LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Monday night, members of the Lexington Police Department came together, honoring standouts from the past year at the department's annual awards banquet.
LPD members' hard work and sacrifice were recognized.
"It feels good, 'cause, in this line of work, we don't always get a pat on the back or a thank you. Sometimes people aren't always happy with our presence," said Officer Nichole Owings.
Supervisor of the Year Sergeant Matthew Merker agrees.
"A lot of times, we don't get a lot of recognition, nor do we expect recognition, but it is nice when some of the work that's being done that the community doesn't get to see every day gets recognized," said Sergeant Merker.
Sgt. Merker credits his entire team in the Robbery Homicide Unit.
"What I do well is a reflection of my people and the detectives that work for me, so it does mean a lot to be recognized."
Officer Owings is the recipient of two awards, one for Field Training Officer of the Year. She trains officers through three five-week rotations after they join the force.
She has been an FTO for about nine years and in her first year, she took home another prestigious award.
"Back in 2016, I got Police Officer of the Year Award, and that's like the highest rank that any police officer can get, so when I got that, I was like, oh, my gosh," said Officer Owings.
She also won the Distinguished Service Award for her role in Your LexPD, a department-produced show.
"I'm a co-host on that, every month we put out an episode, and it's really for the community, just to see what we do here at the department," said Officer Owings.
For Officer Owings, it's about transparency, showing the human side of police officers.
It was a major part of the message Monday night at the Central Bank Center.
