MPO Mary Hulse is an example of a police officer doing her job and doing it well. And at the March 13 meeting of the Sully District Station’s Citizens Advisory Committee, she was honored as that station’s Officer of the Month.
In Hulse’s performance review, her supervisor, 2nd Lt. Todd Kinkead, described a Feb. 25 arrest of hers that started with a traffic stop and ended up with a wanted man being charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor.
“This was another great example of doing routine enforcement and having a larger impact than first expected,” wrote Kinkead. “I applaud her motivation and efforts. She is an inspiration to others [and] I commend her for the difference she is making every day.”
In his letter nominating Hulse as the Officer of the Month, he detailed another of her arrests last month. Kinkead said she was operating stationary radar, the afternoon of Feb. 15, when she clocked a male driver doing 45 mph in a 30-mph zone. She made a traffic stop and began speaking with him.
She was immediately suspicious of the identity he was claiming, since he didn’t produce a driver’s license and told her he didn’t have his wallet. So Hulse asked for his name and birth date. But when she checked DMV records, the information didn’t return as valid — further deepening her suspicions that something was amiss.
At that point, PFC Virgil Swartz arrived to provide back-up and support to Hulse. She briefed him about the traffic stop and the driver’s lack of verified identification. Meanwhile, wrote Kinkead, “The subject’s behavior was becoming even more nervous as he was sitting on the curbside now. He was sweating profusely and fidgeting and [his] eyes were shifting about wildly.”
Swartz asked for consent to search the vehicle and it was granted. But, wrote Kinkead, “As he entered the passenger side of the car, the subject stood up and ran.” Swartz pursued him while yelling for him to stop.
Hulse joined the chase in her cruiser and was able to overtake the suspect and use her cruiser to block his forward progress. Doing so allowed Swartz to close the distance between him and the fleeing man and deploy his taser in an attempt to apprehend him. The taser darts struck the man’s jacket and baggy pants, slowing him down enough for Swartz to stop him and place him under arrest.
Once handcuffed, wrote Kinkead, the driver explained that he ran because “he was wanted on outstanding warrants. A resident alien card was located in [his] sock, and the information returned a wanted hit for a burglary warrant from Prince William County.”
The officers then searched his car more thoroughly and discovered items believed to be stolen property. Wrote Kinkead: “A book bag containing 15 watches and a nearly complete lower receiver for an AR-15 rifle were a few items of concern.”
Later, Det. Steve Kitzerow from the Sully District Station’s Criminal Investigations Section helped with the investigation and asked Det. Steve Augustine from the Fair Oaks CIS to join in, since they were both investigating some recent burglaries. According to Kinkead, “Some of the [confiscated] property was positively identified as stolen from two burglaries that occurred on Feb. 14.”
The driver was taken to Fairfax County’s Adult Detention Center where he was served with the Prince William County burglary warrant. He was also charged with driving while his license was suspended, speeding, unlawful name change, and escape.
“This case grew from a simple traffic violation,” wrote Kinkead. “It was the keen observations and experience of MPO Hulse that resulted in capturing a wanted subject from Prince William County and solving several other burglaries in our county. [It] spawned a team effort and one of mutual support to maximize the returns.”
Saying Hulse’s “great work” merited a light shone on “a very worthy officer,” Kinkead wrote that efforts like hers “make the job of police work even more rewarding.”