Five MLPD officers promoted, civilian honored

Staff Report, Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, Wash.
·3 min read

May 16—MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Police Department swore in a new generation of leaders at the Moses Lake City Council on Tuesday, according to an announcement from MLPD Chief David Sands, and also awarded the Citizen Service Award.

The officers who were promoted following a rigorous and stressful training process, according to Sands, were:

Capt. Jeff Sursely: Sursely is a 27-year veteran officer with the MLPD and has been a sergeant for the last 12 years. He has worked as a patrol officer, narcotics detective, school resource officer and general detective, and was also an inaugural member of both the MLPD's tactical team and honor guard. Previously, Sursely was a member of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit out of McChord AFB, deployed four times to the Middle East, and retired from the U.S. Air Force as a chief master sergeant, the highest enlisted rank.

Sgt. Darrik Gregg: Gregg is also a tenured officer, having started with the Royal City Police Department more than 20 years ago, then moved to the Grant County Sheriff's Office where he moved from deputy to corporal to sergeant and ultimately became chief deputy over Emergency Management and Special Operations. After a brief break from law enforcement, Gregg joined the MLPD in 2022.

Sgt. Rudy Valdez: Valdez was born and raised in Moses Lake and initially came to the MLPD as a reserve officer in 2015 and joined full-time in 2017. Valdez is a graduate of Central Washington University and worked for REC prior to becoming an MLPD officer. He was promoted to corporal in 2022.

Cpl. Curt Ledeboer: Another officer who grew up in Moses Lake, Ledeboer graduated from Eastern Washington University and went to work for the city in Code Enforcement. In 2010 he joined the MLPD. He recently finished a lengthy stint in Street Crimes where he and the rest of the team worked proactively to deal with drug and gun crime. As a result of the work, he has been assigned to work as a task force officer with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for the last three years.

Cpl. Jose Ramirez: Also a Moses Lake High School graduate, Ramirez graduated from Eastern Washington University. He took a less direct route to the MLPD, working first at the Grant County Jail before going to the Ephrata PD for seven years. Ramirez came home and joined the MLPD in 2022, and for this past school year took an assignment as a school resource officer.

The Citizen Service Award was presented to Branli Arroyo, 21, of Moses Lake for his assistance to an officer in danger, Sands wrote.

At about 9:30 p.m. March 21, Ledeboer observed a subject he knew to be wanted for multiple felonies, according to Sands. The officer made contact with the subject behind KeyBank near East Broadway. After being advised he was under arrest, the subject initially attempted to flee, but that quickly changed to actively resisting Officer Ledeboer and landing a punch to the officer's face.

Arroyo was driving by on East Broadway at that moment, stopped and ran to Ledeboer's aid, Sands wrote. He did so recognizing the officer was clearly in a struggle, did not have control of the subject and could not guarantee Arroyo's safety. Arroyo was calm and even tried to assist Officer Ledeboer to de-escalate the subject's behavior to avoid further use of force, according to Sands. When this did not work, he assisted the officer in controlling the subject and getting him secured in handcuffs.

In recognition of his assistance to an agency member in a manner above and beyond his normal civic duty, Arroyo was recognized with the Moses Lake Police Department Citizen Service Award, according to Sands. The award included a plaque and challenge coin from the agency.

"I am very proud of Mr. Arroyo and grateful he was there to stand with the officer until more help could arrive," Sands wrote.