The Buckhead Business Association presented its first-quarter Public Safety Awards on April 15 to Deputy Terrell Sanders of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department and Officer Andre Allen of Zone 2 of the Atlanta Police Department.
Sanders was presented the award for tracking down an underage runaway girl authorities say was being exploited as part of a prostitution operation.
In his investigation, Deputy Sanders tracked down leads from her friends, from the use of a cellphone and a number of other things before ultimately going undercover to capture the adult pimp and get information about the girl’s whereabouts.
He found her and brought her back.
Allen was honored for his Feb. 1 efforts in tracking down and arresting an alleged burglar after a homeowner in the Lenox Road area stopped a morning break-in. The homeowner chased the burglar while calling 911.
Allen chased the suspect in the East Paces Ferry Road area. When Allen arrested the suspect, he was still in possession of the burglary tools, a metallic cap gun that looked like a .22 caliber pistol and a collection of jewelry.
In addition to an award plaque, each officer was presented a certificate for dinner for two at the new Saskatoon restaurant, on Pharr Road in Buckhead. The BBA presents the Public Safety Awards at its quarterly luncheon meetings.
–John Schaffner