TCPAAA News
Tallahassee Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association Announces Drawing Winners!
FSU is pleased to announce the winners of the drawing for the One-O-One Dinner and the Golden Eagle Golf Package. Winners were chosen the evening of June 21st at the annual Police Ball. Lee Hudson won the One-O-One dinner and Scott O’Brien won the golf package. Many thanks to One-O-One and Golden Eagle Country Club for helping make the Police Ball such a success!
Tallahassee Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association Announces Walter A. McNeil Distinguished Service Award Winner
TCPAAA would like to congratulate Investigator Paul Osborn! All three finalists were extremely deserving of this honor. The selection committee had an extremely difficult time narrowing this award down to one person. We would like to thank all of those who were nominated, especially our three finalists.
Tallahassee Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association Announces Award Finalists
The annual Tallahassee Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association (TCPAAA), 501c3, event known as the “Police Ball” will be held Saturday, June 21 at the University Center Club on the campus of Florida State University from 6:30 PM to 11:00 PM. The Latin Soul Orchestra will provide live music for dancing. A sit down dinner is included. Tickets are available at www.tcpaaa.org, via email (tcpaaapoliceball@hotmail.com), or by calling 850-556-5347. Tickets are $50 per person. The last day to buy tickets is June 14th.
The annual Police Ball is more than the organization’s signature fundraising event. Each year, as a part of the event, the Walter A. McNeil Distinguished Service Award, otherwise known as the TCPAAA Officer of the Year is awarded to a deserving officer. This award recognizes an officer that has gone above and beyond the call of duty, demonstrated extraordinary service, and made a significant contribution to our community.
Every year it is a difficult process to select the top three, let alone the winner. This year proved to be the most difficult yet. Sixteen nominations were submitted. The selection committee noted that they believe this to be the most difficult selection process in the history of the award due to such highly qualified police officers, each deserving of recognition. The winner will be announced at the Police Ball on June 21st.
After diligently reviewing each nomination, the selection committee is pleased to announce the following three finalists. Finalists are listed in alphabetical order, by last name.
Officer Donald Bracci. Officer Bracci was honorably discharged from the military where he served as a Bomb Technician in Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit in the U.S. Army prior to joining the ranks at TPD. Officer Bracci has been praised for not only responding to calls but for going over and beyond the call of duty and following up on those calls. Instead of finding a temporary fix in response to calls for service, Officer Bracci looks for a good permanent fix, showing ownership in the process. Officer Bracci has found assistance for those less fortunate using resources outside of TPD and law enforcement. Officer Bracci even gave his own shoes to someone struggling to stay warm in the winter during a call for service.
Officer Scherri Bryant. Officer Bryant is heavily involved in juvenile justice in our community. In addition to being a police officer, Officer Bryant is heavily involved with RAD training, and serves as a volunteer track coach for a local AAU track club. She is a volunteer basketball coach in the Police Athletic League (PAL). Officer Bryant competes nationally in the Police Olympics. Recently she has worked on expanding the Anti-Gang Rally initiative. Officer Bryant is a board member for the Leon County Juvenile Justice Board, Urban League Youth Advisory Board (Chair), Capital City Youth Services Board. Officer Bryant has been asked to speak at national conferences in regards to reducing crime in Black Communities. She has made multiple presentations at local community centers as well as the Juvenile Assessment Resource Center to youth regarding healthy lifestyles and making good decisions.
Investigator Paul Osborn. Investigator Osborn actively seeks out cases to investigate. His initiative has resulted in him making 48% percent of the arrests for his squad. Investigator Osborn is also the lone investigator for Internet Crimes Against Children. Investigator Osborn has helped work in three state-wide operations this past year, traveling to other jurisdictions. While participating in these operations, Investigator Osborn continued to work his cases assigned by TPD. He continuously volunteers to help his squad mates with their duties. Investigator Osborn routinely works long hours to accomplish the mission. Investigator Osborn also participates in community events such as “Lauren’s Kids, Walk a Mile in My Shoes”, Ronald McDonald House, Big Bend Victim Advocate Coalition, and the March of Dimes.
These short paragraphs only scratch the surface when it comes to the contributions of these three officers. Each of them are deserving of recognition for their hard work, professionalism and dedication to TPD, the law enforcement profession, and our community. The Tallahassee Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association salutes all of the officers that were nominated. Thank you all for your hard work. Please join us on June 21st at the Police Ball to honor all of our law enforcement, especially our three finalists and the winner of this prestigious award.