COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho — Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) hosted an Employee Award Ceremony on April 23 in which Sheriff Bob Norris honored the dedicated service of KSCO personnel. He presented four Vision Awards, two Deputy of the Year Awards, and expressed gratitude for the families who support their loved ones through the long hours and stress of working in law enforcement.
The sheriff recognized 39 employees for their years of service, including Shane Moline who has served for 30 years—seven were honored for 25 years, four for 20 years, eight for 15 years, seven for 10 years, and twelve for 5 years. At this time, KCSO has over 280 employees serving our community.
Dep. Brett Clauson received the Sheriff’s Vision Award for his work as a School Resource Officer. “Brett is the epitome of what a SRO is and should be,” shared Nelson. Clauson serves at Garwood Elementary in Rathdrum. “It was his exemplary service, dedication, and demonstration of what a resource officer can do and bring to a school that led to district administrators requesting an additional SRO.”
Dep. M. Sean Phillips, Dep. Brittany Amende, and Det. Todd Jackson were also honored with the Sheriff’s Vision Award. Phillips and Amende investigated a non-compliant registered sex offender with the assistance, mentoring, and guidance of Jackson, who oversees the sex offender registry. Their combined efforts led to the identification and arrest of two dangerous sex offenders residing within 200 yards of a school.
Det. Derrick Hollenbeck, who has been assigned to the Detectives Division since 2016 and is currently assigned to the Special Victims Unit, was honored with the 2024 Patrol Deputy of the Year Award for his “hard work, dedication, and willingness to put others first.” As the digital lab specialist, Hollenbeck has extracted data from over 110 digital devices for various investigations over the last year and serves as the liaison officer between the KCSO and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force with the Idaho Attorney General’s Office.
Hollenbeck’s work in 2024 included two international cases. One sexual assault case involved Canadian nationals and he worked with state, federal, and international agencies to get multiple search warrants outside the U.S. The other case centered around “sextortion” of a local victim and Hollenbeck’s investigation led to the discovery of several other victims across the U.S. and the location of the suspect in Pakistan.
Dep. Jackson Davenport received the 2024 Jail Deputy of the Year Award for his “work ethic, team spirit, and sense of duty.”
“Jackson always displays and demonstrates an excellent attitude,” stated Undersheriff Brett Nelson. “He is always striving to better himself.” He was first sworn in as a deputy in August 2021.
The Distinguished Unit Award was presented to 14 KCSO personnel for their actions following a midair collision over Coeur d’Alene Lake on July 5, 2020. Nelson noted that the award was long overdue. “Over three days, the marine deputies and dive rescue team members worked with the sonar teams to recover all eight victims from the bottom of the lake.”
Emergency Communications Supervisor Janyce Wadsworth was awarded the ECO of the Year, Mikyla Gilmore received the 2024 Professional Staff of the Year, and Emergency Communications Supervisor Kayla Asher was honored with the Life Saving Award.
