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2020 Northern Region Officer of the Year Award Winner

By Taylor Matsko posted 06-22-2020 02:41 PM

  

2020 Northern Region Officer of the Year Award Winner

Trooper Chad Juenker, of the New York State Police (NYSP), has been named the 2020 Northern Region Officer of the Year.

For the past 15 years, Trooper Chad Juenker’s dedication to boating safety across New York State (NYS) has contributed significantly to the state’s overall effort to make the waterways safer for all boaters.
Trooper Chad Juenker
Trooper Juenker began his career in marine law enforcement in 2005 in western New York, patrolling Lake Erie, the Niagara River and the NYS Canal System. Tpr. Juenker is now responsible for the operation of department vessels to include a 36’ Munson, 19’ Whalers, 10’ Sea Doo personal watercraft and others. His versatility with field assignments and watercrafts has made him indispensable to the marine patrol unit of the NYSP. 

In 2019, Tpr. Juenker was tasked with creating and implementing a new in-service training program for the NYSP. The program involves all aspects of marine law enforcement, including both classroom and on-water training for all members assigned to the marine, scuba and Special Operations Response Team (SORT) details. This program became available to approximately 200 troopers earlier this Spring.

Not only has Tpr. Juenker been an integral part of New York State’s marine law enforcement training programs, he has also assisted the Marine Services Bureau since 2007. Tpr. Juenker works as one of the core instructors for the Marine Law Enforcement Course, Marine Patrol Vessel Operator Course, Tactical Vessel Operator’s Course and the Personal Watercraft Operator’s Course. These courses train officers in basic marine law enforcement, officer safety, water survival and much more. In 2019, Tpr. Juenker provided training to over 225 marine law enforcement officers.

Tpr. Juenker understands the need to enforce the Boating Under the Influence (BUI) statutes on NYS waterways and is a strong proponent of impaired and intoxicated operator enforcement. He routinely assists with BUI enforcement education across the state and actively participates in BUI enforcement details, including Operation Dry Water.

Over the course of his career, Tpr. Juenker has fully embraced New York’s belief that in order to reduce boating fatalities, there must be a strong enforcement presence as well as a rigorous effort to educate the boating public. On top of his every day enforcement duties, he has dedicated a significant number of hours to public outreach and boating safety education.

Tpr. Juenker’s unwavering devotion to boating safety has made a positive impact on the experience of all users of New York State’s waterways. It comes with no denial that Tpr. Juenker’s passion, dedication and commitment to preventing incidents and saving lives have been exemplary throughout his career and certainly reflect positively on the entire marine law enforcement community. Congratulations Trooper Chad Juenker!

First presented in 2000, the Marvin “Butch” Potts Memorial Award, known as the Boating Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award, is presented annually to the boating law enforcement officer who has made outstanding contributions to the field of boating law enforcement. The award program consists of three levels: state, regional and national.

The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators is a national nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that works to develop public policy for recreational boating safety. NASBLA represents the recreational boating authorities of all 50 states and the U.S. territories. We offer a variety of resources, including training, model acts, education standards, publications and more. Through a national network of thousands of professional educators, law enforcement officers and volunteers, we affect the lives of over 76 million American boaters.
 

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