NATIONAL POLICE ORGANIZATION RECOGNIZES SC HIGHWAY PATROL TROOPER BOB BERES

COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol announced that L/Cpl. Bob Beres, Troop Six, was selected to represent law enforcement in South Carolina at the Sixteenth Annual Top Cops Awards in Washington, D.C. Beres was chosen as an honorable mention award winner by the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), sponsor of the Sixteenth Annual Top Cops Awards.

Beres, along with 35 other honorable mention award winners, represented 25 states and federal agencies at a ceremony on May 12.

“We are very proud of Trooper Bob for representing South Carolina for this prestigious honor,” said Highway Patrol Colonel Kenny Lancaster Jr. “He has a true heart for highway safety, which is an extension of his true compassion for people.

“Trooper Bob works especially hard to create positive interaction between children and teens and law enforcement. He often visits schools on his own time to interact with the children, eating lunch with them and reading to them during school hours.”

The Top Cops awards pay tribute to law enforcement officers from across the country for outstanding service to their communities during the preceding year. The TOP COPS were nominated by fellow officers and selected from hundreds of nominations by an independent awards committee. The Awards’ Committee chooses one winner from each state who goes on to compete nationally.

Lance Corporal Beres is a 15-year veteran of the South Carolina Highway Patrol and is assigned to the Community Relations’ Unit where he serves in Troop Six. He has been assigned to the Lowcountry for most of his career where he is well-known for his generosity and love for his job as a trooper.

Beres has worked as a Community Relations’ Officer in both Troops Six and Seven over the past two years. He has been instrumental in establishing partnerships for safety programs in the schools, businesses, civic organizations and the Law Enforcement Networks.

In May 2008, Lance Corporal Beres was named the South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper of the Year for his outstanding dedication to safety education and the community. The nonprofit Alston Wilkes Society named Lance Corporal Beres as its 2008 South Carolina Law Enforcement Trooper of the Year in November 2008.

Lance Corporal Beres joined the South Carolina Highway Patrol in 1994. He served in the United States Navy from 1989 through 1993. He has two sons and attends Cathedral Praise Church in North Charleston.