{"id":20740,"date":"2025-10-31T11:52:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T11:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/20740\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T11:52:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T11:52:06","slug":"upper-darby-police-lieutenant-honored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/20740\/","title":{"rendered":"Upper Darby police lieutenant honored"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov. Josh Shapiro honored an Upper Darby police officer<\/a> Monday during the first event in the refurbished Governors Mansion following the arson attack in April.<\/p>\n

Lt. Lania Stevens was one of eight individuals and two groups who received the Governor\u2019s Keystone Award, which recognizes everyday Pennsylvanians for the significant contributions they\u2019ve made to their communities, donating their time, knowledge andtalents to help improve the lives of others.<\/p>\n

Shapiro said the honorees are making real impactful contributions in the commonwealth.<\/p>\n

\"Gov.Gov. Josh Shapiro presents Upper Darby Police Lt. Lania Stevens with the Governor’s Keystone Award on Monday during ceremonies at the Governors Mansion. (COURTESY GOVERNOR’S OFFICE)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the people who caught our eye along the way \u2026 and are making a real difference,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cYou are the people inspiring fellow Pennsylvanians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Philadelphia 76ers television broadcaster Marc Zumoff served as the emcee for the evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is tough work building bridges between a community and its police force, but this woman does that, while at the same time making history,\u201d Zumoff said in introducing Stevens. \u201cCommunity engagement is at the heart of her work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stevens is the vice president of the Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County and the first Black female lieutenant in the Upper Darby Police Department\u2019s history. She previously made history as the department\u2019s first Black female sergeant and its first African American woman officer.<\/p>\n

Stevens also mentors local fifth graders through the department\u2019s youth program, inspiring the next generation of public servants.<\/p>\n

Shapiro said it was special to hold the event at the Governors Mansion, which he called \u201cthe peoples house\u201d and the physical embodiment of William Penn\u2019s dream when in 1682 he first arrived in Chester on a ship named Welcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe dreamed of this place as being a place that would be open for free expression, free elections and a place you could practice your religion freely. Penn understood the power of people to build a more tolerant and more just community,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cYou are the builders who do this every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stevens was joined at the event by Upper Darby Mayor Ed Brown, township Chief Administrative Officer Crandall Jones and Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt.<\/p>\n

Brown said it was an honor to be on hand for the award and he was beyond thrilled to see Stevens receive an accolade that is only given to 17 recipients statewide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt recognizes individuals who make a significant difference in their communities. Lt. Stevens runs our Teens and Police Service (TAPS Program) Academy, which is a partnership between the Upper Darby police and high school students aimed at reducing social distance and improving relations between law enforcement and youth,\u201d Brown said. \u201cShe is also the vice president of the Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County. Lt. Stevens is also a pioneer as she was the first Black female sergeant in the Upper Darby Police Department and the first African American woman promoted to lieutenant. We are proud to have her represent Upper Darby Township,\u201d Brown added.<\/p>\n

Bernhardt seconded that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t be prouder of the men and women who serve this community every day. Our officers are the best in law enforcement,\u201d Bernhardt said. \u201cLt. Stevens\u2019 recognition by Gov. Shapiro is a tremendous honor and a reflection of her dedication, professionalism, and commitment to the people and community of Upper Darby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bernhardt said the award also speaks to the hard work of the entire department.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur command staff strives to train and prepare our officers to the highest standard, and moments like this show that dedication pays off. I couldn\u2019t be prouder of Lt. Stevens and our entire team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Josh Shapiro honored an Upper Darby police officer Monday during the first event in the refurbished Governors…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[212,182,139,28,210,147,149,148,150],"class_list":["post-20740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upper-darby","tag-delaware-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-dtd","tag-upper-darby","tag-upper-darby-headlines","tag-upper-darby-news","tag-upper-darby-township"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}