Elgin Police K-9 officer and Aurora Police detective announced as co-winners of the Louis Spuhler Award

ELGIN – Elgin Police Department K-9 Officer Justin Brown and Aurora Police Department Detective Christopher Cox were both announced as co-winners of the Louis Sphuler Award for outstanding police work in 2021.

The Louis Sphuler Award was presented to the winners by the Kane County Chiefs of Police Association and is named after a retired lieutenant from the Kane County Sheriff’s Office who approached the Batavia Moose Lodge with an idea to recognize the top police officer in the county.

Lieutenant Spuhler passed away before he could see his idea put into action. The award was subsequently named in his honor.

This was the 45th annual event that was held at the Riverside Receptions in Geneva. This year’s award ceremony was also the first in-person banquet since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns was the keynote speaker at the event.

Brown was nominated by Elgin Police Deputy Chief Adam Schuessler for his heroic efforts in rescuing a man that was being crushed by a vehicle that had fallen off of cinder blocks.

According to Schuessler, on Nov. 14, 2021, Elgin Police received a frantic call from a woman stating that her husband was unresponsive after a vehicle had fallen on top of him while he worked underneath it in the garage.

Upon his arrival at the residence, Brown was able to locate a floor jack, which he used to lift the vehicle off of the victim.

Brown instructed the victim’s family members to pull him from under the car. Once the man was free from the vehicle, Brown began administering chest compressions until fire department personnel arrived.

Brown continued assisting the fire department with chest compressions as they began triaging the victim.

“The victim ultimately regained a pulse and was stabilized. After a lengthy recovery in the hospital, the gentleman was able to return home,” said Schuessler. “Officer Brown’s quick thinking and immediate action certainly helped save the man’s life.”

Detective Cox was nominated by Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross for his investigative efforts working alongside other agencies in helping to identify offenders of car-jackings throughout Illinois and neighboring states.

Cross explained that on Jan. 16, 2021, the Aurora Police Department received a call for a carjacking and a gunshot victim at a fast-food restaurant.

Once officers arrived on the scene, they discovered that the victim was parked on the restaurant’s premises while she ate her food where she was subsequently approached by numerous offenders.

The offenders shot the victim, pulled her from her vehicle, and stole it. Responding officers located another vehicle that was stolen in another carjacking in DeKalb County.

That vehicle was left on the scene due to having run out of gas.

Cox was assigned to the case where he, alongside other Aurora detectives, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, began conducting surveillances, speaking with witnesses and other police jurisdictions to establish a list of possible suspects, according to Cross.

“These interviews, along with evidence from all involved vehicles led to several suspects, associates, and locations during an extensive investigation over several weeks,” said Cross.

He continued, “Cell phone data, evidence, and other information led to active surveillances of several locations. The result of the investigation was the arrest of a 16-year-old juvenile who was charged as an adult with [three] Class X felonies and three additional related felony charges. The investigation resulted in two additional arrests with the last arrest coming almost five months to the date after this incident occurred.”