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Other police officers and sheriff’s deputies were praised for apprehending hundreds of criminals.

And a volunteer firefighter was honored for giving more than 30 years of service to the community.

Rockville’s service organizations honored the dedication and bravery of the men and women of the public safety agencies located within the city during the 19th annual Rockville Public Safety Awards program last week.

The event, held at Lakewood Country Club, paid tribute to members of the Rockville City Police Department, Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department and the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation. One civilian was also honored.

Jill Sorenson of Comcast SportsNet presented the awards.

Program sponsors included Rockville American Legion Post 86, Washington Rockville Elks Lodge 15, Rockville Kiwanis Club, Rockville Lions Club, Montgomery County Cornerstone Masonic Lodge 195, Rockville Optimist Club, Rockville Rotary Club, Twinbrook Citizens Association and Montgomery County Crime Solvers in cooperation with the City of Rockville, Rockville Chamber of Commerce and The Rockville⁄Aspen Hill Gazette.

Franklin Fabin, a civilian from Silver Spring, was the lone winner of the Citation for Bravery, the highest award handed out.

Nominated by Rockville City Police Department, Fabin could not be reached for comment for this story, nor did he show up to accept his award.

While on patrol on Oct. 22, two Rockville City Police officers received a LoJack signal on a stolen vehicle and followed it until they saw the vehicle stopped in heavy traffic on Veirs Mill at Randolph Road. As the officers began to approach the vehicle, the doors opened, two people got out and ran from the scene.

The officers chased after them and quickly captured the passenger. In the meantime, Fabin pulled up and helped police grab the remaining suspect, pinning him against a parked vehicle until officers could put him in handcuffs and arrest him.

A criminal check of the suspect discovered three outstanding warrants through Montgomery County for felony theft, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, city police reported. It was also learned he was a suspect in an ongoing Wheaton felony investigation.

Winners of the Distinguished Service Citation include:

*Deputy Sheriff Nathan Fee of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. On Aug. 1 of last year, at approximately 2:20 p.m., Fee was off duty and traveling in his personal vehicle on Quince Orchard Road in Gaithersburg when he noticed a Montgomery County Police officer conducting a traffic stop at a gas station.

The traffic light turned green and Fee looked over at the officer one more time and saw that the man was attempting to run from him. Fee drove his vehicle across lanes of traffic and pulled into the gas station lot, jumped out of his vehicle and helped the police officer take the suspect into custody. The man had stolen the vehicle he had been driving.

*Alice Frishkorn, the police communications operator for the Rockville City Police Department. While working as the on-duty communications operator on Feb. 8, Frishkorn heard Montgomery County emergency personnel dispatch police units to a shooting in the 200 block of King Farm Boulevard in Rockville. She immediately began to research the Maryland Haines Directory to find any residential⁄owner information that might pertain to an address the suspect might have entered. After finding possible vehicle owner information, she searched the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicle Administration’s database to find information related to the call. The man being tracked by police authorities was wanted as a homicide suspect and was eventually arrested in Fairfax, Va.

*Police Officer Michelle Trotter of the Rockville City Police Department. On July 9 of last year, at just before 7 p.m., police and fire and rescue units were dispatched to Lenmore Avenue in Rockville for the report that a child was injured. A 3-year-old girl had fallen from a third-story window.

Trotter, who arrived at the scene in 33 seconds, found the child sprawled on the pavement, screaming and covered in blood, city police reported. Trotter immobilized the child with her forearms to prevent further injury until fire-rescue personnel arrived. The little girl was flown to Children’s Hospital and survived her injuries, city police reported.

Trotter’s care of the child, who was resisting assistance, likely prevented further injury of the little girl, city police officials reported.

