Crime & Safety

Concord Police Department Employees Receive Awards

Officer Wimpey named Police Officer of the Year; Dispatcher Penna received Civilian Employee of the Year; other exemplary work highlighted.

On April 16, the Concord Police Department held its annual awards ceremony to recognize officers and civilian employees for demonstrating extraordinary efforts in the performance of their duties. 

Master Police Officer Jason Wimpey received Police Officer of the Year in recognition of his high degree of motivation and dedication, commitment to service to the public, positive attitude and contributions to the Department.

Jason joined the Concord Police Department in April, 1996 after working as a Corrections Officer at the NH State Prison.  He served in the Patrol Division until 2001 when he was selected to be the School Resource Officer at Concord High School.  In 2008 he returned to Patrol and has also served in a variety of specialty assignments such as Field Training Officer, Firearms Instructor, Evidence Technician, Breath Operator, Long Arms Officer, Bike Officer, Taser Officer and as a member of the Central NH Special Operations Unit.

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In 2013 he was involved in bicycle patrol duties with an emphasis placed on the “211 Project” which targeted crimes like trespassing, loitering, prowling and criminal mischief.  His actions led to the arrest of suspects involved in gang activity and burglaries, as well as the arrest of a registered sex offender.

Jason is recognized as one of the most experienced officers at the Department for his job knowledge, stability in crisis situations, alertness, commitment to the job, teamwork and community policing skills.  Supervisors view him as a “go to” officer that they can count on to handle high pressure and dynamic or potentially volatile calls for service. 

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Dispatcher Karen Penna received Civilian Employee of the Year in recognition of her extraordinary efforts in the performance of her duties.   

Karen joined the Department in February, 2004 as a Dispatcher. As a part of the Dispatch team, she serves a function that is critical to everyday operations. The safety of officers and the outcome of thousands of calls a year depend on how well she performs her job on a daily basis.       

In the past year, Karen’s outstanding performance made a positive difference in the outcome of a crime in progress. In May, 2013 she handled a call from a woman who encountered a strange man assaulting her young daughter in her home during the middle of the night. She was able to quickly connect the description of the suspect with the nature of the call and direct officers to a specific suspect. Her attention to detail and job knowledge was one of the main reasons that the suspect was identified and the situation was resolved successfully.

Karen is known for her ability to prioritize calls, communicate clearly and quickly, multi-task during high stress incidents and relay detailed information to officers on patrol. She consistently performs her duties at an above average level.     

Master Police Officer Andrew Pellecchia received a Letter of Commendation for his investigation resulting from a car stop which led to the arrest of a convicted felon for numerous burglary and theft charges which included the theft and sale of multiple firearms. The suspect was connected to numerous burglaries throughout Merrimack and Belknap Counties. He is facing 7½ to 15 years in prison. 

Master Police Officer Steven Martel and Master Police Officer Joseph Pitta received Letters of Commendation for their actions in response to a domestic incident call during which they had reason to believe the woman was going to harm herself. When they located her she was unconscious and in need of immediate medical attention. She was transported to the hospital and she recovered from her injuries. 

Sergeant Clifford Kahrs and Master Police Officer Matthew Nelson received Commendation Bars for Lifesaving and Master Police Officer Kevin Partington received a Letter of Commendation for their actions in response to a call for a woman who was armed with a gun and was threatening to commit suicide. Officers were able to disarm her and discovered that she had 8 Fentanyl patches on her body and her gun was loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition.

Detective Julie Curtin, Detective Mark Dumas, Sergeant Clifford Kahrs, Master Police Officer Matthew Nelson, Master Police Officer Amanda Reed, Detective Charles Wroblewski and Investigator Michael Russell (Merrimack County Attorney’s Office) received Letters of Commendation for their investigation of a burglary ring that was responsible for several residential burglaries in Concord as well as in other locations in NH and MA. Three suspects were located and charged with multiple counts of Burglary and related offenses. It was found that they committed the offenses to support their drug addictions. 

Officer Eric Haglund, Sergeant Tim King, Officer Melissa Pfefferle, Sergeant William Graham (NH State Police) and Detective Sergeant John Sonia (NH State Police) received Commendation Bars for Lifesaving for their efforts in response to a call about a woman on the I-393 bridge who was preparing to jump onto I-93 below. As Officers spoke with her and got into position, she jumped, but they were able to grab her and move her back over the rail to safety. 

Detective Wade Brown received a Commendation Bar for Meritorious Service for his investigation of gang activities in Concord which resulted in several significant arrests of members of a prison street gang. The arrests impacted both the gang’s finances and the flow of illegal substances into the NH State Prison.

Master Police Officer William Brouillet, Sergeant Sean Ford and Master Police Officer Matthew Nelson received Letters of Commendation for their efforts in response to a call involving a man who had committed serious domestic violence related crimes and was threatening suicide. He was located, bleeding from cuts to his wrist, and was taken into custody.

Officer Andrea Wright received a Commendation Bar for Meritorious Service for her efforts in the rescue of a woman who was being abused and held hostage by her intoxicated ex-husband. She was able to gain access to the locked residence and the suspect was taken into custody.

Detective Wade Brown received a Commendation Bar for Meritorious Service for his investigation of racial graffiti written in permanent marker on the siding of 4 homes in the South End of Concord. In all cases the victim families were refugees from African countries. His extraordinary efforts and exceptional police work led to the arrest of a suspect who had a history of racially motivated vandalism. 

Detective Chris DeAngelis, Dispatcher Karen Penna and Officer Melissa Pfefferle received Commendation Bars for Meritorious Service and Detective Wade Brown, Officer William Carroll, Officer Matthew Casey, Detective Julie Curtin, Officer Christian Lovejoy, Officer Ryan St. Cyr, Officer Andrea Wright, and Detective Charles Wroblewski received Letters of Commendation for their investigation of a burglary and assault by an intruder who was found in a young girl’s bedroom during the middle of the night.  A description of the intruder led Officers to a suspect who was linked to the crime.  He was arrested for Burglary and Felonious Sexual Assault.

Detective Wade Brown, Detective Robert Buelte, Detective Michael Cassidy, Detective Joseph Chaput, Detective Chris DeAngelis, Detective Mark Dumas, Sergeant Sean Ford, Detective Nicole Murray, Lieutenant Timothy O’Malley, Detective Charles Wroblewski and Detective Tim Beers (NH State Police) received Commendation Bars for Distinguished Unit Action for their investigation of a case involving a teenaged male who was being tortured and abused by his mother, cousin and his cousin’s boyfriend. As a result of Officers’ persistent dedication and outstanding teamwork, the defendants were arrested on multiple charges and were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

Submitted by the Concord Police Department.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.