Front Range Law Enforcement Champions Announced by CDOT and MADD

Photos from the ceremony are available upon request by emailing [email protected]

Denver — At a ceremony last night, the Colorado Department of Transportation and Mothers Against Drunk Driving announced the winners of the 2025 Law Enforcement Champion awards for the Front Range. These awards focus on efforts to reduce impaired driving, increase the use of seat belts and reduce speeding.

The Law Enforcement Champion award winners are:

Dr. Robert E. Weltzer Outstanding Dedication to Traffic Safety
Angel Giffin, Colorado State Patrol

Sgt. David Baldwin Award
Sergeant Nick Hazlett, Colorado State Patrol / Troop 5B (Alamosa)

Col. Mark V. Trostel Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award
Master Trooper Marty Plakorus, Colorado State Patrol / Troop 3B (Sterling)

MADD Hero Award: Law Enforcement
Deputy Trae Borror, Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office

MADD Hero Award: Traffic Safety Team
17th Judicial District Prosecution Team, 17th JD District Attorney’s Office

MADD Hero Award: Traffic Safety Individual
Rachel Reinhardt, Colorado State Patrol / Vehicular Crimes Analysis Unit

Drug Recognition Expert of the Year – Front Range: South
Trooper Jonathan Kay, Colorado State Patrol / Troop 2B (Colorado Springs)

Drug Recognition Expert of the Year – Front Range: North
Officer Shaun Granmoe, Arvada Police Department

Outstanding Dedication to Underage Drinking Prevention and Enforcement
Colorado Liquor Enforcement Division, Colorado Department of Revenue

Outstanding Dedication to Speed Enforcement
Deputy Jason Hart, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office

Outstanding Dedication to Investigating Impaired Driving Crashes
Traffic Investigations Unit, Denver Police Department

Outstanding Individual Dedication to Occupant Protection: CSP / Front Range
Trooper Alexander Clark, Colorado State Patrol / Troop 2A (Florence)

Outstanding Individual Dedication to Occupant Protection: CSP / Rural
Corporal Ramiro Contreras, Colorado State Patrol / Troop 3B (Fort Morgan)

Outstanding Individual Dedication to Occupant Protection: Local Law Enforcement / Front Range
Officer Jennifer Hines, Loveland Police Department

Outstanding Individual Dedication to Impaired Driving Enforcement: Local Law Enforcement / Mountain
Corporal Jennifer Kruse, Blue River Police Department

Outstanding Individual Dedication to Impaired Driving Enforcement: CSP / Front Range
Trooper Edward Ramirez, Colorado State Patrol / Troop 1D (Adams County)

Outstanding Team Dedication to Occupant Protection: CSP / Rural
Troop 3B, Colorado State Patrol (Fort Morgan)

Outstanding Team Dedication to Occupant Protection: Local Law Enforcement / Front Range
Traffic Safety Unit, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office

Outstanding Team Dedication to Impaired Driving Enforcement: CSP / Rural
Troop 2C, Colorado State Patrol (La Junta)

Outstanding Team Dedication to Impaired Driving Enforcement: Local Law Enforcement / Front Range
Traffic Unit DUI Team, Greeley Police Department (Greeley)

Outstanding Team Dedication to Impaired Driving Enforcement: Local Law Enforcement / Front Range
2024 Late Week Nights Officers, Colorado State University Police Department (Fort Collins)

Outstanding Team Dedication to Impaired Driving Enforcement: Local Law Enforcement / Mountain
Patrol Division, Grand County Sheriff’s Office

Outstanding Team Dedication to Impaired Driving Enforcement: CSP / Front Range
Troop 2B Team Zellman, Colorado State Patrol / Troop 2B (Colorado Springs)

Outstanding Individual Dedication to Impaired Driving Enforcement: Local Law Enforcement / Front Range
Officer Manny Araujo, Colorado State University Police Department (Fort Collins)

The Officer Andrew Duarte Person of Impact Award
Trooper Shane Goldermann, Colorado State Patrol / Troop 3A (Greeley)

“We are ever grateful to the brave men and women in law enforcement who keep our roads and communities safe,” said Darrell Lingk, Director of the Highway Safety Office at CDOT. “At CDOT, we take a holistic approach to safety on our transportation system, which includes recognizing the role of public safety officials in keeping impaired drivers off our road, promoting seat belt use and enforcing speed limits.”

A law enforcement champion is an individual who shows outstanding support for impaired driving, traffic safety or occupant protection enforcement. This can be demonstrated by the number of dangerous drivers removed from the roadways or arrests made during the established enforcement periods throughout the year. It can also be demonstrated by drug recognition expert activity, high visibility enforcement tactics and other related activities.

“Colorado is fortunate to have so many agencies, teams and individuals passionate about traffic safety and proactive DUI enforcement,” said MADD Colorado State Executive Director Rebecca Green. “We are grateful for the opportunity to recognize their efforts to save lives. Together, we can end impaired driving.”

Sponsors of the event included presenting sponsor firm Bachus & Schanker, Smart Force, Safeway, the Colorado State Patrol Association, Lifeloc, AAA, Alcohol Beverage Training and HEI Civil.

Approximately one-third of traffic fatalities involve an impaired driver in Colorado. In addition, most traffic fatalities involve an unbuckled driver or passenger. Seat belts save an estimated 225 lives in Colorado each year. An additional 70 lives could have been saved if everyone in Colorado buckled up. The current seat belt use rate is 88%.

CDOT provides funding to Colorado law enforcement for impaired driving and seat belt enforcement campaigns. The Heat Is On campaign runs throughout the year with 15 specific high visibility impaired driving enforcement periods centered on national holidays and large public events. Enforcement periods can include sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and additional law enforcement on duty dedicated to impaired driving enforcement. More details about impaired driving enforcement plans, arrest totals and safety tips can be found at HeatIsOnColorado.com.

There are three high visibility seat belt enforcement periods that take place each year in Colorado. For more information about seat belt safety and enforcement citation numbers, visit SeatBeltsColorado.com.

About Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Founded in 1980 by a mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to end drunk and drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes, and prevent underage drinking and other drug use. MADD has helped to save more than 400,000 lives, reduce drunk driving deaths by more than 50 percent and promote designating a non-drinking driver. MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® calls for law enforcement support, ignition interlocks for all offenders and advanced vehicle technology. MADD has provided supportive services to nearly one million drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors at no charge through local victim advocates and the 24-Hour Victim Help Line 1-877-MADD-HELP. Visit madd.org or call 1-877-ASK-MADD.