Hey Greenwich! Did You Know ... Greenwich Cops Are Tops?

Today is Thursday, May 10, 2012 and it's National Shrimp Day.

This day in history:

The actress Joan Crawford died of a heart attack in her New York City apartment in 1977. Less than 2 years later her daughter Christina writes the popular and scathing biography 'Mommy Dearest.'

In 1990, Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first black president of South Africa, after he spent 27 years in jail.

Things you should know:

Greenwich officers graduate with top honors

Greenwich Police Officer John Tar graduated as the valedictorian of his training class at the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden.

Tar, , has completed the 24-week academy and graduated number 1 in a class of 41 officers from around Connecticut. He's also completing 12 weeks of departmental field training.

Tar, a graduate of St. Joseph's High School in Trumbull, studied mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, said he was challenged by "trying to get back into the learning environment. It was a big adjustment" to return to the classroom after nearly 20 years.

Tar is one of 10 new officers in training at the department which has vacancies created by retirements and Police Chief James Heavey says he anticipates there will a handful of additional retirements and new hires this summer.

Heavey said he hopes to be able to hire enough recruits to reach the authorized department strength of 155 officers.

But until those 10 new officers have completed training, two recently promoted detectives will remain in the patrol division.

Those officers—Kyle O'Neill and Krystie Purzycki—and Officer Ted Latiak recently completed a 2-week Fairfield County Detectives School training session.

Latiak earned top honors, graduating number 1 in his class. O'Neill and Purzycki were in the top 10 in the class of 39 detectives from around the county. Latiak is the only one of the three actually working as a detective and is serving a six-month probationary period.

A lifelong Greenwich resident, Latiak joined the force in 2008. He earned an electrical engineering degree from the United States Military Academy at Westport, served six years in the Army and earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.

Both Tar and Latiak will be given guns by their respective schools in recognition of their achievements.

Lions Club honors

Sgt. John Thorme has been named the winner of the annual Dr. John C. Clarke Award given to a Greenwich police officer who has performed "extremely high standards of police work."

The 44-year-old Thorme was selected by Chief Heavey to receive the award given in honor of Clarke, the department's surgeon and one of the original members of the Greenwich Lions Club. The award has been given each year since 1947.

Thorme was recognized for his Feb. 13, 2011 apprehension of a . A man had entered the store with a handgun and demanded narcotics from the pharmacists. As other officers arrived at the scene, Thorme was able to convince the suspect, who had taken a large quantity of oxycodone from the store, to surrender. It turned out that the suspect's gun was a replica BB gun.

During the presentation luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich, Thorme also was presented with a state legislative citation from the town's delegation in Hartford. About 70 current and past Greenwich Police officers and Clarke Award winners, and Lions Club members attended.

"It's hard to follow with all of the recipients who stood up before me," Thorme said. "It's hard to acknowledge what it means to me ... it's the dedication of not only myself but also the officers I work with every day. I am honored and flattered."

That he was able to get the suspect, who police said was high on drugs, to surrender without violence, Thorme said,"It worked out good for him and even better for me. It was the best outcome—no one gets hurt: myself, other officers and the perp."

Previously, Thorme was named for his efforts.

Thorme also received some good-natured ribbing from fellow officers about the rather large shiner he was sporting on his right eye. Thorme said, "I didn't get it on the job." He was hit in the eye by a ball during a recreational softball league. He said he needed 30 stitches to close the wound.

Meetings today at Greenwich Town Hall:

* Note that the selectmen's meeting is being held at a special time instead of the usual 10 a.m. start in the Town Hall Meeting Room.

If you prefer the clicker instead of being there, there's Greenwich Community Television (GCTV) on either Fios Channel 24 or Cablevision's Channel 79.

And if you prefer movie entertainment, here's the schedule for:

*Sources: history.com