Jefferson County Officer Named Illinois Sheriffs’ Association 2021 ‘Deputy of the Year’On February 14th, 2022, the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association recognized Jefferson County Officer David A. May as their “Deputy of the Year” award winner at its Sheriff’s Winter Conference at Embassy Suites in East Peoria, IL.Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Bullard nominated Deputy May for this award as a result of an incident that occurred on October 26, 2021. On the afternoon of October 26, 2021 at 12:59pm, a Jefferson County Correctional Officer was transporting an inmate to his jury trial at the courthouse. Once they arrived at the sallyport in the basement, and it was secured, the correctional officer began assisting the inmate into a wheelchair. Due to the judge’s order, the inmate was uncuffed so not seen by the jury in any form of restraints.While assisting the inmate in the wheelchair, the inmate grabbed the officer’s gun and a fight over the weapon ensued. Both fell to the floor and continued to fight, while the inmate was able to pull the officer’s handgun from the holster. As the fight continued, the inmate discharged a round close to the officer, striking the floor nearby. The inmate was able to get free of the officer, still with the gun, the officer was still on the floor, and was completely vulnerable at this point.During the scuffle, Deputy David A. May was on the first floor at the metal detection station. He witnessed the attack on the video monitor system at his workstation and rushed down the stairs to get to the sallyport. He continued as he heard a gunshot from inside the sallyport. Once he arrived at the doorway into the sallyport, Deputy May looked in, the inmate pointed the gun in his direction, and he quickly took cover. Split seconds later, Deputy May came out from cover, fired one round, struck the inmate, and the inmate fell to the floor. The inmate threw the gun away and gave up. Deputy May radioed for assistance and raised the sallyport door to allow responding backup units quick access to the scene.In December, Deputy May was awarded a medal of valor from his department and in January was awarded the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Offices 2021 Deputy of the Year. Thank you and congratulations on a job well done.

LaSalle County Correctional Officer Justin Cogdal was awarded the 2021 Correctional Officer of the Year for life-saving actions in the Spring of 2021.On April 15, 2021, Correctional Officer (CO) Cogdal was conducting Medical Protocol in LaSalle County Jail, along with the nurse on duty, to coordinate with patients requiring health services. Per standard procedure, CO Cogdal brought two patients into the Health Care Unit and stood guard. The nurse started attending to an inmate on the examination table when she turned her gaze away momentarily. At that moment the inmate jumped up and grabbed the nurse by the neck, pinning her against the wall with a metal object in his hand. The inmate stated he was looking for the fastest way out of the jail.CO Cogdal responded immediately by grabbing the arm of the inmate that was holding the metal object and quickly freeing the nurse. As she ran down the hall for assistance, CO Cogdal disarmed the inmate while fending off the attack. During multiple attempts to restrain the inmate, CO Cogdal received lacerations on his neck, nose, and shoulder from stabbing attempts made by the inmate.The immediate action taken by CO Cogdal saved serious physical injury to the nurse on duty and subverted a possible escape attempt and hostage situation.The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association would like to thank Correctional Officer Cogdal for his heroic actions and dedication to the members of his community.

The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association is pleased to announce that Champaign County Sheriff’s Telecommunicator Lance Buyno has been named the 2021 Telecommunicator of the Year based on his extraordinary patience and outstanding communication skills on March 29th, 2020.On March 29, 2020, at approximately 4:15am, Lance Buyno answered a 911 call from a distraught female saying her son was at her house and “talking crazy.” She added the son told her and her husband that he had killed somebody, but she didn’t know whether to believe him. The son was outside speaking with his father, and Lance instructed the mother to keep an eye on them from a distance and report what was happening.Lance dispatched Champaign County Sheriff’s Office to the residence. As the individual on the phone was calling from a rural part of the county, Lance kept her on the line for approximately 30 minutes until deputies could arrive. During this time, Lance was able to keep the mother calm and get information from her that led to locating a double homicide scene at another location in the county.Due to Lance’s diligence, deputies were simultaneously able to locate the crime scene and get the suspect into custody without incident.The extraordinary professionalism and detailed dispatching by Lance resulted in an arrest and an ongoing double homicide investigation.