Attorney General William P. Barr and Justice Department leadership today announced the recipients of the Third Annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing, recognizing the exceptional work of 19 law enforcement officers and deputies from 12 jurisdictions across the country.

“Honoring and supporting the work of law enforcement of­ficers and deputies is a top priority for the Trump Administration, and today is an opportunity for me to personally express my gratitude and commitment to those who risk their lives daily to protect our communities,” said Attorney General Barr. “The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing honors exceptional police officers and the vital public service they provide. The brave men and women in law enforcement are engaged in an unrelenting and often unacknowledged fight to keep our communities safe each and every day. It is an honor to thank them for their service.

The awarded officers and deputies have demonstrated active engagement with the community in one of three areas: criminal investigations, field operations or innovations in community policing. The Department received 199 nominations for 414 individuals ranging from state police departments, to local police, to campus public safety agencies. This award highlights the work that troopers, officers and deputies do to prevent, intervene in, and respond to crime and public safety issues. The individuals recognized today included:

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

Detective William Maldonado of the Suffolk County Police Department, New York:

Detective William Maldonado is being recognized posthumously for his effort in leading the criminal investigation into the violent trans­national street gang MS-13. Detective Maldonado was assigned to assist in the investigation of the disappearance of a young man. Intelligence gathered by Detective Maldonado indicated the missing boy was a murder victim of MS-13. Without the detective’s work, along with his team, the murder spree would no doubt have continued. Instead, several dozen people were arrested, charged with 17 murders, the Suffolk County MS-13 Sailor Clique was eliminated, and several other cliques were disrupted. Maldonado accomplished this while battling cancer, and rarely missed work. He succumbed to his illness in 2018, but not before arrests were made in the cases.

Detective Maldonado joined the department in September 1987 and worked in the Fifth Precinct before being promoted to detective in 1994. He spent a majority of his career in the Major Case Unit, investigating bank robberies, and was then assigned to the FBI Long Island Gang Task Force where he focused on combatting gang violence.

During his time in the task force, he was involved in the prosecution of more than 40 MS-13 gang members which cleared more than a dozen homicides and 25 robberies. Maldonado was also instrumental in dismantling the MS-13 Sailor Clique, which was responsible for a majority of the murders, as well as disrupting several other MS-13 cliques throughout Suffolk County.

Detective Maldonado, lost his three-year battle with colon cancer in April 2018. In addition to his wife, Christine Tamaro, a fellow SCPD detective, Detective Maldonado was survived by two adult daughters, Nicole and Brooke.

“This recognition encapsulates everything Detective Maldonado was as a person and as a detective,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said. “Detective Maldonado worked tirelessly as a member of the FBI Long Island Gang Task Force where he was instrumental in the fight against MS-13 in Suffolk County. He was proud to be a cop and we were proud to have him as a member of our SCPD family. His absence is felt every day.”