A select few dedicated police officers were honored in front of the Gulf Shores City Council as recipients of the coveted ACE Award.

Police Chief Ed Delmore said the officers were winners of the award but had earned it earnestly. He said in order to earn one ACE point, an officer has to make a self-initiated felony arrest.

“Sometimes a felony arrest will fall into one’s lap as a police officer,” Delmore said. “You’ll get dispatched to a call that happens to be a felony. That’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about a police officer who goes out, makes a pedestrian check or a vehicle stop and develops their own criminal case against a felony suspect. These are the officers who always have their heads on the swivel.”

In order to receive an ACE award, the officer needs to make at least 10 of these self-initiated felony arrests. Those who receive the award wear a pin on their uniform to show they’ve earned ACE status for the previous year.

“This would be a big deal if we were in a major metropolitan area,” Delmore said. “To get 10 self-initiated felony arrests in our environment is significant. It means they’re working extremely hard.”

Gulf Shores officers receiving the award this year are: K9 Officer Scott Hubbard (23 felony charges). Patrol Officer William Cowan (18 felony charges), Field Training Officer Nick Corcoran (10 felony charges), K9 Officer Seth Headley (30 felony charges) and Patrol Officer Justin Schulz (11 felony charges).