NASBLA announces the 2021 Northern Region Officer of the Year award winner
Conservation Officer Arnaud Kpachavi, of the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR), has been named the
2021 Northern Region Officer of the Year.
Officer Kpachavi has been a state conservation officer since January 2016. Currently, Ofc. Kpachavi is assigned to the Mound Station in DNR Region 3/District 13.
Ofc. Kpachavi is a hard worker and professional law enforcement officer. He has taken on many roles with increasing responsibility over the past four years. Ofc. Kpachavi works as a background investigator as one of his extra duties. In this role, he conducts background investigations as part of the hiring process for conservation officer applicants. In addition to this, Ofc. Kpachavi is a boat and water academy instructor for the DNR.
Beyond these additional working duties, Ofc. Kpachavi continues to volunteer for special assignments for the MN DNR. Ofc. Kpachavi has volunteered to work the NASBLA Boating Accident Investigator (BAI) Training, to conduct interviews for new hires, to participate in various recruiting events and much more.
Officer Kpachavi has only been in the Mound Station for the last three years. In this short amount of time, he has become a vital component of the department’s efforts in boating and water safety. Ofc. Kpachavi has quickly become the face of the MN DNR for not only boating and water safety, but also for the DNR recruitment efforts through countless media events. He never shies away from requested media or information events, but instead uses them as an opportunity to spread awareness of boating and water safety.
Officer Kpachavi documented numerous arrests for violations such as boating while intoxicated (BWI), failure to have personal floatation devices (PFDs) aboard watercraft, and operation of watercraft at night without lights. All of these violations are listed as potential causes of boating incidents that result in fatalities or injuries to Minnesota citizens.
Officer Kpachavi actively participates in numerous boating enforcement details around the entire state. He understands the division’s missions in boating and water safety, and exceeds district goals in BWI arrests every year. As a result of his boating enforcement efforts, Ofc. Kpachavi has increased the safety of boaters, swimmers and other recreational users on many of Minnesota’s busiest recreational and fishing lakes.
In addition to his enforcement efforts, Officer Kpachavi supports boating and water safety education throughout the year. During the open water season, he continuously educates boaters and other recreational water users through personal contacts while out on patrol. Throughout the summer, Ofc. Kpachavi makes thousands of contacts through daily patrols that don’t involve violations, but do offer an opportunity to spread the message about boating and water safety.
Officer Kpachavi is respected by his supervisors, partners, members of the community, local law enforcement, and court officials. Very few officers have the same dedication and work ethic as Ofc. Kpachavi when it comes to boating and water safety. He always puts his best foot forward and can be relied upon to tackle whatever is asked of him. Congratulations, Officer Arnaud Kpachavi!
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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 (NASBLA) 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 nearly 85 million American boaters.