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A Will County Sheriff's Detective has been presented with Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Meritorious Service Award for his off-duty actions in July that stopped the attempted robberies of a neighbor and a local business.

"Detective Shaun Moran didn't care whether he was on or off duty, he saw fellow citizens in danger and he stepped in to stop potentially dangerous crimes from happening," said Illinois FOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood. "Citizens are safe and perpetrators were arrested as a result of Detective Moran's decisive actions."

On July 23 Will County Sheriff's Detective Shaun Moran, who was off duty, was arriving home with his family and saw two men wearing masks and hoods approaching his neighbor, who was getting groceries out of his car. Moran didn't want to get his family involved in a confrontation, so he honked his car horn to scare off the masked men, who then fled the area. Moran contacted the Will County Sheriff's Department about the incident and began to gather evidence from the scene, and while doing so he saw the suspects' vehicle again as it drove through the area. Moran followed the vehicle to a Speedway gas station that had been robbed recently, and summoned deputies to the scene. When other officers arrived the suspects rammed Moran's personal vehicle and fled. The two suspects were arrested following a brief chase.

"This incident is proactive police work at its finest, even when members of the Sheriff's Office are off-duty," said Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley. "I want to thank Detective Shaun Moran for his quick thinking and action in tracking down these individuals that came into our community attempting to further their criminal ways. This was a good job done by all."

The Fraternal Order of Police, founded in 1915, is the largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. With a proud tradition of officers representing officers, the FOP is the most respected and most recognized police organization in the country. The Illinois FOP, chartered in 1963, is the second largest State Lodge, proudly representing more than 34,000 active duty and retired police officers - more than 10 percent of all FOP members nationwide. Visit http://www.ilfop.org for more information.