Bradenton officer named Officer of the Year by ASIS

Officer David Durrance of the Bradenton Police Department was named Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the Florida West Coast Chapter of the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) International.

He will be honored at an awards luncheon May 20 in Tampa.

The Bradenton Police Department nominated Durrance for his role in subduing an armed suspect on June 2.

Police had received an emergency call regarding an attempted bank robbery after a suspicious man was seen wearing gloves and pulling a bandana over his face outside the bank's front doors, according to authorities. His entry into the bank was thwarted by employees who locked the door after recognizing him as a suspect in recent armed bank robberies.

The suspect fled, but was tracked by Sgt. Curtis Johnson and Durrance of BPD’s Crimes Unit. They conducted a felony stop on 26th Street West.

As the officers approached the truck, the suspect grabbed a gun and aimed it at Johnson, authorities said. Durrance fired one shot from his service weapon into the torso of the suspect, causing him to drop the gun. He was taken to a hospital and has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and attempted armed robbery.