Windermere Police earn 2nd-place award

The Windermere Police Department received $11,500 on June 27 after entering and placing second in the 2013 Florida Law Enforcement Challenge Awards.

At the awards ceremony in Orlando, the department was recognized for its participation in traffic-safety events such as Click it or Ticket and Pedestrian Safety, as well as for DUI enforcement and demonstrating a reduction in traffic crashes.

“I’m excited,” Windermere Police Chief David Ogden said. “We were obviously trying to get first place, but we’ll get it next year.”

His department received $1,500 for being a new entry in the challenge and $10,000 for earning second-place. Ogden said his department will use the money for items such as radars, traffic-safety cones and electronic-safety signs, which are positioned next to roads and post the speed of drivers.

More than 500 law-enforcement agencies participated in the challenge in different categories. The Windermere Police Department, which has 12 full-time officers, was one of 25 “small” agencies, or those with fewer than 25 officers, that competed.

The Davie Police Department received the first-place award.