Board Congratulates Police Excellence Award Winners, including Police Officer of the Year, Police Constable Igor Zdrazhko, and Civilian Excellence Award winner, Mr. Randall Brenham
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The Toronto Police Services Board congratulates this year’s Police Excellence Award winners, including Police Officer of the Year, Police Constable Igor Zdrazhko, and Civilian Excellence Award winner, Mr. Randall Brenham.
On Thursday, May 11, 2023, Toronto Police Service Members were recognized at the 56th Annual Police Excellence Awards. The Police Excellence Awards recognize and pay tribute to devoted, brave and compassionate members of the Toronto Police Service who are committed to making Toronto one of the safest and most livable cities in the world.
For the Police Excellence Awards, each officer or group of officers are selected based on the criteria of bravery, humanitarianism, superior investigative work and outstanding police skills. The Police Officer of the Year is selected from this group. The criteria for the Civilian Excellence Awards includes demonstrated diligence, dedication, initiative and / or leadership, which has improved the administration or operation of the Service and / or positively impacted the community.
As Board Member Lisa Kostakis noted, the Board is extremely proud of each of the award winners, and, indeed, of all of our Service Members. She noted that “policing is not simply a job... It is a career built on a personal, genuine and enduring commitment to community safety. It is a calling premised on a dedication to ensuring residents are safe, to truly wanting to make a real and meaningful difference in our neighbourhoods.”
She noted that “As we have all-too-keenly been reminded in recent times, our police officers perform their duties with the clear recognition that in so doing, they expose themselves to extreme challenges, to great danger, and to immense risk. This they do, for us. This they do to keep us safe, always.”
The 56th Annual Police Officer of the Year Award was awarded to Police Constable Igor Zdrazhko, for his extraordinary bravery in confronting two individuals in an attempted carjacking.
Just after midnight on September 10, 2022, PC Zdrazhko, who was off-duty, stopped at a plaza near Morningside Avenue and Staines Road to get some food after his shift. He saw two men walking around the plaza, looking into cars, and heading towards a nearby gas station. When he heard yelling and saw the two men run away, PC Zdrazhko pursued them on foot, jumping a fence and chasing them into a dark open field. Despite being shot at, PC Zdranzhko caught up to one of the men, tackled him to the ground, and arrested him using the only police equipment he had with him – a pair of handcuffs. PC Zdrankhko was recognized for his keen observational kills, his unrelenting commitment to duty, and his brave and selfless efforts to keep the city safe.
In addition, at last night’s event, Fleet and Materials Management Group Leader Randall Brenham was honoured with the prestigious Civilian Excellence Award for his unwavering dedication and leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. While Randall’s regular responsibilities are focused on outfitting Service Members with uniforms and equipment, during the pandemic, Randall was tasked with the enormous and unprecedented responsibility of sourcing, purchasing, inventorying, and distributing all the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required by Service Members to keep both them, and the public safe.
The 25-year veteran took on the assignment with his usual professionalism, and worked with Service Units and City partners over the course of two years to coordinate this enormous effort and create long-term strategies to source supplies.
Board Member Lisa Kostakis took the opportunity to thank all of our Service Members, reminding them “just how proud we are of all of them – of their tremendous bravery, of their enduring commitment, of their great kindness.”
To read more about the event, and the stories for each of the Police Excellence Awards award winners, click here.
Contact: Sandy Murray
sandy.murray@tpsb.ca
416-808-8090
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