GRPD awards Officer, Civilian of the Year

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Monday was a big night for the Grand Rapids Police Department -- as they hosted an awards ceremony honoring the men and women who go above the call of duty.
The event was held at the Amway Grand, where the formal awards were handed out.
“I love working for the department," Cynthia Vanderberg said. "I love people at the department. I am happy to support them in any way that can."
Vanderberg was selected as Civilian of the Year for her work as administrative secretary for the department. She has been with the department for 12 years.
"It was very much a surprise to me and it’s quite an honor. Just thrilled," she said of receiving the award.
The event was a first for Grand Rapids Police Chief Dave Rahinsky -- who began leading the department in July and is now celebrating crime rates at record lows.
"We never want to rest on our laurels," he said. "The homicide rate is certainly in historic lows, but we want to drive down the aggravated assaults, the domestic violence."
"We won’t be happy until we’re the safest city of our size in the country."
Rahinsky gives credit to the men and women of the Grand Rapids Police Department. This year’s Officer of the Year is 19-year veteran Joshua Mollan.
"We got quite a few guns off the street. We got a lot of drugs off the street," Mollan said, "but at the same time I’m a community officer so we’re involved in the schools quite a bit. The favorite part of my job is just the people that I meet when I’m on the job."