The Fayetteville Police Department celebrates a proud tradition of professional service each year by naming an Officer of the Year and an Employee of the Year who both exemplify the type of person valued by the department and the community.
For the 2014 honors, Detective Melissa Peacock and Lt. Craig Harper have been selected.
Peacock was chosen by her peers in the department to be 2014 Officer of the Year, an honor given to a uniformed officer or detective that demonstrates competence, displays a positive image, a high level of integrity, is always willing to help others and goes above and beyond their job duties.
Peacock has been serving with the department since 2002 with most of her time spent in Criminal Investigations. Over the past year, she transitioned into a crime scene investigator and evidence custodian. In June 2014, the lead crime scene investigator and evidence custodian became ill and Peacock assumed that role on her own without the benefit of any apprenticeship. For Peacock, it became trial by fire and she quickly adapted and has become a dependable source, always willing to assist others and often going above and beyond her duties.
Peacock volunteers each year with the Junior Police Academy, National Night Out and numerous other community service projects.
The Employee of the Year is a supervisor or civilian employee who displays a positive image, is an inspiration to others, a morale booster always willing to help others and demonstrates civic pride and leadership – all qualities possessed by Harper, who was chosen 2014 Employee of the Year.
Harper brings over 16 years of law enforcement experience to the department, including a stint as a SWAT officer, detective, undercover narcotics officer, accident investigator and field training officer.
Harper, who currently serves as a patrol supervisor, is known for his ability to discover new ways to motivate the officers under his command, is always willing to help out with community service projects and fills in for other shifts when they are in need. Harper has even voluntarily worked on his daughter’s birthday, his anniversary and many times on weekends when he was scheduled off.
In addition to his duties as patrol supervisor, Harper is also on call as an accident reconstructionist, manages the department’s traffic enforcement team and assists with recruiting for the department.
