Spring Township’s detective named Officer of the Year. ‘One of the best that I’ve ever seen’
A Spring Township detective described by his colleagues as compassionate, trustworthy and dogged in his pursuit of justice was lauded Thursday as one of the best officers in Centre County.
Spring Township police Detective Luke Nelson was named the 2023 Centre County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. The award is presented by the Centre County district attorney’s office annually to recognize exceptional service.
A “girl dad,” Nelson was surrounded by his parents, wife and three daughters when he accepted the award at the Centre County Courthouse.
“It does mean a lot. I’m from this community, so if I can play a small role in helping members of this community on their darkest day I’m glad that I can do that,” the township native said. “I work with a great group of guys and gals at Spring Township, so we all have a piece to the puzzle and bringing it all together. That’s why our cases run so smoothly. It’s because of the atmosphere and department that we have.”
Nelson, 31, has been with the department for nearly nine years. He was promoted to detective soon after he was hired to work full time, a move that township Manager and former police Chief Mike Danneker acknowledged is rare.
But despite his inexperience, Danneker said Nelson’s intelligence and ability to stay organized showed he was cut out for the position. In fact, the first set of charges that bore Nelson’s signature as detective were for a first-degree murder case that ended with a conviction.
Shortly before telling Nelson’s parents they “raised an exceptional young man,” Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said Nelson is the “epitome” of community policing.
“He is from the community, he cares and it’s not BS,” Cantorna said. “It’s legitimate and it’s authentic.”
Nelson is the first Spring Township police officer to win the award, which Cantorna has presented since 2019.
In the past 19 months alone, Nelson’s arrests include a man accused of attempted homicide, two people charged with homicide by vehicle while DUI, two people charged with drug delivery resulting in death, a former journalist accused of unlawful contact with a minor and men accused of possessing a large amount of meth.
Township police Chief Adam Salyards, who has worked in law enforcement for more than two decades, said Nelson is “one of the best that I’ve ever seen at this job.”
“There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that he’s deserving of this award,” Salyards said. “I see his work every day and I often tell him, ‘You amaze me.’ He just takes cases that you think there’s no way that you’re going to get a conclusion on it and two days later Detective Nelson has the case solved. It’s profound.”
Others nominated for the award included State College police Detective Craig Ripka, Penn State police Detective Nicholas Sproveri and Patton Township police officer Bradley Tuskovich.
Eight State College police officers have won at least a share of the award, the most of any police department in Centre County. Two state police at Rockview troopers have received the award, while Patton Township, Ferguson Township and Bellefonte have seen one of their officers win a share of the award.