The Winters Police Department (WPD) is the shield between the community and all manners of crime and public safety incidents. While the men and women of WPD operate under the motto, “Service with Integrity,” Officer Brandon Kenney was recognized as exemplifying it most in 2022 — earning him the notoriety of being named the 2022 Officer of the Year.
Originally from Vallejo, Kenney now lives in Fairfield with his wife and newborn child. Although he’s not local, Kenney has made an indelible impact within the community and WPD since he joined the ranks in February 2021. Given his quality of work, the community has made an impact on Kenney as well.
“It feels awesome to be named Officer of the Year. We have a lot of hardworking officers and community service officers in the department and it means a lot to have earned Officer of the Year,” said Kenney. “Working in a smaller town like Winters allows me, as a police officer, to really engage with the community. In my two short years here, I feel like I can say I’ve had an impact on people in the community. Whereas in a bigger city, you don’t always get that connection. I enjoy being able to stop and talk to members of the community where I can help.”
According to the WPD social media announcement, the supervisors who nominated Kenney remarked on how he would show up to work every day with a positive attitude and is friendly and approachable with citizens on his calls. WPD also emphasized that he’s a team player, burns with passion for his job and inspires those around him.
Some of Kenney’s notable accomplishments of the year are his industriousness in helping create a one-to-one mentor program for cadets as well as organizing the WPD’s “Shop with a Cop” Christmastime initiative.
“The top highlight for me was organizing the Shop with a Cop event,” said Kenney. “For the first time since the event was introduced, we were able to take two families on a shopping trip for Christmas. They were able to buy their siblings and parents gifts for the holidays. Seeing their excitement and joy was the highlight of the year.”
From his service to his integrity as an officer, Kenney is a proud representation of law enforcement everywhere — but especially here in Winters.
“Officer Kenney was one of my Explorers (cadets) at Vallejo Police Department, back in the late 2000s and I worked with his older brother at Vallejo PD as well. He pursued other endeavors in the private sector prior to pursuing becoming an officer and he chose to work at Winters PD because he truly wanted to work at a supportive agency with a supportive community where he could make a difference,” said Police Chief John P. Miller. “He is the quality officer we seek and are trying to retain, and with the drastic shortage of qualified applicants to law enforcement, he literally could go anywhere he wanted — but we hope he doesn’t.”
