The MADD hero award is given to the state's top law enforcement officers.
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PAGE – Page Police Officer William J. Schuldies arrested 20 individuals on suspicion of DUI over the course of 11 months in the Page-Lake Powell area.
From July 2017 to June, Schuldies, 51, counted 20 DUI arrests – a number that many of the other police officers at Page Police Department are drawing near. And to laud his efforts, Schuldies on Oct. 10 was awarded a Mothers Against Drunk Driving hero award at MADD Arizona’s honoring heroes recognition banquet at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
“I’m excited just to be recognized for any type of award, for the job that we do,” Schuldies said in an interview. “I appreciate it.”
“The Page Police Department congratulates Officer Schuldies for his commitment to keeping the citizens and (the) visitors of Page safe from drunk and drugged drivers,” Police Detective Terry TerEick said in a statement.
The MADD hero award is given to the state’s top law enforcement officers, first responders, and prosecutors who passionately support MADD’s campaign to end drunk driving, help prevent drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes, and prevent underage drinking.
Schuldies was one of about two dozen individuals who received about two dozen individuals who received the MADD hero award. He says enforcing the law and keeping the peace in this community is his job.
“It’s one of the things we do as patrol officers,” he said. “We do take a lot of pride in getting those types of drivers off the roadway.”
Alcohol-impaired driving has killed nearly 11,000 people nationwide between 2016 and 2017, according to a new data released earlier this month by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that shows drunk driving remains the leading cause of death on the nation’s roads.
“A lot of people think that DUIs are just related to alcohol,” Schuldies explained. “It’s related to (not only alcohol, but also) drugs and it can be prescription drugs. Is it a problem? Yeah. It’s a nationwide problem. (But) just for … the community of Page, no.”
Schuldies over the summer was appointed school resource officer for the Page Unified School District and he moves continuously through the six schools within the district.
Schuldies is an 18-year veteran police officer who began his career in law enforcement at the Page Police Department in 1997. He transferred the following year to the Sierra Vista Police Department in southern Arizona, where he served as a school resource officer from 2004 to 2007 at Buena Vista High School.
After three years as a school resource officer at Buena Vista High, Schuldies became a curriculum developer and an instructor for CACI International at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center in Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
Schuldies and his family returned to Lake Powell Country in 2011.
