ABOVE: Photo of Danville Police Department Officer of the Year Patrick Carley (Photo from DPD Facebook Page)
Soundbites for this story obtained by CIMG’s Bill Pickett
Following the Tuesday evening (Jan 27th) Danville City Council Public Services Committee meeting, Police Chief Christopher Yates spoke to CIMG’s Bill Pickett about a couple of topics. One was the Police Department’s 19-year veteran Patrick Carley recently being named Officer of the Year.
AUDIO: Officer Carley’s been a wonderful officer for almost 19 years. He probably could have won the award any year, but there’s a lot of good officers on the department. This year, he was elected by his peers and supervisors to win the “Officer of the Year” award, and we’re very proud of him. He works very hard every day. And that’s keeping that level of strong work ethic and commitment to the community for almost 19 years. That’s quite a feat.
Chief Yates says it means something special that Officer Carley was chosen by his peers.
AUDIO: The other officers and command officers select them (the winners). We have an awards committee. They pull together all of the nominations, and then submit it to me. Unless I disagree with it, which I wouldn’t in this case…………… (This is a) perfect selection for it. Always, there’s several officers that could be considered for it, because there’s so many of them that do a great job. But this year was Officer Carley’s year, and we’re proud of him.
Chief Yates also spoke about the upcoming annual Citizens Police Academy, scheduled for March 25th through May 16th.
AUDIO: We have several officers that are holding that, and will be instructing that; as well as different agencies. It’s a lot more hands on; we have it out at the new training center. Our officers do a great job in presenting; and I think the biggest thing is just educating the public on a little bit of what we do, what maybe they can do, and different things to keep them safer.
SEE THIS CITY OF DANVILLE RELEASE FOR MORE ON THE CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY https://vermilioncountyfirst.com/2026/01/27/applications-now-being-accepted-for-danville-police-department-citizens-police-academy/
