The Top Cops of Mississippi were honored Thursday in Jackson during National Police Week.

Members of the Vicksburg Police Department and Warren County Sheriff’s Office attended the Police and Sheriffs Memorial and Appreciation Luncheon where some of their own were highlighted.

 

Vicksburg Police Department

Sgt. Tommy Curtis and Investigator Ronnie Ingram from the Vicksburg Police Department were honored for their work in solving the first in a string of malicious mischief cases that occurred in Vicksburg last year where vehicle and business widows were  shot out with pellet guns.

“Those officers started from scratch, and they were able to find out exactly who was committing those vandalisms,” Vicksburg police Chief Walter Armstrong said.

Vicksburg police Capt. Sandra Williams said the investigators made arrests quickly.

“Within a week they had arrested nine people, five adults and four juveniles,” Williams said.

She said Curtis has worked in the investigations division for seven years and Ingram has been in the division for three years.

“They both are dedicated and have a passion for the job,” Williams said. “It’s a pleasure having both of them in the criminal investigations division as juvenile officers.”

Curtis felt gratified to receive the prestigious award and was proud to be acknowledged with Ingram.

“Me and Investigator Ingram, we work well together and we try to always work with one another to get crime solved,” Curtis said.

Ingram echoed similar thoughts.

“I got the best partner in the world to work with, with Tommy Curtis,” Ingram said.

He credited the public’s help for the duo’s success in solving crimes because people felt comfortable enough to share information with them.

“If it wasn’t for the public sharing information with us and being comfortable talking to us, we wouldn’t have received the amount of tips we received to help us solve the crimes we solved,” Ingram said.

Curtis credited God for looking over them as they do their job, which is tough, but he said it’s a calling.

The two VPD Top Cops along with Officer Eric Paymon also graduated from a 10-week Certified Investigator Program Thursday morning at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Academy.

“Basically what that does is just sharpen their skills they already possess as an investigator,” Armstrong said.

At the program Curtis said he worked on his investigations skills and how to deal with certain situations.

“I feel like I learned a lot from the program,” Curtis said, adding he would apply the skills in his work daily.

Ingram said it was a great chance to get to know other officers from around the state.

“It was a great opportunity to learn from and network with other agencies,” Ingram said.

 

 

Warren County Sheriff’s Office

Jamie Acuff, records supervisor at the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, was chosen to be the county honoree because of his years of dedication to the sheriff’s office.

“This year I have selected Jamie Acuff,” Pace said. “Although he has never worked the road as a deputy, he has worked in support services for over 20 years.”

Acuff started his career at the sheriff’s office in 1995 as the records clerk and worked to update the handwritten file cards at the office soon after he was employed.

“He supervised the implementation of the sheriff’s office computer system,” Pace said.

Pace praised Acuff saying he was instrumental in those records upgrades the department went through back then and his experience is invaluable today.

“Jamie is a very skilled officer and is a valuable asset to this agency,” Pace said.

Acuff said he was shocked when he was told he would be receiving the award and thought there were more deserving people in the department.

“I was very honored and thankful to be chosen as the Top Cop for the sheriff’s department,” Acuff said. “I am so blessed to be working with such a great group of people. Thanks Sheriff Pace for making this honor possible for me.”

Pace was surprised and humbled when he received the George Phillips Public Service Award for outstanding public service.

“It’s a big honor to receive this award, and it was certainly unexpected,” Pace said. “It was even more special because I knew George Phillips.”

Phillips died last year and had been the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Pace stressed the importance of strong relationships between city, state and federal agencies and said a lot of the people in those agencies that he has admired for years were in the audience as he accepted the award.

The board of directors for the Mississippi Center for Police and Sheriffs voted for the award recipient. Executive director Steven Pickett said Pace received the award because of his reputation as one of the best sheriff’s in the country.

“Warren County is lucky to have someone of his caliber to serve them for so many years,” Pickett said.

 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Someone who didn’t get to attend the award ceremony, but did get an award was Johnny M. Kisner Jr. of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“There was a communications mix up, and I was sitting here at work when it was going on,” Kisner said.

His boss Carol Bridges nominated him for the award based on his work in the federal workers compensation fraud investigations program.

Kisner works in the Vicksburg District for the nationwide U.S. Army fraud reduction program for federal workers compensation.

Kisner was delighted she thought enough of his work to acknowledge him and that the state followed suit.

“I really appreciate the state’s recognition of our work,” Kisner said. “The Corps of Engineers is really grateful to accept the award.”