Commander Donna Reuss presented Deputy Cañas with a plaque and congratulated him on his award.

Then members of the Sheriff’s Office Employee Awards committee announced the winners as Sheriff Casey presented the following awards:

Esprit de Corps – Deputy Reyhan Can
Unit Spirit – Security Team 2A
Outstanding Performance
    Sworn line staff – Deputy Austin Grant
    Professional line staff – LaTesse Edwards
    Sworn supervisor – Captain Treska Lytle
    Professional staff supervisor – Tanisha Anderson
Best New Employee
    Sworn – Deputy Jasmine Jones
    Professional – Elizabeth Anderson
Master Deputy of the Year – Master Deputy Latonya Covington
Life Saving – Master Deputy Antonio Villatoro, Deputy Jaida Rose and Deputy Sean Scalsky
Shining Star – Sergeant Angela Speight
Outstanding Contributions by an Employee of a City Agency, Organization or Contractor – Roderick Valerio, R.N., Wellpath

Sheriff Casey then addressed the audience and announced special recognition for Deputy Rose. He noted that although he had recently recognized Deputy Rose with a Sheriff’s Commendation at her team’s roll call, he wanted to highlight her actions that prevented another deputy from using unnecessary force. Since the Office adopted active bystandership training and policies in 2020, deputies are required to intervene to prevent harm and misconduct by their peers. Sheriff Casey announced that because of her actions, Deputy Rose would be receiving a monetary merit award.

In closing, Sheriff Casey thanked the awards committee members for their work on the event and he also thanked the many guests for celebrating these outstanding employees.