Annual awards ceremony celebrates Rehoboth’s finest
April 4, 2025
During its annual awards ceremony March 28, the Rehoboth Beach Police Department recognized new employees, length of service milestones, promotions, and police officers and emergency communications specialists who performed exceptionally over the past year.
“Working in public safety can be a challenging career choice,” says Police Chief Keith Banks, “but it’s also a noble profession. It’s the least we can do, to once a year offer recognition and appreciation for our public safety personnel’s service, dedication, and exemplary performances. These officers and communications professionals make me proud every single day.”
Det. Brian Reynolds was recognized as the 2024 Officer of the Year for his service as anchor of the department’s productive criminal investigation unit, instructor, problem-solver, and leader. The detective’s efforts resulted in the arrest of a several fraud suspects, including one with more than 40 victims. Communications Specialist Gregory Tietmeyer was named Civilian of the Year for his work as a highly effective call-taker and his leadership as the call center’s training coordinator. In 2024, Tietmeyer successfully managed training for seven new dispatchers.
The department’s Life Saving Awards are presented to staff whose actions resulted in a life saved. For their efforts in providing Narcan administration instructions over the phone, CPR instructions by phone, and for providing chest compressions and rescue breaths on the scene, awards were presented to:
- Sr. Cpl. Jeffrey Bixler
- Communications Specialist Dustin Crago
- Pfc. Marie Fuller
- Communications Specialist Cynthia Peters
- Communications Specialist Steven Watson
Pfc. Marie Fuller also received an Exceptional Performance Award for her compassionate care for a juvenile rape victim and identification of a suspect in the same case that demonstrated skills and professionalism indicative of a more experienced officer.
Commendations of Merit were presented to communications specialists in the city’s 911 call center for simultaneously training multiple new communications officers. The communications specialists recognized were Ryan Buff, Dustin Crago, Todd Reilly, Greg Tietmeyer, and Steve Watson.
Sgt. Scott O’Bier, who is retiring later this year, received the Chief’s Citation for his exceptional service, unwavering commitment, and invaluable contributions to the department particularly as firearms and taser instructor. Master Cpl. Curtis Suave was presented the Sustained Superior Performance Award. Suave was recognized as the only officer to submit required activity reports with 100% accuracy not only in 2024 but over the past decade.
Patrol Officers Timothy Chan and Rocco Esposito received Firearms Awards for achieving above average scores in three or more consecutive firearm qualifications.
Several officers were recognized with Police Performance Awards, including:
- Pfc. Marie Fuller for most complaints investigated
- Sr. Cpl. Jeffrey Bixler for most criminal cases closed
- Cpl. Joseph Mulhern for exceptional traffic enforcement and investigation
- Sgt. Dana Wyatt for DUI enforcement.
In the 911 center, several communications specialists received recognition for their efficiency in responding to specific kinds of calls. Among those honored were:
- Ryan Buff for best overall score for emergency medical dispatch with a 96% overall performance score
- Gregory Tietmeyer for fire dispatch with a 100% overall performance score and police dispatch with a 98% score
- Cynthia Peters for most complaints processed (1,692) and for most calls processed using ProQA software (755).
