Late last month, the Sixth Avenue Bible Baptist Church in Park Slope celebrated its annual “Police Officer of the Year” award, honoring an officer from the 78th Precinct for outstanding contributions to the community.
This year’s accolade went to Police Officer Dewayne Stewart, a five-year veteran of the NYPD.
Senior Pastor Richard Johnson presented the award to Stewart on Oct. 26, in the presence of his family and colleagues from the 78th Precinct.
While in college, Stewart joined the NYPD Police Cadet program, a paid internship that provides college students with hands-on experience in law enforcement. He initially joined for the pay, but told Brooklyn Paper that it “opened his eyes” to the world of police work.
During his time as a cadet, tragedy struck. Stewart’s sister, 29-year-old Samantha Stewart, was murdered at her Springfield Gardens, Queens, home on July 17, 2018. Stewart discovered the body of his sister, who worked as a nurse, the next day.
After Samantha’s death, Stewart saw firsthand how diligently NYPD homicide detectives worked to bring her killer to justice. Just days after the murder, officers arrested 27-year-old Danueal Drayton in a California hotel room, where he was holding another woman against her will.
The detectives’ dedication to solving the case inspired Stewart to join the NYPD and make a difference.
“When my sister was killed, they really showed me what family meant, because they took [her] case very seriously,” he said. “The guy was caught within a few days. You know, I just wanted to be able to do the same thing for someone else’s family.”
Receiving the “Police Officer of the Year” award was the “last thing” he expected, Stewart told Brooklyn Paper.
“I was just happy. I was shocked,” he said. “[It] shows that your work doesn’t go unnoticed. Some days may be hard, some may be easier, but people still notice what you do.”
Though some workdays can be challenging, Stewart, who also plays on the NYPD volleyball team and volunteers with NYPD Bluechips, a co-ed youth mentoring and sports program, said he enjoys his job and hopes to inspire young people to join the force.
“Just come with an open mind. I have fun every time I come to work. I work with a lot of great people. I hear new stories every day. You get to talk to kids. I think that’s the most important part of the job. You could talk to a kid today, you might change his mind, inspire him to do something good one day, become a cop,” Stewart said.
Outside of law enforcement, Stewart has traveled to Costa Rica and Colombia with the NYPD volleyball team to give back to underserved communities.
“We brought groceries for some of the families, volleyball equipment for the kids, held [volleyball] clinics for them, had a beach cleanup, and just showed them, ‘Hey, there’s positives to playing sports,’ because some of these kids are underprivileged [and] don’t even have shoes to play volleyball,” he said.
Johnson established the award in 2013 after officers from the 78th Precinct quickly responded to an incident at the church, as a way to show appreciation for New York City’s police. People mostly focus on the negative headlines, and the cops’ dedication to the community often goes unnoticed, Johnson noted.
“These are great men and women that make a lot of sacrifices and do a lot of acts of heroism and never get recognized, never get a thank you,” he said.
Johnson praised Stewart as an outstanding young man of integrity who chose to be part of the solution after his sister’s violent death.
“Instead of looking at his sister and getting enraged or ugly or hateful or bitter towards life, he looked at the [victim] that was saved and and said, ‘You know, I can’t bring my sister back, but I could be a part of that miracle for someone else’s family, and I want to dedicate my life to being part of the solution, not the problem,'” Johnson said.
Stewart’s family told Brooklyn Paper that his recognition was no surprise given his work ethic and his constant striving to improve.
Keniel, Stewart’s younger brother, called his brother an inspiration.
“Just to see him become Cop of the Year, to see that he’s having an impact, leaving his mark within the community, within the organization, is definitely inspirational,” he said. “I have a lot of respect toward him, leaving his mark.”
Stewart’s sister, Abigail Read, admitted she was initially surprised when he joined the NYPD.
“I was like, ‘Wait, you want to be a cop? You’re Black. What are you doing?'” she told Brooklyn Paper. “But honestly, I feel like because of how diverse New York City is, especially being here in Brooklyn, we need more cops that look like us to want to protect and serve the community.”
“It’s phenomenal to hear that he’s made such an impact on the community,” she added.
Their father, Kenneth Stewart, said his daughter’s death influenced his son’s career path.
“At first, he wanted to be a lawyer. But because of the death of my daughter, his sister, he wanted to be part of law enforcement to help other victims and stop some of the violence,” he said, noting that the two were very close.
Stewart’s mother, Gladys Reid, and godmother, Jasmine Edwards, said the award was a testament to Stewart’s character.
“[The award] shows what people think about him and his everyday life, because that’s the person he is; a very honest, hard-working young man with lots of integrity,” Edwards said.
Reid added that Stewart has always “gave it his all” and that she encouraged him to follow his dream of joining the NYPD.
“I wanted to become a cop, but I was too old. So I said, ‘Follow your dreams. You’re doing something good, something great, which a lot of people can’t do,’” she said.
