MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon Police Department Patrolman Justin Willis was named the 2017 Officer of the Year and received the Bartlett Award Friday afternoon.
The Officer of the Year award is given to an MVPD officer who has presented him or herself in a professional manner, completes their duties as assigned with due diligence, has good overall attendance and initiative, and strives to improve themselves. The Officer of the Year is voted on by the staff at MVPD.
“A well-rounded officer day in and day out,” Chief Roger Monroe described. “Justin is a two-year officer. In 2017, it was his first full year as a patrolman. I’m not sure – during my career especially – that we’ve given the Officer of the Year to a first-year officer.”
Willis may still be fairly new in the department, but Monroe believed the accolades were well-deserved, which is why he didn’t have to look very far to bestow the Bartlett Award. The Bartlett Award is named after former Mount Vernon Chief of Police Thomas E. Bartlett, who served the city from 1983 to 2006. That award recognizes someone within the department who has gone above and beyond the call of duty.
“This year the award goes to an officer who, day in and day out, has shown total dedication to this department,” Monroe said. “He has worked many hours overtime … This young man has spent countless hours here trying to make sure he does the right thing, his due diligence. His professionalism has been above standard and is always willing to help others.”
Monroe said Willis led the department in adult arrests and was in the top of the department in most of the other categories.
“He has made friends quickly with both the public and his fellow officers,” Monroe added. “He has shown from start to finish that he always goes the extra mile.”
“I’d like to thank everybody who made it possible,” Willis said after receiving his awards. He credited his senior patrolman for guiding him along the way. “I’d like to thank everybody for all the opportunities and I look forward to a long and prosperous career here.”
Willis, an East Knox graduate, was a military police officer in the Army for 10 years and worked at the prison in Mansfield before transitioning to the Mount Vernon Police Department. He has been with the MVPD for two years. “It’s been a pleasure ever since,” Willis said.
“It’s an honor,” Willis said about winning both awards. “I wasn’t expecting either one. I was very excited to receive those honors.”
Willis was joined by his wife, Kristina, his two-year-old daughter Klair, and his mother, Shiloh Willis.
“We are very proud of him,” Shiloh Willis said. “He’s put in a lot of work and he works really hard, tries to overdo.”
“He’s always been like that in everything he does,” Kristina Willis added. “We’re proud of him.”
