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Two of Benton’s finest were honored Tuesday for their dedication to saving lives and improving the quality of life in Saline County. 
The council chamber floor belonged Rudy, a narcotic detection dog, and Officer Brian Bigelow, the city’s 2008 Officer of the Year. Numerous city leaders and law enforcement officers from various agencies were on hand to support officers Bigelow and Rudy.
“This is a proud day,” Mayor Rick Holland told the crowd. “Policemen are a community and everyone in the state knows if you are a good [police] department or not ... they keep up with each other and everyone says positive things about the Benton Police Department. To be [individually] honored from this department ...I mean you must be pretty good!”
The ceremony also recognized Detective Jeff Parsons, who became the legal owner of Rudy through a city resolution. Holland read the resolution that said, “K-9 Rudy, who has served the citizens of the City of Benton for a number of years ...has become unable to meet the physical demands of serving and protecting the public ...authorizing the mayor to give K-9 Rudy to his handler.”
Rudy is a German shepherd and became Benton’s first narcotic detection dog after graduating from the Little Rock K-9 Academy on Sept. 12, 2003. He was originally assigned to Officer Scott Fritz, but Fritz left the department in December 2005, and Rudy was assigned to Parsons.
Rudy worked alongside Parsons for nearly six years before Rudy’s retirement on Dec. 8.
Hip dysplasia, a painful condition resulting from a misalignment of the hip joints, forced Rudy’s retirement. Rudy was responsible for for a number of narcotics seizures, 40 arrests, the recovery of more than $30,000 in cash and the seizure of two vehicles, authorities said.
Captain Jeff Besancon also recognized the Parsons’ efforts at the ceremony. He said that without a well trained officer to work alongside the K-9, the team would not work.
“Together they made many drug seizures, made schools safer and improved the community,” Besancon said. “He’ll be, and is already, sorely missed at the department.”
Holland and Besancon both wished Rudy “Godspeed” and a lengthy retirement. Parsons and Fritz were both in attendance and said Rudy would make a good “house” dog.
“He has lived a good life,” Fritz said. “It’s neat and special that he received this recognition ...K-9 officers life on the job are cut short by police activity, but I think he’ll be happy as a good house dog.”
“I absolutely love the idea of keeping him,” Parson said. “He is a part of my family and I am thankful the city council voted to give him to me — It means the world to me. My family thinks it is a plus too. Everyday my 2-year-old son says ‘Rudy, Rudy, Rudy.’”
Parsons said to transition Rudy from police work to the pet life, he keeps him busy with evening walks. He said another family dog, Pippin, a daschund, also keep Rudy company.
“Rudy is much bigger than him,” Parson said, “but he is as gentle as can be with [Pippin]. Rudy is taking [being a family pet] really well.”
Before Rudy was recognized for the end to his law enforcement life, Bigelow was recognized for his continued life in law enforcement with the illustrious Officer of the Year award. According to Sgt. Kevin Russell, “it has been many, many years since the [Benton] department has given this award out, but we decided to bring it back.”
Chief Kirk Lane said numerous officers were nominated for the award, and the field was later narrowed down to four officers.
“The hardest thing to determine was how to pick one officer for the award,” Lane said. “So I made the Chief’s Review Committee and they helped decided who will get the award.”
Lane said members of the committee are Alderman Bill Donnor, Carolyn Boone of the Citizens Public Safety Committee, retired Benton Officer James Smyth and Civil Service Commission member and retired Benton Officer Sam “Pokey” Gibson.
Bigelow was chosen for numerous reasons, including that he won the Officer of the Quarter award twice in 2008. The biggest reason Bigelow was chosen is his dedication to saving lives and helping improve the community, Lane said.
On Feb. 24, 2008, while on patrol as a DWI Enforcement Officer, Bigelow noticed smoke in the air near Carpenter Street south of Military Road. When he investigated, he discovered heavy smoke billowing out of the eaves, windows and doors of a house.
“I figured there were people inside the home,” Bigelow said. “There were several vehicles in the yard, but when I banged on the door several times, I never got a response. I decided to kick in the door, and I guess I made enough racket because I then heard a woman ... inside.”
He said he could tell that the woman was short of breath from inhaling smoke, and then a man answered the door. “The man said they had all been asleep and didn’t know about the fire,” Bigelow said. “There was a man, a woman and a child around 1 or 2 years old, and I got them outside. Once I got them to the car, they thanked me for waking them up and were very grateful. I then wrapped them in some blankets, and I called the fire department.”
Benton firefighters were able to limit the actual flame damage to the back section of the house, which the family used as a laundry room.
“This kind of thing goes along with an officer’s training — to look for things out of the ordinary,” Russell said. “He paid attention to his surroundings and helped save these people’s lives. It is another example of an officer being proactive.”
Because of his actions, Bigelow also received a letter of commendation in his personnel file and later one his first 2008 Officer of the Quarter award.
“I was just happy that I was there at the right time,” Bigelow said. “I obviously feel good about the commendation, but I feel better about saving the family from the fire.”
Bigelow won the second 2008 Officer of the Quarter award after following a tip from a concerned citizen that lead to a drug bust at the Troutt Motel, near a church and a school in Benton.
On Oct. 2, 2008, a citizen told Bigelow that she believed a man named Scott Owens of Benton was selling crack cocaine and marijuana out of a motel room.
Bigelow said in a report he was on patrol in the area when he saw Owens driving a vehicle and new he had a suspended driver’s license. After stopping Owens, Bigelow said he told him about hearing information that he was selling drugs and Owens suddenly became nervous.
“He adamantly denied possessing any narcotics or being involved in any illegal drug activity,” Bigelow said in the report.
Owens reportedly agreed to let officers search his hotel room, but after he dropped his wife and kids, who were in the vehicle, at a home on River St. and that he would call when he got to the hotel room. Bigelow said when he finished citing Owens for driving on a suspended driver’s license and writing a report, he drove to the Troutt Motel only to find Owens already there. Reportedly Owens exited the hotel room with a large diaper bag and ran to the car. Bigelow reportedly found a digital scale with white powder residue, 3.7 grams of suspected marijuana, a bag of 12.95 grams of suspected crack cocaine, a second bag of 5.74 grams of suspected crack cocaine, numerous plastic bags and a razor blade. A further search of the bag reportedly found matches, five small pieces of suspected crack cocaine all weighing between 0.18 and 0.24 grams.
Owens was charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, use of another person’s property to facilitate a crime and maintaining a drug premises in a drug free zone. All charges were felony charges.
Russell said Owens was later sent to the Arkansas Department of Correction. For his efforts in the bust, Bigelow was recognized by his peers during that month and again on Tuesday. Bigelow said he was surprised when he got the Officer of the Year award, but thought something was “up” when he was approached earlier this week by Lane.
“Chief just said for me to come to the event and that I needed my family here,” he said. “It’s awesome to win this award — it is a great honor. There are a lot of amazing officers here and to be selected among them makes it more enjoyable.”
Officer Brian Bigelow joined the Benton Police Department on Sept. 2, 2001, as a cadet and moved up to patrol on June 4, 2004. He became the second officer in the Benton department to have a K-9 partner, Lucky, an 18-month-old Belgian Malinoisn, on Jan. 24, 2007.
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