Knoxville Police Sergeant Joe Weppler was awarded officer of the year at Marion County Public Safety Night on Sunday.

Weppler became an officer in 2020, and has been a two-time officer of the year, certified drug recognition expert, and was awarded the Jim Meyerdirk Award for academic excellence. Weppler was recently promoted to the rank of sergeant last month. Knoxville Police Chief Aaron Fuller said that Weppler excelled in the process of applying for the promotion with his essay questions, written test, and interview panels. Fuller says that Weppler has been a great asset to the department as an officer and he is excited for the leadership role he will take on as sergeant. 

“Joe has been with us since 2020 which makes him a young officer in regards to being promoted to the rank of Sergeant, but over those years he has done a lot.”

Other awards given out Sunday night were Michelle Kingery with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office as dispatcher of the year, Steven Watson with the Indiana Township Fire Department as firefighter of the year, and Reid Taylor with Pella EMS as EMS person of the year.