News Details

Aurora Police Award Medal of Valor and Name Employee of the Year

A 12 year veteran was the recipient of the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an Aurora Police officer, while another 12 year veteran was named the department’s Employee of the Year for 2011 at a ceremony this afternoon held at the Aurora Police Headquarters.

Officer Pedro “Pete” Rodriguez was awarded the Medal of Valor for his January, 2011 actions when he saved the lives of a group of teenagers who were being chased and fired at by another teen. Investigator Robert Myint was honored as the Employee of the Year for leading efforts involving child pornography cases.

On January 7, 2011, Officer Rodriguez had just finished his shift and picked up his 13 year old daughter from school. At about 3:30 p.m., as he was driving his personal vehicle northbound on Fifth Street at South Avenue, he saw a subject shooting a revolver at a group of other teenagers. Officer Rodriguez, who was in full uniform, stopped and exited his vehicle after telling his daughter to “get down”. He confronted the gunman as the offender chased one of the other teens across Fifth Avenue with the gun still in his hand. Rodriguez identified himself as an Aurora Police officer and ordered the subject to drop the gun. The offender refused, continued to run toward the other teen, turned toward Rodriguez and pointed the gun at him. Fearing for both his life and that of his daughter, Officer Rodriguez fired, fatally wounding the suspect. When the assailant fell to the ground, Rodriguez immediately radioed for medical assistance for the offender who was a 15 year old Aurora juvenile.

In presenting the award to Rodriguez, Aurora Police Chief Greg Thomas pointed out that when interviewed by police, some of the suspect’s intended victims said ‘The officer (Rodriguez) saved my life’. He added, “The taking of a human life is never the desired outcome for any police officer and is the absolute last resort. However, at times, officers are forced into these very difficult decisions. Officer Rodriguez’s actions were indeed heroic in that he risked his own life to protect the lives of others. Though tragic, the situation could have been worse with innocent lives lost were it not for his intervention.”

Only 9 Aurora Police officers involved in three other acts of heroism have received the Medal of Valor since 1994.

Investigator Myint established the needed resources to investigate the possession and trafficking of child pornography in Aurora. He also networked with child pornography investigators from other law enforcement agencies to gain knowledge and experience and eventually enlisted their assistance on cases being worked by Aurora Police.

Ironically, Myint was out of town attending training on further ways to investigate child pornography cases. His wife, Mary Beth, accepted the award on his behalf.

Upon explaining that he informed Investigator Myint of the award via telephone yesterday, Chief Thomas said, “Robert told me he truly believes that each time an offender is taken off the street, further abuse to innocent children is prevented. He also spoke of the great teamwork both within the police department and with the outside agencies with which he partners saying that ‘it is not done alone’.  He went on to state that each of the Employee of the Month recipients had performances worthy of selection and that he was in good company.”

27 other police officers and two 9-1-1 operators, all of whom shared Employee of the Month honors during 2011 were also recognized at the ceremony. They included:

Officers Mike Nilles, Kurt Thomas, Pedro Rodriguez, and Investigator John Munn for their efforts that led to charges against a man who broke into an occupied home on the City’s near east side. Officer Nilles was also recognized for attempting to save the life of an infant who had been born premature and suffered from health problems.

Officer Christopher Cox for his actions while off-duty when he came upon a man lying outside of a vehicle in Oswego and after determining the man was not breathing, he immediately began CPR. The man was transported to the hospital where, despite additional life saving measures, he succumbed to a heart attack.

Officers Marco Gomez and Jason Cudebec along with Investigators Abel Villanueva and Daniel Wagner for chasing down and charging three men in connection with the armed robbery of an East side tobacco store. Investigator Villanueva, along with Investigators Nick Gartner and Chris Converse were also recognized for their teamwork and quick response to a shooting that resulted in attempted murder and other felony charges against four men.

Sergeant Kevin Convey; Officers Dave Brian, Jay Ellis, Ted Grommes, Nikole Petersen, Dean Tucker, Garrett Wrobel; and Investigators Jeremiah Shufelt and Joe Thompson for their work on a taskforce that put a noticeable dent in burglaries to homes and vehicles.

Officers Enrique Rodarte and Nathan Petschke for saving the life of a 27 year old woman by administering CPR when they responded to an assist ambulance call.

Officer Peter Wullbrandt and Telecommunications Operator Kathi Hart for their teamwork in saving the life of a man last summer. During the initial 911 call, Hart gave CPR instructions to the family of the distressed man before Officer Wullbrandt arrived on the scene and continued CPR for about two minutes until paramedics arrived.

Officers Aaron Spooner and Andrew Martin for their attempts at saving the life of a 74 year old man. After not receiving a response at the man’s door, the two officers forced their way in and immediately began CPR. While the man was being transported to the hospital, they worked with a neighbor to repair the damaged door.

Officers Justin Shepherd and Joshua Poynton along with Telecommunications Operator Staci Keyes for their teamwork in saving the life of a 23 year old man. Before the officers’ arrival, Operator Keyes gave CPR instructions over the phone to the man’s girlfriend. When the officers got to the scene, they proceeded to clear his airway and take over CPR until paramedics arrived.

Sergeant Doug Podschweit for his actions while off-duty that led to a burglar being caught inside of a home. The suspect was later tied to several Aurora burglaries.

Location: Aurora, Illinois