Pictured: Mike Winters, Technology Coordinator, Cheshire Police Department with Lieutenant Jay Markella

Mike Winters, a 19-year veteran of the Cheshire (CT) Police Department (and the Department's Technology Coordinator), has been selected Technician of the Year in the 2007 PSAPs' Finest contest. Lieutenant Jay Markella, also of the Cheshire Police Department, nominated Mike for the award. We invite you to read Mike's story below.

In 2005, a sequence of tragic events shook the very foundation of the Cheshire Police Department.

Gary Walberg, a 27-year career police professional who had risen from rookie patrolman to the Department's Chief of Police, died suddenly of a heart attack. His Deputy Chief - the Department's technology expert - took the helm but soon retired. Another Chief stepped into the position but within six months, he too, unexpectedly passed away.

The abrupt transitions left a gaping leadership hole - and critical technology upgrades were also in the lurch.

"We never thought in a million years something like that could happen," said Cheshire PD's Mike Winters.

In 2004, Winters, a 16-year veteran and police dispatcher with the Department, was being groomed for a technology role - even though such a position didn't formally exist. "I was moving in that direction," he said. "It was just a matter of whether we could get it through the council and the union."

But soon thereafter, with the passing of two Chiefs and the retirement of the Deputy Chief, Winters was literally thrown feet first into the new role that he'd been slowly working towards.

"Mike basically went from learning mode to doing the job full-time and under fire," explains Cheshire PD's Lieutenant Jay Markella.

To hear Markella tell it, had Mike not thrust himself into the position whole-heartedly, the Department could have easily slipped into paralysis. Even the most routine day-to-day operations that one would take for granted suddenly became immense challenges.

"For example, there were a lot of sensitive materials that only the Chiefs and the Deputy Chief could access - things like personnel files, internal investigations, the budget, forms, "says Markella. "Something as simple as not having a password confounded our ability to get things done."

Markella says that Mike 'dove in' to solve these day-to-day problems so the Department could continue to function.

Cheshire PD was also midway through a $140,000 capital improvement initiative to install high tech mobile computers in its fleet of police cars - and Markella credits Mike with completing these upgrades on schedule, despite the Department's untimely departures and flux in management.

Winters also built a new server room at the Police Department and single-handedly rewired the entire complex to accommodate a new digital IP phone system.

While Winters is technology-savvy, according to Markella, there's a whole other side to Mike that makes him great at what he does.

He elaborates: "I could pull a computer expert in here off the street. He may know computers but he's not going to understand the day-to-day operations of a police department."

According to Markella, Mike's longevity with the Department and his experience as a police dispatcher put him in a better position to understand the needs of officers, and ultimately to make better technology decisions.

"That's the number one quality that someone needs - to know how a police department runs," says Markella. "You need someone who an officer can come to and say, 'I have an idea. It would be nice if we could do this.' The technologist then needs to be able to understand the need, know what technology's available, and then say 'well this is what I can do for you.'"

But keeping pace with technology can be a tall order even for a relatively small police department like Cheshire.

"Without question, every aspect of policing has just taken off in terms of technology. Everything is done through computers - from mug shots to report writing to filing. And what we thought was advanced six years ago is now obsolete," Markella reflects. "So you need someone to look at all the products that are out there. That alone is a big task. Never mind that once it's set up that person needs to know how to use it, and how to fix it if it breaks down."

That's where Winters comes in. He's an IT department of one - a dynamo.

On any given day, he wears lots of different hats - ranging from IT adviser to Mr. Fix-It. "He might be sitting in on a round-table with the town manager and others discussing technology one moment, and off solving a crisis or fixing a problem the next," says Markella. "From the moment he walks in the door he's lucky if he gets to leave on time."

Much of Mike's work at Cheshire PD is done behind the scenes with little fanfare, and Markella says this makes his contribution stand out all the more.

"It's nice to see someone like Mike get this award. I can tell you as a former patrolman myself that we expect a lot. We expect technology to work at the flick of a button and not to have to re-learn anything. Now that I'm in the position I'm in I can see on a day to day basis what he does, and it's truly amazing," Markella asserts. "It's a very underappreciated position - but probably one of the most important in the building."

Learn more about the 2007 PSAPs' Finest Award Program recipients.

CLICK HERE to visit the Insight 2007 PSAPs' Finest web page and view video stories for each of this year's winners.

CLICK HERE to read the announcement of the 2007 PSAPs' Finest winners.

CLICK HERE to read Mike's story in the Cheshire Herald.