By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer

(Feb. 6, 2020) Berlin Officer Kevin Lloyd has been named the 2019 Officer of the Year for the Berlin Police Department because of his diligence and track record for arrests.

Officer Kevin Lloyd

Lloyd, 30, has been an officer for less than two years, having graduated the fifth in his class in 2018. He is the 18th recipient of the award since its inception in 2001.

“This award was made in recognition and acknowledging the work that officers do throughout the year that begins in January and ends in December, and it’s a way to recognize them like the other agencies do and be recognized by their peers as the top of the agency for that calendar year,” Police Chief Arnold Downing told Ocean City Today last week.

To be selected, officers must not have a ranked position and have been in the force for at least one full year. Among the reasons an officer might be selected are making the most arrests, issuing the most warnings, or making the most DUI arrests.

“Before the award, there was nothing to show no matter how well you did or what you did,” Lt. Robert Fisher said. “We just started doing it through the year and that would incorporate many things, not just writing the most tickets or most arrests.”

Lloyd was selected because he ranked in the top in the agency for warnings and was in the top two for citations as well as his work stopping people from driving under the influence. More importantly, he was doing all this work while covering the midnight shifts.

“To know that he did all those things and he actually worked on what we would call the slowest shift, the one you would generally have less production because people are mostly asleep while you’re doing the work … is an anomaly,” Downing said. “The real busy shifts are the evening shift, when people are coming home from work and still going out.

“He really only has four hours in the evening where people are moving and maybe one hour in the morning when people are getting ready for work,” he continued. “He definitely knows how to go ahead and handle calls in an efficient manner, but to go ahead and find things on his own on a midnight shift, is an indicator that he is very active and proactive in his job.”

Downing and Fisher are pleased with Lloyd’s work in the department, especially since he is still so new.

“We’ve known he was going to come out and do a wonderful job through the hard work he’s done … so we’re very proud of him,” Downing said.

Lloyd, for his part, is humbled by the award.

“I believe everyone in the department, one way or another, was worthy of recognition and the award, so I’m appreciative of receiving it,” Lloyd said. “I’ve wanted to be a police officer for a long time. I’ve lived in this area a majority of my life and just wanted to work and be a part of it and try to do something to make [Berlin] safe and enjoyable for everybody.”

Lloyd moved to the area in 2000, but said he was inspired to help people at a young age. Since he began at the department, he has undergone several training courses in order regarding DUIs.

In 2019, Lloyd alone was responsible for ticketing around 15 DUIs.

“Getting a DUI is the best possible scenario if you drink and drive, because if you don’t get one and you get home safely, you don’t learn anything,” he said. “If you don’t make it home safely, either you’ve hurt or killed yourself or somebody else, and people will have to deal with that for the rest of their lives.”