NE Wisconsin law enforcement honored with Protect and Serve Award

GREEN BAY, WI—(WGBW)— The Green Bay Packers honored several exemplary Wisconsin law enforcement officers with the Packers Protect & Serve Award for going above and beyond the call of duty. Of those honored were five officers or departments in Northeast Wisconsin.

Northeast Wisconsin Protect and Serve Winners

• Deputy Justin Neumann from the Kewaunee County Sheriff’s Department
• Acting Captain Michael Sobieck from the Green Bay Police Department
• Officer Dustin Wichmann from the Eagle River Police Department
• School Resource Officer Payne Hughes from the Appleton Police Department
• Two Rivers Police Department

Recipients received a special award and a $2,000 grant to benefit their department or a nonprofit. 

The awards themselves, hand-crafted wooden American flags, were made by Oneida Police Sergeant Nathan Ness through his small business HomeLee Woodworking.

The Packers and the NFL Foundation fund the Packers Protect & Serve Award. 

The recipients were treated to a luncheon and an award presentation, as well as speeches from Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy and Two Rivers Assistant Chief of Police Melissa Wiesner. Several award winners attended with their family members, friends, fellow officers, and superiors.

Other Winners

• Officer Devan Arbay from the UW-Madison Police Department
• Deputies Jaime Buelter, Jerad Landheer, and Kayla Tritt from the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office
• Sergeant Brian Chic from the West Milwaukee Police Department
• Officer Connor Cunningham from the UW-Madison Police Department
• State Trooper Jose I. Del Rio Aviña from the Wisconsin State Patrol
• Conservation Warden Zack Feest from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
• Deputy Sheriff – Detective Nicholas Krahn from the Dane County Sheriff’s Office
• Crime Prevention Officer/Peer Support Coordinator Felicia Labatore from the Kenosha Police Department
• K-9 Officer Flash and handler, Officer Cole Parker, from the Hartford Police Department

The Packers Protect & Serve Award is part of Green Bay Packers Give Back, the Packers’ all-encompassing community outreach initiative. Combined with other Green Bay Packers charity endeavors, the awards contribute to a comprehensive Packers charity impact that was more than $ 13 million last year.