Lady Lake Police Chief, Chris McKinstry, thanked American Legion Post 347 Commandant Terry Briggs, for the organization’s consistent recognition of members of his department for their hard work and dedication to our community.
“I can assure you, it is incredibly important to us to know that our residents support us in our mission,” McKinstry said.
After asking Police Officer John Higgins to come to the podium, McKinstry lauded Higgins for several accomplishments which distinguished him from his peers over the past year, including his professional attitude, exemplary tenacity and work ethic.
“Officer Higgins is consistently among the department ‘s leaders in measured productivity — not that we have ticket quotas,” the Chief quipped. “Actually, for the record, we do not — and he performs best in self-initiated work areas and thrives when he’s under pressure.”
The chief specifically mentioned Higgins’ help with a Lake County Building Services Department contractor fraud investigation, and several advanced courses Higgins has taken, including speed measurement, black bear response methods, combat shotgun and crisis intervention training.
“Crisis intervention training is especially important as persons with mental illnesses and law enforcement become increasingly entangled,” McKinstry said. “Police agencies struggle to demonstrate greater responsiveness to the significant numbers of persons with mental illness we encounter. Officer Higgins realized education can make all the difference between a successful outcome and one that could just as easily become tragic.”
After completing his own training, Higgins prepared a curriculum and taught crisis intervention de-escalation techniques to Lady Lake officers as part of the department’s in-service training protocol. Mental health professionals from Lake County were invited to observe and evaluate Officer Higgins’ work — and were impressed to the point they requested he provide the same training to multiple law enforcement agencies throughout Lake County.
Officer Higgins has also served as a sergeant in the Army National Guard since 2008 — including a 12-month combat tour in Iraq, participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. His National Guard duties include unit training activities for companies of 200 troops.
In naming Officer Josh ua Higgins as the Lady Lake Police Department’s Officer of the Year, Chief McKinstry and Commandant Briggs, praised him for his personal motivation, excellent teamwork and exemplary service to the department and the community.
On hand for the ceremony were Lady Lake Mayor Ruth Kussard, Town Manager, Kris Kollgaard, Lady Lake Police captains Jason Brough and Robert Tempesta, Sgt.Thomas Sarakinis, and Officer Higgins’ fiancée, Becky, from Howey-in-the-Hills.
“We have an excellent police department in Lady Lake,” Mayor Kussard said. “Mentally ill persons should have appropriate care available to them, including residential facilities for those who need custodial care. Right now in our nation, they are in our jails and among the homeless. Many pose a danger to themselves and to society. Officer Higgins’ involvement in crisis intervention is a service to us all.”
