Mount Prospect names top cops

For more than 15 years, Mount Prospect has honored the best of the best in its police department. This year, the department selected an 11-year veteran of Mount Prospect to be the top cop. Three runners up were also honored.

According to the department, these officers continually showed exceptional performance last year.

Officer of the Year

• Robert Riordan: He had been with the department for about 25 years. He is currently in the investigations section. He was awarded four letters of appreciation, one honorable mention and two department commendations. He was named co-officer of the quarter for the period between October and December. He is a member of the Major Case Assistance Team, which is a violent crimes task force in the suburbs. He was runner up in 1984, 1991, 1996 and 2006.

Runners Up

• Sergeant Michael Eterno, the supervisor of the traffic unit, last year received four letters of appreciation and one department commendation. He helped start the Keep Kids Alive Program in the area. And he led the department to its second-place win during the Click It or Ticket campaign. Mount Prospect officers issued more than 1,700 tickets during that campaign. He was a runner-up in 2000 and 2001.

• Officer Joseph Kanupke has been on the force for the last eight years. He is assigned to the patrol division on the afternoon shift.

He received one letter of appreciation and one honorable mention and two department commendations. He was named co-officer of the quarter from October to December. He caught a car burglar, which helped solve a number of car thefts. He also stopped a person for a minor traffic offense, which resulted in a large seizure of cannabis. He is a member of the Mobile Field Force of the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System, which responds to large public disturbances and offers security at events.

• Anthony Lietzow has served in the department for about five years, but has been in law enforcement for about 14 years.

Tactical Officer Lietzow received one letter of appreciation and three department commendations. During a drug investigation, he helped seize about $3,700. He also was investigating a minor ordinance violation, which led to a felon, who had a handgun. He was the department's co-officer of the year in 2007 and Officer of the Year in 2005. He was a runner-up in 2004. Lietzow is not pictured because his work sometimes involves undercover work.