East Lansing Police Department officers Dave Dekorte and Tonya Williams were honored at the Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, 2016 Lifesavers Award Luncheon on Sept. 29 in Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
Dekorte, who served for almost 32 years, was given the MADD’s Deputy Lewis Tyler Longevity Award. The award is presented to a retired or retiring law enforcement officer who has made a difference during the course of his or her law enforcement career in the areas of education, prevention, policy or enforcement, that reduced impaired driving deaths and injuries, according to a press release.
Dekorte served ELPD from February 1984 to November 2015 as a field training officer, detective, accident investigator, arson investigator and crime scene investigator mainly during the midnight shift.
Officer Dekorte is estimated to have made approximately 2,000 Operating While Intoxicated, or OWI, related arrests, according to the release.
“I worked with him for 22 years,” ELPD Lt. Scott Wriggelsworth said. “From the day he started to the day he retired, he was always the hardest worker.”
ELPD officer Tonya Williams received an Outstanding Officer award for her OWI enforcement in 2015, when she made 28 OWI-related arrests.
“Drunk driving (prevention) is always a priority for ELPD, and she clearly did that last year,” Wriggelsworth said. “We hope others follow her lead.”
Williams has served with ELPD since October 2011.
“We would like to congratulate Officer Dekorte and Officer Williams for their recent awards from MADD,” East Lansing Police Department Chief Jeff Murphy said in the release. “Their commitment to keeping intoxicated drivers off of East Lansing roads has, without a doubt, prevented tragedies from occurring.”
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