Louisiana Police Officers Receive Fricke Cooper Achievement Award

Baton Rouge, LA – Thirteen police officers from the State of Louisiana received the prestigious Fricke Cooper Achievement Award from the Northwestern University School of Professional Studies Center for Public Safety.

The award was presented on November 9, 2023, at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy Auditorium in Baton Rouge.

Eleven of the thirteen Fricke Cooper Award recipients with Major John Riles of the Louisiana State Police and Adam Hyde, Director of Highway and Transportation Safety Programs, Northwestern University Center for Public Safety School of Professional Studies. Photograph courtesy of Avery Bergeron, Louisiana Department of Safety.

By successfully completing the center’s entire sequence of traffic crash investigation and reconstruction programs (Traffic Crash Investigation 1, Traffic Crash Investigation 2, Vehicle Dynamics, Traffic Crash Reconstruction 1, Traffic Crash Reconstruction 2, and numerous advanced elective traffic safety programs), the officers have demonstrated a commitment to delivering the best, most professional traffic crash investigation service to their community.

The recipients of the award include: • Detective Loy Berry, Shreveport Police Department • Lieutenant Kevin M. Curlee, Louisiana State Police Troop B • Sergeant Lance A. Lavigne, Louisiana State Police Troop B • Sergeant Jonathan Luke Leger, Louisiana State Police Troop D • Sergeant David A. Levy, Louisiana State Police Troop L • Sergeant Kathryn H. Slaughter, Louisiana State Police Troop A • Sergeant Trey Elliott, Louisiana State Police Troop B • Sergeant Joshua Duhon, Louisiana State Police Troop D • Sergeant Brian T. Melvin, Louisiana State Police Troop B • Sergeant David Louis Spera, Jr., Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office • Trooper First Class Trey L. McNeal, Louisiana State Police Troop E • Sergeant Ronald D. Bodenheimer, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office • Master Trooper Nathaniel L. Westphal, Louisiana State Police Troop B

The Northwestern University Center for Public Safety was established in 1936 to expand the scope of university-level education in traffic safety. Law enforcement agencies and collision investigation professionals have come to depend on the center for university-level research programs, technical assistance, and conferences on crucial and timely issues. Northwestern University Center for Public Safety has taught nearly a quarter of a million professionals in law enforcement in related fields from all fifty states and thirty-eight foreign countries.

Fricke Cooper Awards. Photograph courtesy of Avery Bergeron, Louisiana Department of Safety.

The Northwestern University Center for public safety partners with the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, Traffic Records Coordinating Committee, Department of Transportation and Development, and Louisiana State Police to offer these critical police officer training courses. Through a grant from the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, the Louisiana Traffic Records Coordinating Committee (TRCC) is funding training opportunities for law enforcement officers in 2024. The classes will be hosted at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy in Baton Rouge and are taught by instructors from Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety. To apply for any of the classes, visit the TRCC website and select the registration link that corresponds to the appropriate series.

About the Louisiana TRCC

The Louisiana Traffic Records Coordinating Committee is a group of safety organizations that coordinates the advancement of Traffic Records data systems for all stakeholders to support decision making, improve traffic safety, and save lives. The TRCC works to ensure that timely, accurate, complete, uniform, integrated, and accessible traffic safety data are collected, analyzed, and made available to stakeholders that need the information.

The above article was first distributed by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission in November of 2023.

Contact: Karla Houston, TRCC Coordinator
Center for Analytics & Research in Transportation Safety
225-578-0366