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Thursday, June 4, 2009

'Superstar' beat cop is Fencl winner

Several years ago, Officer Adrian Hospedale was offered an unglamorous assignment: Walking a foot beat through the hardscrabble streets of Southwest Philadelphia’s 12th District.
Cops and residents say Hospedale treated the beat like a personal mission and became a positive, comforting presence in a community that sorely needed one.
For this, the 23-year veteran has been named the winner of the 24th annual George Fencl Award.
Daily News readers who nominated Hospedale, an associate pastor at the Wynnefield Baptist Church, said he has often gone beyond the call of duty to resolve neighborhood conflicts and encourage troubled youngsters.
“Adrian has everything you want to see in somebody who wins the Fencl Award,” said Capt. Daniel MacDonald, a former Fencl finalist and the commander of the 12th District.
The annual award — named for the legendary late Civil Affairs Inspector George Fencl — is bestowed on a police officer who brings a unique blend of courage, integrity and determination to the job.
“Adrian took a neighborhood foot beat and became a superstar out there,” MacDonald said. “He keeps the peace and really puts his heart and soul into the job,” MacDonald said.
Readers said Hospedale, who has spent most of his career in the 12th District, has helped make merchants and residents feel safer along the Chester Avenue business corridor.
“He has a very calming spirit and demeanor that sets everyone at ease. He defuses situations with the personal touch that says, ‘I care about you,’” wrote Vernon Brown, a Southwest resident.
Two finalists were also named: Lt. Michael Dwyer, a 37-year veteran, and Officer Rochelle Bilal, a 23-year veteran.
Readers said Dwyer, assigned to the police Research and Planning Unit, has shown uncommon kindness for decades as a volunteer at the Philadelphia Shriners Hospital.
Dwyer, who has been honored by the Philadelphia Flyers for his contributions to the community, organizes holiday parties and an annual canine show for Shriners’ patients. Said one letter-writer: “I wish we could clone Mike.”
Bilal works in the Narcotics Unit and serves as the president of the Guardian Civic League, an organization comprised of African-American cops.
One letter writer said Bilal provided “a truckload of gifts, food and even Santa Claus” to low-income families at the Tioga Arms Apartments at Christmas.
“She brought a positive spin on Philadelphia’s Finest,” the letter writer said.
Fencl judges this year included Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey; FOP president John McNesby; George Fencl’s widow, Joan, and son, George Jr.; and Daily News columnist Elmer Smith.
Posted by David Gambacorta @ 11:33 PM  Permalink | 2 comments
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About The PhillyConfidential team

Dana DiFilippo has covered murder, mayhem and miscellany at the Daily News since 2000. She grew up in Delaware County and studied journalism and photography at Penn State University. E-mail tips to difilid@phillynews.com.

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Stephanie Farr has been reporting for the Daily News since 2007, covering everything from gay porn stars who entered the burglary business to moon trees, skinheads, murders and naked bike rides. She covers crime, both in the city and suburbs, and keeps clippings of bizarre Associated Press articles. Her favorite this year was the story about the drunk in Punxsutawney who gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dead opossum. E-mail tips to farrs@phillynews.com.

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Phillip Lucas joined the Daily News crime team in 2011. He grew up on the mean streets of Seattle and studied journalism and psychology at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Before landing in the City of Brotherly Love, Phillip was a reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del. Email tips to lucasp@phillynews.com.

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Morgan Zalot is the newest crime reporter at the Daily News, starting in 2011 after interning at the paper twice as a Temple University journalism student. In her past stints at the DN, she covered just about everything, from drunken Phillies fans to a barber shop in a high school to a grisly murder-suicide. She’s a born-and-raised Philly girl who grew up in the Northeast. E-mail tips to zalotm@philly.com.

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