*Cpl. Phil Lew and Cpl. Ali Zeighani of the Rockville City Police Department. On Dec. 6, Lew and Zeighani responded to a complaint that a 12-year-old autistic child who was out of control. Upon arriving at the scene, the child’s mother told them her son had been diagnosed with a mental disorder and that he had not been taking his medicine. He had become very violent and had been throwing furniture around the house. The boy then locked himself into his bedroom and refused to unlock the door or come out, city police reported.

The 12-year-old said he was going to hang himself. The officers forced themselves into the bedroom, where they found the boy with one end of an extension cord tied several times around his neck and the other end of the cord tied to the top of the door hook. The officers removed the cord and provided medical attention to the boy until paramedics arrived.

*Officer Jon Berry of the Rockville City Police Department and the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department. Berry and his patrol team were just finishing their shift and preparing to leave when a call came in about a fire on Monroe Street just before 11 p.m. Dec. 23. Berry, who is also a volunteer firefighter, headed for the fire. As the first on the scene, he saw heavy smoke and fire coming from a top-floor window, but saw no occupants outside. Since the fire department was not yet on the scene and fearing people were still in the building, Berry went inside to look for occupants. He was able to evacuate six people before firefighters arrived.

Winners of the Meritorious Service Citation include:

*Sgt. Troy Plummer and Deputy Sheriff III Ryan Lee of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. The two were honored for their roles in apprehending some of the most violent and dangerous fugitives throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, including Maryland and Northern Virginia. On a local level, the task force hunts down sex offenders from Montgomery County that cross county and state lines to try to escape the law.

In 2007, the entire task force apprehended more than 3,400 violent felons that included 216 on murder charges, 317 on robbery charges and 67 on sexual assaults. Over the past 18 months, Plummer and Lee have personally closed — by arrest — more than 100 violent felon cases from Montgomery County.

*Cpl. Ken Matney, Officer Patrick Mancuso, Officer Michael Sullivan and Officer Ryan Street of the Rockville City Police Department. From September 2006 to September 2007, the four members of Patrol Team 1A made 202 adult criminal arrests, 24 juvenile arrests and 19 warrant arrests during their midnight shift. They issued 51 adult and eight juvenile criminal citations. The issued 828 traffic citations, 86 equipment repair orders, 279 warning tickets and 60 parking citations. They completed 48 field interview reports. They apprehended 51 drunk drivers and conducted 73 sobriety tests.

Arrests were made for first-degree assault, armed robbery, burglary, and possession of explosives, firearms and drugs.

‘‘In my experience, this group comprised the most consistently productive patrol team I have commanded or observed,” Sgt. John Converse, who served as shift commander during that time, said about the team.

*Capt. Timothy Marsh, Lt. Alan Rawlins, Sgt. James Walsh and Sgt. Ron Merritt of the Rockville City Police Department. The four are members of the city police Honor Guard, which attended its first official function in May 1997 and continues to do so today. Their dedication and commitment — not to mention the sacrifices of time and energy — have resulted in a unit that represents Rockville with honor and dignity, city police officials reported.

*Deputy Chief Michael L. Bloom of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department. A member of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department for 34 years, Bloom has devoted all of those years to serving his neighbors. Joining the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department in 1974, he quickly became qualified as a firefighter and emergency medical technician. In his professional career is a Certified Public Accountant. Bloom took on a role within the fire department as the treasurer, a position he would hold for almost 20 years. Bloom has been a delegate to the Fire Board, a delegate to the Montgomery County Volunteer Fire-Rescue Association and a member of the Board of Directors of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department.

In 1994, Bloom started his climb up the fire officer ladder, serving as a lieutenant, captain, an assistant chief, district chief and as a deputy chief, the second highest position in the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department.

Winners of the Community Service Award include:

*Jay Siegelman, Ben Anderson and Paul Baker, volunteers with the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation. The three have volunteered with the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation for several years, offering Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Clarksburg. But seeing the need to offer support to the inmates that remained at the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville, the three expanded their meetings to the detention center, where they hold meetings every Wednesday evening. They have continued to offer the meetings during inclement weather and even some holidays.