Myrtle Beach police sergeant receives ‘Officer of the Year’ award

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - National Police Week kicked off with an award ceremony that honored the top officer in the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

The Myrtle Beach Rotary Club hosted and presented the 58th Annual Officer Joe McGarry Memorial Police Officer of the Year Award on Monday. The award is named after Officer Joe McGarry who was killed in the line of duty in 2002.

“It’s a time that we recognize and acknowledge all the things that our police do for us here in the city,” said Rob Wilfong, the president of Myrtle Beach Rotary.

This year Sgt. Christopher Tyndall, MCpl. George Johnson, MCpl. David BeLue, Cpl. Chris Holmes, Pfc. Josh Eller and Pfc. Chris Contino were nominated for the Officer of the Year Award.

Each one was nominated for their dedication to the city, their community involvement and being a role model for their teams.

Tyndall, a 12-year veteran of the police department, was chosen for the top honor.

“I started and was part of the junior police academy. That was a program that we started, where we give kids a crash course in what our functions are as a police department,” Tyndall said.

Tyndall started as a corrections officer and moved up the ranks.

“I’ve worked waterfront, street crimes, narcotics investigations and now I have the opportunity to be a sergeant down on the waterfront,” said Tyndall.

National Police Week not only honors officers working in our communities but also remembers those who died in the line of duty.

The city of Myrtle Beach will hold a memorial service at 10 a.m. Friday at the Ted C. Collins Law Enforcement Center.

The public is invited to attend.

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