ARLINGTON — Dedication to duty and team spirit are among the traits that have earned Arlington Police Officer Mike McQuoid recognition from his peers.
To that end, Arlington Police Chief Nelson Beazley named McQuoid the Arlington Police Department’s Employee of the Year for 2010 on Jan. 18.
“This is not a popularity contest,” Beazley said during the Arlington City Council meeting at which McQuoid was presented with a plaque and congratulated by Council members. “It’s about consistency, professionalism, effectiveness, quality and excellence in service.”
Since being sworn in as an officer of the Arlington Police Department nearly a decade ago, McQuoid has served as the department’s Emergency Vehicle Operations Course Instructor and as its only full-time traffic enforcement officer. He also coordinates all of the police department’s DUI and emphasis patrols by securing grant funding through the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. Both Beazley and Arlington Police Detective Sgt. Jonathan Ventura cited McQuoid’s passion for traffic enforcement, traffic safety and other traffic-related issues, which was echoed in many of the ballots of McQuoid’s fellow department members, who voted for him to receive the “Employee of the Year” title.
“Mike was overwhelmingly selected for this award, despite the fact that 10 different people were nominated,” Ventura said. “I believe this fact speaks to the number of different employees who distinguished themselves as leaders and exemplary employees last year, and I believe it represents the dedication and quality of work that Mike displayed every day.”
Ventura noted that, in addition to his regular workloads as the department’s traffic officer and sole EVOC instructor, McQuoid instructed fellow department members, helped implement the SECTOR system and frequently stepped up to handle calls from the 911 rotation.
“Mike consistently showed up to work, worked hard each and every day on traffic-related issues, carried a positive attitude, willingly adjusted shift schedules to allow for vacations and adequate staffing levels to occur, and created an excellent work product that resulted in yet another year of decreases of traffic collisions and traffic-related issues,” Ventura said.
In their ballots, McQuoid’s fellow department members credited him with creating “an excellent training program and learning environment,” making the community safer and “a willingness to help out others without being asked to do so.” Ventura deemed McQuoid “a critical part of this police department” and congratulated him on his newly earned title.
“We appreciate what you bring to our department, the law enforcement profession and the Arlington Community every day,” Ventura said.
