The Seaford Police Department recently held its 30th annual awards ceremony to honor the officers and civilian staff for their performance during 2024. Notable award winners include retiring Deputy Chief Mike Rapa as the Chief’s Award recipient.

The Chief’s Award is chosen exclusively by the chief of police to signify someone who’s made significant contributions to the agency and community over the previous year or throughout their career. Chief Craft cited Deputy Chief Rapa’s pending retirement after 27 years of distinguished service as a patrol officer, detective, patrol sergeant, tactical team commander, and finally Deputy Chief.

Cpl. Tyler Ruark was named the 2024 Officer of the Year and also received an exceptional performance award and was a member of “B” shift, which received the unit citation for unit of the year. Cpl. Ruark is routinely involved in proactive drug investigations, is one of the leaders in the department in traffic and DUI enforcement, and serves as a field training officer (FTO) for new officers. Cpl. Ruark is a seven year veteran of the department.

Police Chief Marshall Craft, left, is pictured with Chief’s Award recipient retiring Deputy Chief Mike Rapa.

Another award winner was Cpl. Bernadin Dice. He was awarded the Peer Award, which is voted on by all the officers and employees of the department. Several voters included their reasons for voting for Cpl Dice:

“In a job where we see a lot of bad things and deal with people on their worst days, Cpl. Dice always has a smile on his face and is willing to assist. His translation skills have benefited everyone in the department, and he even goes the extra mile to translate late at night or while he is off duty. Cpl. Dice is one of the people in this department that I can always rely on and always makes the day better just by simply being there.”

“The reason I feel Dice should receive this award is he always has an outstanding and pleasant attitude not only towards his co-workers but also towards the community. He always shows compassion on every complaint he responds to. He is always smiling and willing to help out his shift and others even on his days off. I could go on and on, but I will keep it short.”

A close runner up for the peer award was Cpl. Cody Matthews.