On Halloween night, U.S. Park Police Officer Adam Zielinski arrested four drunken drivers on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway over a span of six hours. Although his night was not as eventful as that of some of his peers — who arrested drunken drivers dressed like a pirate and a cat — Zielinski said he was glad to get dangerous drivers off the street.
On Nov. 6, the city of Greenbelt honored Zielinski as Park Police Officer of the Year, along with Greenbelt Police Officer Pfc. Michael Apgar and Greenbelt Firefighter Anthony Sluder.
"[Zielinski] is one of the hardest-working officers we have," said Lt. Warren Boyer, who presented the award. "He's just one of those officers that if you have questions, he gets the answers."
Zielinski, 39, of Odenton made 163 arrests this year, with 109 of those being for DWI.
He was prompted to focus on DUI/DWI enforcement after learning about a man he had never met: Park Police Officer Hakim Azim Farthing, who was struck and killed Aug. 10, 2002, by a drunk driver in Hyattsville.
Zielinski, a five-year veteran of the department, is also a field training instructor who trained eight new officers this year, including a Navy reservist, a drug recognition expert, a collision reconstructionist and a volunteer paramedic in Anne Arundel County.
"It's very nice to be recognized, because you don't always get the gratification," Zielinski said. "But I couldn't do it without the other people on my squad."
He was joined at the awards ceremony, held at American Legion Post 136 in Greenbelt, by his wife, Linda Zielinski; his mother, Terry Zielinski of Ellicott City; and his aunt, Marsha Stengle, and niece, Alison Stengle, both of Columbia.
The Greenbelt Police Officer of the Year was Apgar, who was selected due to "his outstanding accomplishments as a patrol officer," said Chief James Craze, who presented the award.
In 2009, Apgar, who has been with the department for three and a half years, made a total of 28 adult criminal arrests, 14 juvenile arrests and 47 traffic arrests. He declined to say where he resides.
"It is often difficult to quantify a patrol officer's job," Craze said. "It is easy to look at how many arrests were made or how many tickets were written. ... What is not easy to quantify is the impact of the arrest or citation that was written."
Apgar thanked his fiancée, Craze and the department.
"It is a good feeling knowing what you are doing makes a difference to someone," Apgar said.
Sluder was named Greenbelt Firefighter of the Year "for his dedication, motivation and enthusiasm to the Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad," wrote Fire Chief Brian T. Rudy in an e-mail. "There was no one specific act that Tony performed; it was a culmination of his devotion to the department throughout the year."
Sluder could not be reached for comment by press time.
Members of the fire department were unable to attend the event because of a fire call received, said Paul Durance, a member of American Legion Post 136.
E-mail Jordan Attebury at jattebury@gazette.net.
