The Buckhead Business Association (BBA), as it does four times a year, honored two law enforcement officers at its quarterly luncheon meeting April 27 for exemplary service to the community. The two honorees were officer Joseph York of the Atlanta Police Department’s Zone 2 and Sgt. Dexter Henry of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department.
The award plaques, along with several other gifts of services from BBA members, were presented during the luncheon attended by more than 150 at 103 West restaurant on West Paces Road in Buckhead.
York was honored for his work in catching suspects for allegedly breaking into a car on Peachtree Road on March 24. He responded to a call about three suspicious individuals casing a vehicle and found the vehicle had been broken into.
A few hours later, another call was received about a vehicle reportedly belong to the suspects that had earlier been seen in the area. York responded to that call which resulted in him arresting three suspects and recovering property stolen from four other vehicles in the same day and burglary tools.
The three arrested individuals had a total of 35 prior arrests—one had five, another 10 and the third had 20.
Henry’s “Officer of the Quarter” award came for solving a case where the sheriff’s department had been victimized.
On Feb. 3, four sheriff’s vehicles were broken into on Old National Highway in Fulton County and enforcement equipment—including a 12-gauge shotgun—was stolen.
Henry received a tip from a concerned citizen about the gun and obtained search warrants for three locations, which led to the recovery of laptop computers, the shotgun and other items.
The person in possession of the shotgun and three other suspects were arrested.
The awards and gifts were presented to the officers by Charles Qualls, the BBA’s new vice president for public safety, and Roy Dickson, president of Parc Communities, a sponsor of the luncheon.