EAST LANSING, Mich. – Two officers with the East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) were honored at the Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) 2016 Lifesavers Award Luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 29 in the City of Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
ELPD Officer Dave Dekorte, who retired last fall after almost 32 years of dedicated service, was honored with 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/her law enforcement career in the areas of education, prevention, policy or enforcement, which reduced impaired driving deaths and injuries. It is estimated that throughout his career, Officer Dekorte made approximately 2,000 OWI-related arrests. He served ELPD from February 1984 to November 2015 as a field training officer, detective, accident investigator, arson investigator and crime scene investigator. Officer Dekorte spent the vast majority of his almost 32-year career working the midnight shift.
ELPD Officer Tonya Williams received an Outstanding Officer award from MADD for her OWI enforcement in 2015. She made 28 OWI-related arrests throughout the year. Officer Williams has served ELPD since October 2011.
“We would like to congratulate Officer Dekorte and Officer Williams for their recent awards from MADD,” said East Lansing Police Chief Jeff Murphy. “Their commitment to keeping intoxicated drivers off of East Lansing roads has, without a doubt, prevented tragedies from occurring.”