Troopers from Troop B Receive Service Awards

State Police Troopers from Troop B in Canaan received awards for service during a ceremony on Wednesday, November 29, at the Connecticut State Police Training Academy in Meriden.

Twice a year, the Connecticut State Police honors Troopers who demonstrated exceptional service in the line of duty.  The ceremony also honors men and women serving in local and federal law enforcement agencies and those serving as first responders, as well as civilians.  Award winners received medals and certificates from Department of Public Safety Commissioner Leonard C. Boyle and State Police Colonel Edward Lynch.

Awards are presented in four categories:

*      The Meritorious Service Medal is awarded to any person who renders service with a high degree of alertness, perseverance and superior judgment in the performance of a difficult task resulting in the protection of life, recovery of property, the prevention of – or solving of – a major crime or the apprehension of an armed or dangerous person.

*      The Lifesaving Award is presented to any person who saves a human life or makes a valiant attempt to save a life.

*      The Outstanding Service Award is given to any person who successfully performs an extreme, complex or difficult investigation. The person also may demonstrate exceptional skill or ingenuity in the apprehension of a wanted person, provide outstanding service to the public and or continuously achieves excellence in performance of duties over an extended period of time.

*      The Unit Citation is awarded to members of a department, a command or group who combine their resources to achieve success in an investigation or event. The citation recognizes exceptional collective efforts.

Troop B barracks of the Connecticut State Police, located in Canaan, is proud have several individual award winners from the troop.   

Trooper Michael Tranquillo, Trooper First Class Edwin Kohl and Trooper First Class Steven Luba On June 3, 2006, Trooper Michael Tranquillo was off duty in the Barkhamsted area when he heard a transmission from Troop B describing a suicidal female walking in the area in which he was traveling. He located the woman and as he approached her, she moved to the edge of the Farmington River and threatened to jump.  As he built a rapport with her, she became more agitated, jumped into the river and was swept away by the fast-moving current.  She yelled that she could not breathe, so Trooper Tranquillo jumped into the river in an attempt to rescue her.

Troopers First Class Edwin Kohl and Steven Luba arrived on the scene. Trooper Tranquillo got hold of the  woman. Trooper Kohl obtained a rope from his vehicle and threw it to Trooper Tranquillo.  He grabbed the throw rope and was pulled to shore by Troopers Kohl and Luba. Once on shore, the Troopers observed numerous, significant wounds on the female and she was transported to the hospital for medical care. All three Troopers were awarded the Lifesaving Medal.

Trooper First Class Robert Janco On March 12, 2006, Troop B was notified that the Great Barrington, Massachusetts Police Department was investigating an armed robbery at a gas station in their town.  The escaping vehicle was linked to North Canaan.  Trooper First Class Robert Janco worked to identify the owner. He also identified a witness and one of three suspects involved in the crime. Trooper Janco went on to interview that suspect, obtain a confession and identify the remaining suspects. He was awarded a medal for Outstanding Service.

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