Hamilton police officer honoured for clothing drive

A police officer who started a clothing drive for low-income Hamiltonians has been honoured with Hamilton's police service's top community service award.

Det. Const. Greg Slack was a member of the downtown ACTION team when he noticed that a lot of people didnt have warm clothes in the winter. In 2012, he started the ACTION Winter Drive-By program, a clothing drive for adults and children who didnt have warm clothes.

Slack was honoured at the annual awards nighton Monday, the first day of Police Week. He received the Leonard G. Lawrence Award, named after a former chief.

Slack was among four nominees for the award.Det. Loris Pilot for his volunteer efforts with City Kidz, the Hamilton Police Female Choir and the Niche Business Team were also on the list.

Slack left the ACTION team in 2012, but continued with the clothing drive, police say.

Hamilton Police Service also honoured Const. Doug Hall with Member of the Year.

Hall drive past a parking lot around 3 a.m. last March when he saw a vehicle with the headlights on and a man kissing a woman inside. He drove past slowly and noticed that the woman didnt move and her eyes werent open.

He drove up to the passenger side of the vehicle and the man drove away. Hall followed the vehicle and stopped it, and saw that the woman was unconscious. The man said he was taking his girlfriend home, but couldnt give her last name or address, police say. Hall woke her and she became ill.

Hall and other officers drove the woman home to her parents. He later learned that shed been separated from her friends at Hess Village, and had no recollection of the evening or interaction with police and didnt know the suspect.

The man is now charged with sexual assault.

Other Police Week activities:

• North End Idol at Cathy Wever School on Tuesday.
• A seminar on landscape design that deters crime at the Crime Prevention Centre, 460 Barton St. E. on Wednesday. Registration is required.
• A local student becomes chief for a day on Thursday.
• The Honeycomb Event with Hamilton Police Service and St. Joe's Immigrant Centre on Thursday.
• The Police in the Park festival at the Central Police Station, 155 King William, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.
• The grand opening of the Hamilton Police Service mobile museum on Friday.