



by BRIAN NADIG

The 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District Advisory Committee at its April 21 meeting honored a district sergeant for her apprehension of suspected burglars near Nagle and Higgins avenues.

16th District commander Roger Bay said that sergeant Laura Griffin "leads by example" and "puts her self in the right place," leading to arrests. The committee voted to award Griffin the district’s Officer of the Month Award for March for her arrest of the burglary suspects and the recovery of two loaded guns during traffic stops.

In response to a report of suspicious activity, Griffin arrested two 17-year-old males who were charged with three counts of burglary to parked cars at about 5:50 a.m. Monday, March 30, near New England and Higgins avenues, according to police. Money and headphones were among the items reported stolen from the vehicles, police said.

While she was off-duty, Griffin arrested a man in connection with a burglary at about 9:10 a.m. Saturday, March 14, to a garage near Foster and Mobile avenues, according to police. Griffin confronted the man as he was carrying a cordless drill from the garage, and while she was attempting to subdue the suspect, he was able to slip out of his sweatshirt and flee into his nearby home, police said.

The suspect, who was identified by police as Sean P. Dale, age 36, of the 5200 block of North Mobile Avenue, was arrested a short time later, police said.

The committee also presented Marco Bruno, Margie Luczak, Mark Lemus, Heather Serrano and Michael Keeney with the Officer of the Month Award for February. They were honored for their Feb. 21 arrest of a burglary suspect who struggled with several officers while he was being apprehended, according to police.



