A Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy was recognized today for his service on the job.
Deputy Derek Suttles was presented with the Meritorious Service Award by the Fraternal Order of Police in recognition of his work during a traffic stop on April 1st of this year.
Suttles stopped a vehicle along Interstate 72 near Jacksonville where according to a report, he observed suspicious behavior from the suspect, who said he was transporting COVID-19 related samples.
Suttles received consent to search the vehicle and found 10 kilos, or approximately 22 pounds, of pure cocaine with an uncut value in excess of $1 million. This is at least the fourth major seizure of drugs made by Suttles in recent years.
Suttles says although he very much appreciates the award, he feels he was just doing his job.
“We train for this kind of stuff. There’s a lot of it that comes through our jurisdiction with a major interstate running from the east to the west. There were some things about this vehicle that kind of stood out to me as it went by and it ended up having a sizable amount of cocaine.
We get them pretty regularly. There’s a lot of drugs on the interstate, but there’s a lot of local drugs too that we work in. We get a lot of recognition for the big stuff but we just had a sizable meth arrest, with eleven ounces of meth and a stolen firearm that we got from an individual locally, which ended in a ten-year prison sentence that we feel good about. So the interstate stuff gets a lot of recognition, but we are working the dope game more locally as well.”
This is the fourth award Deputy Suttles has received from the Fraternal Order of Police, three for exemplary arrests and one for lifesaving efforts.
President of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Chris Southwood says he was proud to present the award to Deputy Suttles and that the honor is well deserved.
“He exemplifies law enforcement and what we stand for basically all across the state. Not only is he an excellent officer here at the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department. He exemplifies what law enforcement should be all across the state. I’m proud of Derek and I’m proud of Illinois’ law enforcement.”
Southwood says Deputy Suttles has made Morgan County a very unsafe place to be for those who are involved with illegal drugs.
Morgan County Sheriff Mike Carmody nominated Suttles for the award and said during the presentation that he is a wonderful officer who answers the call every time.
Suttles was presented the award this morning at a ceremony at the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office with his wife and children in attendance.