Seymour Police Sgt. Stephen M. Prajer was one of only 48 police officers nationwide to participate in an intensive 10-week training program in Tennessee.
And at the end of the course, Prajer’s peers in that select group chose him to receive an award named after the program’s founder.
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Prajer returned from the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety School of Police Staff and Command training in September and began applying the lessons he learned there in Seymour.
State and local officials recognized Prajer Oct. 19 at police headquarters for his accomplishments.
Prajer was selected by his classmates in the training program to receive the Kreml Leadership Award, named after the center’s founder.
The center was founded at Northwestern in 1936 at the Traffic Safety Institute under the direction of Franklin M. Kreml, a sergeant with the Evanston (Ill.) Police Department who is regarded as a pioneer in traffic safety and accident prevention in the U.S.
State Senators Rob Kane and Kevin Kelly were on hand to present Prajer with a congratulatory citation from the state legislature.
The citation said in part that Prajer’s “dedication, devotion, ethics, sense of justice, and leadership” were worthy of praise.
“There is no more difficult time to be a police officer in our country,” Kane said. “We acknowledge the work you do every single day.”
Kelly echoed Kane’s comments.
“We don’t thank our police officers enough,” he said.
Kelly said he wanted to thank “everybody who puts on the badge.”
Lucy McConologue, the chair of Seymour’s Board of Police Commissioners, thanked Prajer for bringing honor to the department.
“We have a marvelous police force here,” she said.
Prajer said he was humbled by the recognition. He thanked his wife and family for their sacrifices that helped him reach his goals and said his colleagues “are truly a joy to work with.”
Prajer said the education included the changing dynamics in policing, statistics, recruiting and selection, and policy development.
“The training enriched my supervisory ability as well as my knowledge,” Prajer said. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to use that knowledge.”
Prajer said he is ready to apply some of the techniques he learned “to enhance programs we have (in the department) to provide better services.”
Prajer said Police Chief Michael E. Metzler is “very supportive in wanting to enhance his department.”
Deputy Chief Paul Satkowski said Prajer started as a supernumerary with the department in 1992. He was promoted to full-time patrolman in October 1993, and became sergeant in June 2007.
Prajer is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Persian Gulf War. He and his wife, Renee, have three children: Macie, 22, Jesse, 21, and Wade, 19.
