Describing it as “one of the greatest honors of my life,” Fayetteville Police Det. Mike Whitlow last weekend received recognition at the annual Georgia Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) conference in Macon as the Georgia VFW Peace Officer of the Year.
Whitlow was selected as Peace Officer of the Year for 2010 by the Riverdale VFW chapter and was presented the award before the Fayetteville City Council earlier this month.
Whitlow’s selection by Riverdale led to his entry for consideration by the Georgia VFW organization. Then selected as the statewide recipient, Whitlow and his wife Lisa traveled to Macon last weekend for the presentation. The couple was joined by Det. Jeff Harris and Chief Steve Heaton.
Whitlow on receiving the award in a room filled with veterans said, “I was humbled to be in their presence. Their actions in war, along with others who lost their lives, defined the term, ‘the Greatest Generation.’ Knowing that was awe-inspiring for me.”
Whitlow will also be entered as Georgia’s representative in the competition for the VFW’s National Peace Officer Award, according to Georgia VFW Adjutant Wayne Hagan.
Chief Heaton on Monday said it was an honor that was well-deserved, adding that aside from his duties as an investigator Whitlow conducts seminars and works with school children and businesses in various forms of crime prevention.
“I’m very, very proud of Mike. He’s very active in the community and does a great job in areas like fraud investigations and identity theft,” Heaton said. “Mike was a great catch for us and I appreciate everything he does.”
Whitlow is a 13-year veteran Master Police Officer and has been with the Fayetteville Police Department since February 2006. He served as a patrol officer until May 2008 when he transferred to the Criminal Investigation Unit as a detective, a department spokesperson said.
Whitlow is the 2009 recipient of the Fayetteville Police Officer of the Year award and the 2010 Financial Crimes Investigation award from the Griffin Judicial Circuit. Whitlow has twice been nominated as Officer of the Year through the Griffin Georgia Judicial Circuit.
Whitlow has received numerous letters of commendation, including letters from the United States Treasury Department, the Fayette County Georgia District Attorney’s Office and the St. Lucie County Florida Sheriff’s Office.
Whitlow has completed more than 3,000 hours of training through the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, including the areas of Financial Crimes Investigation and Asset Forfeiture and is a certified Peace Officer Instructor. He is a member of an FBI counterfeit check task force and a past member of a United States Secret Service Identity Fraud Task Force.
Whitlow was previously employed with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to that time he was employed in the private sector as an investigator for a loss prevention company. Whitlow was also the owner of a company providing private security and investigating insurance fraud and loss prevention.
