CRESTVIEW — Mayor David Cadle was joined by Fire Chief Joe Traylor on Oct. 14 and Police Chief Tony Taylor Oct. 28 to recognize the city's public safety officers of the year.
Traylor described the attributes of Rodney Lancaster, who was selected by his peers as Firefighter of the Year, saying Lancaster is the department's bomb and explosives expert.
"It's a tremendous aid to the city of Crestview to have that kind of resource right here," Traylor said.
"We appreciate these brave employees who rush into burning buildings instead of running away from them," Cadle said.
Crestview police officers selected patrolman José Pereira of the department's traffic division as Officer of the Year. Taylor said Pereira is "an example of what we want all our officers to represent here in Crestview."
As the police negotiator, Pereira spent much of Oct. 28, the day he was honored, talking to a suspect barricaded in a downtown building.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview's public safety officers of the year recognized