St. Paul police sergeant wins 2015 Officer of the Year honor

St. Paul Sgt. Mark Ficcadenti is a 30-year police veteran. LEILA NAVIDI • STAR TRIBUNE

By Anthony Lonetree
Monday, June 15, 2015

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Fresh from earning praise as his department’s Officer of the Year, St. Paul police Sgt. Mark Ficcadenti now can lay claim to being the state’s top cop for 2015.

Ficcadenti, known for his work with African immigrant communities, was honored Sunday night as Police Officer of the Year by the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association.

Last year, the 30-year veteran organized the city’s first East African Junior Police Academy giving teens and young adults a chance to learn about being a police officer and opening dialogue with law enforcement.

“Sgt. Ficcadenti takes to heart what it means to be a police officer working with those he serves in all communities of the city,” Dennis Flaherty, the state association’s executive director, said in a statement.

In April, when Ficcadenti won the St. Paul award, he spoke of the importance of simple, candid conversations, and of showing people how the system works for them. He serves as patrol supervisor in the department’s Western District, which has a high concentration of East and West African immigrants, making him a critical contact between police and the Somali community, the association said.

St. Paul police officer Mark Ross earned one of two honorable mention awards presented by the group at its annual ceremony in Alexandria.

While working as a school resource officer, Ross grew suspicious about the relationship between a girl and a man. He eventually learned the two had a sexual relationship that would result in the man being charged, convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The girl since has graduated from high school and is expected to attend a state college, the association said.

Also earning honorable mention was state trooper Brian Beuning, who pulled a woman from a car before it was swept away by floodwaters last summer near Beaver Creek.

Staff Writer Nicole Norfleet contributed to this report.

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