Top law enforcement officers are honored

Four officers, including one who helped return an abducted baby to her mother and another who investigated the boating deaths of three athletes, were honored May 11 at an annual law enforcement ceremony.

Hundreds of officers were on hand as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Highway Patrol, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and Plant City Police Department named their top officers of the year.

The 48th annual East Hillsborough Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner included a tribute to retired Sheriff Walter C. Heinrich, who died Feb. 15 at 83. Current Sheriff David Gee praised Heinrich as a "fine man and a fine law enforcement officer."

The banquet was founded almost a half-century ago after Hillsborough sheriff's Sgt. Ben Wilder was killed and Deputy Perry Young was wounded while the two investigated a domestic disturbance in Plant City on July 21, 1962. The gunman later was slain by officers.

After the tragedy, area businessmen decided to treat officers to an annual dinner. The law enforcement agencies serving East Hillsborough each announce an officer of the year at the event.

During an opening prayer, the Rev. Michael Lewis of Plant City's First Baptist Church thanked officers for being "bold and brave and courageous" at they protect the community.

Each officer of the year received $400 and a $100 gift card from Mosaic phosphate company.

Here are the winners:

•Conservation Commission Investigator James Manson was honored for handling high-profile cases including a Feb 28, 2009, boating accident that killed three athletes and the arrest of a trapper who staged the capture of a Burmese python for notoriety.

Commission Capt. Leo Isambert said Manson, a 21-year commission veteran, is a determined investigator who upholds the highest standards. He often works on cases that receive nationwide media attention, he said. In the past year, he investigated six serious boating accidents involving a total of seven fatalities. He also performed 230 inspections of captive wildlife.

•Highway Patrol Trooper Michael Wilder was singled out for his efforts in keeping area roads safe. In the past year, he wrote 1,200 citations, investigated 350 crashes, helped the daughter of a Texas state trooper whose car had broken down and saved the life of a woman who was a passenger on a motorcycle being driving dangerously, patrol Maj. Paulette Jones-Morris said.

The six-year veteran "tirelessly works for the safety of the citizens," Jones-Morris said.

•Sheriff's Deputy Michael Hannaford was chosen by Gee for such work as arresting 191 suspects on a total of nearly 400 charges, not including hundreds of traffic stops. He seized 1,000 grams of crack cocaine from one suspect and two pounds of methamphetamine from another suspect, plus helping find 60 locations in East Hillsborough where marijuana was being grown indoors, Gee said.

Hannaford, a 2000 Plant City High School graduate, joined the sheriff's office in 2002 and in recent months helped put two suspects in prison, including one who received a life sentence and the other sentenced to 20 years, Gee said.

•Plant City police's officer of the year, John McDowell, was the lead investigator into the abduction of a 2-month-old girl by a woman who posed as an immigration official to persuade the mother to hand over the baby. The suspect told the mother she could be deported if she didn't give up the infant.

The case had the best possible outcome in part because of the dogged investigation by McDowell, a seven-year veteran who reunited mother and child in less than 24 hours. The suspect faces a long prison term for the abduction, which was perpetuated through "deceit and treachery," Police Chief Bill McDaniel said.