Who are Gulfport's police and fire officers of the year?

GULFPORT -- A police officer who has cracked several cases and a firefighter who has devoted his time to working on city buildings were recognized at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast as the city's officers of the year.

Engineer Nathan Powell earned the honor in the Fire Department. Police Detective Bruce Archebelle was named his department's officer of the year.

Both departments shared the nominations they sent to the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce, which honored the officers at its annual breakfast for Mayor Billy Hewes' state of the city address.

The Police Department's nomination:

Detective Archebelle was assigned to investigate several felony offenses, including an ongoing probe into the murder of Bobby Lee Harris; an aggravated assault in which four people were shot at near Pine Hills Drive and East David Drive, culminating in the arrest of 18-year-old Carlin Whitfield; the death investigation of Tad Wyatt Swann, which is ongoing; a murder-suicide in which Percy Fayard shot his wife and then himself; and an armed robbery complaint in the 3300 block of 39th Avenue, which resulted in the arrest of James Vernon Johnson.

Archebelle also handled a missing-person case that turned out to be a murder. The family of Tena Marie Broadus saw her for the last time on Sept. 17. During the investigation, officers learned Broadus had been killed. Her remains had been burned and thrown in the Biloxi River.

The investigation Archebelle led resulted in five arrests: Joshua Peterman and Kari Parker, charged with murder; and Aaron Bobinger, Natasha Seller, and Devin Gregory, charged with accessory after the fact to murder.

The Fire Department's nomination:

"The Gulfport Fire Department operates out of 11 fire stations, two training facilities, and a joint maintenance facility. People like Engineer Nathan Powell are a perfect example of how we are able to accomplish this with limited funding."

Powell led or helped with three building projects, from a ceiling replacement to the demolition and rebuild of Fire Station No. 8.

"Not only has Engineer Powell volunteered his expertise to these projects, but he has also devoted countless hours of uncompensated work, and even donated some of the building materials to complete these projects," the nomination said. "He is a great example of service before self, and truly has made a difference that firefighters in Gulfport will benefit from for the next several decades, while saving Gulfport taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in the process."

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Who are Gulfport's police and fire officers of the year? ."