PFC Zachary Bargeron was recently selected as an Officer of the Month for the Sully District Police Station. And as such, he was honored at a meeting of the station’s Citizens Advisory Committee.

Police 2nd Lt. Nicholas DiPippa nominated him for Officer of the Month, explaining why Bargeron is deserving of this award.

Noting that Fairfax County police officers stop many motorists for a variety of reasons – mainly minor traffic infractions – DiPippa wrote, “The outcome of most traffic stops is a warning or a traffic citation. After conducting several hundred traffic stops and many roadside interviews, officers become more in tune with behaviors that lend to question whether additional investigation is necessary.”

Accordingly, he wrote, “PFC Bargeron – who has been a member of the Fairfax County Police Department since 2015 and is assigned to the midnight shift – has shown a great propensity to disrupt criminal behavior in our community through traffic enforcement. His approach has proven to be effective. One example was recently noted:

“Bargeron observed a vehicle on a major thoroughfare in the Sully District in operation with defective equipment. He stopped the vehicle and, while speaking with the driver, recognized two passengers from past encounters – one of which was a suspect known to carry weapons. Bargeron separated the driver from the passengers and, through conversation, determined the passengers were involved in the possession and distribution of illegal narcotics.”

DiPippa stated that Bargeron directed the passengers to exit the vehicle. The officer then observed “additional indications of narcotics,” wrote DiPippa. “Numerous pills, individually packaged material, drug paraphernalia and proceeds from narcotics distribution were collected from the suspects and from the vehicle. The suspects must have realized their arrest was imminent, as they declined an opportunity for further conversation with Bargeron.”

“With the ever-present opioid crisis, the traffic stop initiated by PFC Bargeron – and his willingness to look beyond the defective equipment violation – may have saved a life or stopped a drug overdose,” continued DiPippa. “The investigative efforts removed two dangerous individuals from the community and are worthy of recognition. As such, PFC Bargeron has been selected as Officer of the Month.”