Officer Theriault indeed found the suspect who returned to the area . The suspect even had the keys on him for the stolen auto , was subsequently tied to other burglaries in the neighborhood , and officers were able to recover most of the stolen property from those burglaries .
St . Lucie County 100 Club recognizes Detective Theriault as PSLPD ’ s Officer of the Year
Detective Tanner Theriault was recognized as PSLPD ’ s Officer of the Year by the St . Lucie County 100 Club . Its annual First Responder of the Year Awards event was held Dec . 10 at the MIDFLORIDA Event Center .
Detective Theriault has been with the Port St . Lucie Police Department for nearly five years and during that time he has made positive impacts , not only within our department , but within our community as well .
One example came in the beginning of the year when he was a patrol officer . In the early morning hours of Jan . 20 , he took a report for a stolen vehicle in an area of the City that had seen a recent spree of auto thefts and burglaries .
While some officers would simply stop there and let a detective follow up on the auto theft , then Officer Theriault took the initiative . The following evening , he located the stolen auto abandoned in a different part of the neighborhood and based on a hunch , conducted surveillance in that area using night vision goggles with the belief that the suspect just might return to the stolen auto .
A second example of his exceptional performance occurred in March , when then Officer Theriault responded to reports from family members of a young man who had threatened to shoot himself after leaving his home armed with a handgun .
While canvassing the area , Officer Theriault found the subject sitting in a car with the handgun to his head . Officer Theriault calmly called out the information over the radio while compassionately addressing the individual in the car .
Officer Theriault was able to deescalate the tense situation , take the subject safely into custody and ensure the subject was provided with the necessary mental health care necessary . You can expect our elevated enforcement and education efforts to continue indefinitely ! www . CityofPSL . com / Police
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