Det. Tommy Myers’ award recognizes his ‘keen’ skills
For Washington Township Det. Tommy Myers, being recognized as the 2022 Police Officer of the Year represents the strong relationship between police and the community.
“Just to be real, if you really just strip away all the noise and look at the core fundamentals of what our agency is and look at what this agency is built on … what you are left with is relationships with the community,” he said.
Myers received the Police Officer of the Year Award at a township council meeting last month, in front of onlookers who included Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik and brothers and sisters in blue. Myers – an officer for 18 years – was nominated by Det. Sgt. Michael Gizelbach and Sgt. Brent Keller for his “quality work ethic, high degree of professionalism, positive attitude and dedication to the department’s agencies.”
“Detective Myers’ keen detective skills became evident during the evening hours of July 7, 2022,” Gurcsik noted. “Philadelphia police were searching for a Center City rape suspect. News outlets shared the accused suspect walking into a law office building.
“Det. Myers was our night duty detective,” the chief added. “He received a potential tip indicating the subject matching a description of the wanted person was walking in the area of Egg Harbor Road and Ronald Lane in Washington Township. Det. Myers requested area businesses search for available video surveillance.”
Myers eventually retrieved video showing the person in question waiting for a New Jersey Transit bus.
“Det. Myers came to police headquarters and created a BOLO (Be on the Lookout), and it was posted to Washington Township social media pages,” Gurcsik said. “Within minutes, the social media post was shared 1,900 times.”
The BOLO resulted in an immediate call to the township’s 911 dispatch center indicating the subject was outside of Jefferson Hospital.
“Patrol officers spanned out to the Jefferson campus, and within minutes, the violent predator was in custody,” Gurcsik said.
Myers’ “diligence and investigative skills” were commended by Philadelphia police, and he received a proclamation of appreciation from the city’s regional FBI office. The detective said he was honored to have everyone’s support and said (the arrest) was a collaborative effort, from the hospital staff to the responding police units.
“The reason I’m successful here tonight is because I’m surrounded by excellence,” Myers insisted. “I don’t have enough words to say how wonderful each and every officer is in the department.
“They are just amazing people.”
