A man of few words was presented with the G.W. Law Award - given to the law enforcement officer of the year - at Wednesday's Fulton Rotary Club meeting.
Aaron Hazelton, who attended with his son, Tristan, was an investigator at the Callaway County Sheriff's Office for about 15 years. During that time, he worked undercover.
Last year, Hazelton was part of a $6.65 million K2 drug distribution bust. This case crossed borders and left 10 people indicted, including six from Fulton who pleaded guilty to various charges, two other Missouri residents and two from California.
"I'm not big on awards," Hazelton said Wednesday. "You do your job the best you can. You do it well enough that you can save a life or put that one drug dealer away."
Hazelton was chosen from a nominated group of illustrious officers that also included Callaway County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Don Dame and Sgt. Ryan Lacy; and Fulton Police Lt. Stan Holt.
"Each of these officers are worthy of receiving this year's award," said event chair person Charles Anderson, who is also the director of the Callaway County Ambulance District. "We're recognizing our local law enforcement officers for service above self, which is the Rotary motto."
Hazelton was nominated by Callaway County Prosecutor Christopher Wilson.
"He's always been a very compassionate, hard-working law enforcement officer," Wilson said. "He genuinely cares about people and wants to make Callaway County a better place to live and raise a family."
Hazelton also served as an officer with the Mustang Drug Task Force.
"When Aaron moved from being a road deputy at the Callaway County Sheriff's Office to an agent of the Mustang Drug Task Force, it quickly became apparent to me that he had found his true calling," Wilson added. "When a person finds a job that they truly love and they are fortunate enough to be very talented at that job, they are truly blessed and it is amazing what they can accomplish. That is the case for Aaron Hazelton."
Wilson said he couldn't comment about Hazelton's work as an investigator but he was always aware of his hard work.
"Now that his investigation into the synthetic drug problem in our county has wrapped up and the cases have been prosecuted, I thought it important for the public to know what Aaron did for this community and that he be recognized in some way for his effort," Wilson added. "It's important to note that Aaron's work was the culmination of the work of many different law enforcement officers from many different agencies including the Fulton Police Department, Holts Summit Police Department, Auxvasse Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Cole County Sheriff's Department, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Attorney's Office, and other investigators and deputies in the Callaway County Sheriff's Office and Mustang.
"Aaron would be the first to acknowledge all of their effort. At the same time, Aaron worked hard to pull together all of those investigations, investigate his own leads and present a compelling case for federal prosecution. I thought that worthy of nomination for the G.W. Law Award."
Sheriff Clay Chism also commented on Hazelton's award.
"Investigator Hazelton gave this county 14 years of dedicated law enforcement service, the last three being in the narcotics investigator position for which he is being recognized," he said. "Not only did Hazelton's work lead to many drug arrests, but also burglary and stealing arrests as so many times, the same players are involved. Although I hated to see Hazelton leave for other employment opportunities, I respected his decision and he had to do what's best for his family. Hazelton's departure from Callaway County is another prime example of salary issues leading to problems retaining quality employees."