One year after the murder of Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton, Saturday night’s Seattle Police Foundation awards banquet honored the West Seattle High School graduate posthumously, as well as honoring the survivor of the deadly ambush and many SPD personnel who played a role in the response and the investigation. Other officers and SPD staff with West Seattle ties were honored in the annual awards event too – read on for photos and details:

As Seattle Police Chief John Diaz recalled while addressing the banquet crowd at the downtown Westin, one year earlier, the department was in mourning – and suddenly came news of a break in the case.

That break – the discovery that Christopher Monfort was not only the alleged killer but also the alleged firebomber who had targeted SPD vehicles less than two weeks before the ambush – was noted in myriad ways, as was the ambush itself.

Not only was Officer Brenton honored as East Precinct Officer of the Year, and the trainee with him that night, Officer Britt Sweeney, honored with a Medal of Valor, but other awards were given as a result of the investigation and arrest. Recipients included four detectives whose work led to the identification of Monfort’s car seen in the area, four administrative specialists who dealt with an avalanche of tips and other information right after the murder, the Criminal Intelligence Section (including West Seattleite Susan Daley, who also received an individual Excellence Award), for tracing clues and evidence in both the firebombing and the murder, and the team of two sergeants and a detective who captured Monfort in a shootout in Tukwila.

A Medal of Courage also was awarded to the dispatcher who heard Officer Sweeney’s call for help and traced the location fast, and three officers who braved potentially explosive conditions at the firebombing scene received Distinguished Service awards.

Also of note: A Medal of Valor for Officer Benjamin Kelly, who shot and killed the man who gunned down four Lakewood officers a month after the Brenton killing – Maurice Clemmons – as Clemmons approached him one night in South Seattle, trying to pull from his pocket what turned out to be a gun taken from one of the murdered officers.

Another notorious case – the South Park rape/murder case – resulted in awards. This happened in the Southwest Precinct jurisdiction. Among the honorees, West Seattleite Det. David Duty:

(Note that we didn’t get photos of everyone with West Seattle ties – the ones we do have are thanks to help from folks at nearby tables. And if there are other West Seattle honorees whose names we’re not mentioning, let us know so we can add them!) Other members of the South Park Homicide Team who were honored were Sgt. Mark Worstman, Det. Mark Hanf, Det. Jennifer Southworth, Det. Dana Duffy, Britt Toalson, Det. Garry Jackson, Officer TJ Berg, Geraldeen Chavez, Dave Lizotte, Sgt. Michael Hay, Officer Ernest DeBella. (Sunday note: We are told that Sgt. Hay is a longtime West Seattleite.)

Each precinct commander chose an Officer of the Year – for the SW Precinct, it was Officer Jill Vanskike, who is now in the precinct’s Detective Unit (but also has worked in patrol and on the Community Police Team), lauded for her “extremely high work ethic.”

And Officers Tom Burns and Robert Besaw were honored as Community Ambassadors:

The two have deep West Seattle roots and work a unique beat that includes local businesses and West Seattle High School – and had quite the cheering section on hand last night!

And SW Precinct Officer Michael Renner received an “Inspirational” Award, with the program noting his “abundance of DUI arrests and excellent records of convictions.”

Not on the program, a surprise to close the banquet: 17-year-old WSHS student Tre Smith took the podium to talk about his dream of becoming a Seattle Police officer, calling that work “the ultimate way of giving back to the community” – saying he hopes to someday become “the guy who, when you see him, you know everything is going to be OK.” (In addition to a recent “Outstanding Student of the Month” award that he mentioned, Tre is a senior who played wide receiver/defensive back on the WSHS football team.)

The banquet attendees – which usually number about 1,000 in the massive Westin Ballroom, though we didn’t count – also included Mayor McGinn and three councilmembers mentioned from the podium, among them former SPD officer Tim Burgess, who tweeted from the event that he was “very proud” of the honorees.

(Again, if you know of anyone with West Seattle ties who we missed mentioning, please let us know in comments or by e-mail – and congratulations to all!)

2:04 PM: We’ve learned so far of one more West Seattleite involved with last night’s event: Renee Hopkins, executive director of the Seattle Police Foundation, which by the way is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with its mission and programs described here.