Shrewsbury Police Department hosts first annual awards ceremony

SHREWSBURY – The city’s top police officers were honored May 28 during the Shrewsbury Police Department’s first annual awards ceremony. The event, held in the police station’s training room, was attended by local agency officials, the public and friends and family of the award winners.

“This evening is a celebration of our hard work – not just for the individual being honored, but for the entire community of Shrewsbury. I am proud to be the police chief of such a great community as Shrewsbury, not just because of our officers, but because of each and every one of you. Our community supports us every day. It’s a true partnership,” said Police Chief Kevin Anderson.

Shrewsbury Police gave out 15 awards to 27 people.

The first award, the Civilian Public Service Award, went to Paul Scheffer, who served two years as a volunteer with the police department, helping with dispatch and greeting visitors entering the station. David Lawson and Karen Doherty, two dispatchers, were also honored, as was the police station’s 11-member building committee, which helped plan the department’s new building.

The Police Service Award was presented to four individuals: Officer Brett Wester, Sgt. Brian Sklut, Officer Justin Walker and Sgt. Christopher Abbascia. Wester, a field instructor, supervised 24 new officers and his colleagues praised his professionalism and attention to detail. Sklut supervised 23 new officers. Walker was honored for organizing the department’s first “Touch-a-Truck” event, which the department called a “huge success,” and Abbascia was honored for his involvement with the Special Olympics and other events.

Det. Paul Brown received the Excellence Award. In January 2023, Brown helped Shrewsbury recover over $2.4 million stolen in a fraudulent wire transfer. In a “thorough and intensive investigation involving several different state agencies,” Brown helped Shrewsbury taxpayers save a lot of money, police said.

Officer Christopher Vieira and Officer Jeffrey Svendsen received the Lifesaving Award. Vieira and Svendsen saved the life of a 54-year-old Shrewsbury resident in January 2023. Both officers provided 19 minutes of lifesaving aid to a man who was in cardiac arrest. The man has made a full recovery. Abbascia also received this award.

The Meritorious Service Award went to four individuals. Walker and Officer Kevin Warwick were recognized for risking their lives to save a suicidal man at Lake Quinsigamond, Officer Alicia Brownell was honored for founding the department’s youth academy, and Officer Gary Belanger received the award for his work in transporting and reorganizing thousands of pieces of evidence to the new police station.

Officer Alex Desimone received the Distinguished Action Award for rescuing a man stuck in the mud at Flint Pond.