Indiana Conservation Officer Bryan Beneke has been selected the 2022 District 2 Officer of the Year. District 2 includes Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wells, and Whitley counties.
Beneke is assigned to Allen County where he has been a conservation officer since 2015.
In addition to his normal duties as a field officer, Beneke serves as a use of force instructor, firearms instructor, division armorer, watercraft passenger for hire inspector, tree stand accident investigator, peer support team member, background investigator, and field training officer.
The district award puts Beneke in the running for the Pitzer Award, which is given to the top overall conservation officer in the state of Indiana and selected from the 10 district award winners.
The Pitzer award is named after Conservation Officer James D. Pitzer, who was fatally shot while investigating illegal hunting activity Jan. 2, 1961, in Jay County.