EVERETT — Joshua Caudillo-Searle and Kieran Williams acted on instinct last April when they saw a man running away from a park ranger.
The two were practicing martial arts with friends in Sullivan Park at Silver Lake. They heard a commotion, then saw the man run, Caudillo-Searle said. There wasn’t time to think.
With his friend behind him, Williams, 17, chased the man down and grabbed him. Caudillo-Searle, 19, helped bring the man down. The teens held him until police arrived.
“It wasn’t even a thought process, it was an instinct,” Caudillo-Searle said.
Their instinct was right, as it turned out. The man running away from the ranger had a felony warrant. For their swift actions, Caudillo-Searle and Williams on Tuesday received a Citizen Commendation Award from the Everett Police Department.
Martial arts training helped the two friends develop the skills needed to make the right decision and carry it out, said Williams, a junior at Cascade High School in Everett.
Caudillo-Searle recently graduated from Cascade.
“It’s nice to get something you actually earned,” he said.
More than 100 people attended the award ceremony at the Everett Performing Arts Center. The applause was especially enthusiastic when a group of senior citizens went on stage. They volunteer to help the department with many important tasks, Deputy Chief Kathy Atwood said. “They are really a big part of our police family.”
Senior volunteers patrol school zones, enforce handicap parking and help with office work. “We really value their assistance. And they are delightful,” Atwood said.
Everett Police officers Mike Braley and Jay Taylor received a Medal of Merit. When the officers were called to a woman’s home in October they found her on the kitchen floor with a knife sticking out of her chest. She was drunk and distraught. She tried to plunge the knife deeper into her body. The officers managed to restrain her.
“I was just happy we were able to get there in time,” said Braley, holding his baby daughter.
A team of the department’s school resource officers was awarded a Certificate of Merit for developing the Everett Junior Police Academy, a program that allows middle- and high-school students to learn what it’s like to be police officers.
The program has been a huge success, said Eddie Golden, one of the honored officers. “The kids keep telling us they wish it was longer than a week,” he said. “We are hoping to expand it for the benefit of the youth.”
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
Awards
These people received awards and honors from the Everett Police Department:
Detective John Zeka — Investigator of the Year
Sgt. Joe Neussendorfer — Supervisor of the Year
Officer Shea Alexander — Brian DiBucci Award
Officer Kelly Carman — Certificate of Merit
Detective Kevin Fairchild — Certificate of Merit
Fred Ackley— Citizen Commendation
David Muther, Jeffrey Nardis — Citizen Commendation
Abbi Allen — Citizen Commendation
Andrew Alsdorf, Wallace Langbehn, Christopher Sedgewick — Citizen Commendation
Schana Odell, Kimberly Bucy and The Bluffs at Evergreen — Citizen Commendation
Teena Smith — Citizen Commendation
Steve Brevig, Ted Measor — Citizen Commendation
Sgt. Robert Goetz — Certificate of Merit
Trish Stumpf — Citizen Commendation
Officers Mike Braley, Jay Taylor — Medal of Merit
Detective Jim Massingale — Certificate of Merit
Officer Stephen Klocker — Medal of Merit
Sgt. Jeraud Irving, Master Patrol Officer Jeff Hendrickson, Officers Jim Pulley, Bruce Rekow, Jeff Shattuck — Certificate of Merit
Bill Searcy — Volunteer of the Year
Administrative Secretary Caitlin Hartford — Civilian Employee of the Year
Detective Andy Williams — Certificate of Merit
Officer Steve Sieverson — Officer of the Year
Officer Peter-Michael Hegge — Certificate of Merit
Officers Aaron DeFolo, Edward Golden, Meg Nelson, Rick Somerville, Brad Williams — Certificate of Merit
Detective Jamie French – Certificate of Merit
Joshua Caudillo-Searle, Kieran Williams — Citizen Commendation
John Gelzer — Citizen Commendation
Officer Deb Prather — Letter of Commendation
Rebecca Dawson — Citizen Commendation
Adam Colvin, Stephen Keller — Citizen Commendation
Vern Oehlsen — Citizen Commendation
Volunteers in the Seniors Against Crime Program — Certificate of Appreciation
Volunteers Ove Bergan, Charles Moore, Chet Brown, Bill Searcy, Marvel Cummings, Neal Shannon, Clyde Gardner, Vi Shannon, Heather Hanson, Margo Spencer:
Gene Hasson, Fran Taralli, Sam Taralli, Kal Leichtman, Marion Lockleer
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