Top cops and their helpers

Billy Bennett said he didn't hesitate when he heard a neighbor screaming during an altercation with her ex-boyfriend in June.

Bennett, 39, ran into the hallway of his Grand Forks apartment complex and opened a locked front door, allowing police officers inside.

When he saw the suspect in the attack attempt to escape out the back of the apartment complex, Bennett ran him down, tackled him and held him until the police handcuffed the suspect and led him away.

"I was just in the right place at the right time and was willing to help," said Bennett, who called his role no big deal.

But Grand Forks police disagree. Today, Bennett will be one of several citizens honored during the police department's annual awards ceremony for law enforcement and members of the public.

Police Lt. Jim Remer, chairman of the awards committee for this year's ceremony, said the event is a way to acknowledge good deeds and give public recognition for those acts.

"It's a way for us to recognize our employees for the good work they do and also the citizens in Grand Forks who help us out in a variety of ways," Remer said.

The recipient of the Officer Wayne Anderson Meritorious Service Award also will be revealed. Anderson -- Andy to friends and colleagues -- was a longtime member of the Grand Forks police force who died of liver cancer.

'Fun to nail these guys'

Award recipients range from those who helped save a stranger's life to police officers and citizens who help subdue armed suspects, Remer said.

Bob Rynestad of Grand Forks is one of the Citizen Appreciation Award recipients today after a well-timed trip to the bathroom and a chance encounter with a thief.

Rynestad, 67, said he was lying in bed at 4:30 a.m. when he heard the sound of a car in his driveway and got up to investigate.

"Us old guys have to get up and pee two or three times a night," Rynestad said. "I had to go to the bathroom anyway." When he looked out the window, he saw several men attempting to break into his Camero.

Rynestad said he ran outside in his underwear in 28-degree temperatures with 30-mph winds and yelled at the two men, who fled.

Later the same day, Rynestad was driving home and spotted one of the men, wrote down the suspect's license plate number and called police.

Rynestad said police apprehended the man, who Rynestad said was responsible for nearly 40 robberies of items inside vehicles. Rynestad said the man also led authorities to a second suspect.

"It sure was fun to nail these guys," he said.

Rynestad said he got a call from a friend afterward who heard of his heroics and joked that, thanks to him, the friend now has to look out the window every time he visits the bathroom in the middle of the night.

If you go

What: Police will honor their own and citizens during an annual awards ceremony.

When: 2 p.m. today.

Where: Grand Forks Police Department building, lower level, 122 S. Fifth St. downtown.

Ceremony is open to the public.

Reach Schuster at (701) 780-1107; (800) 477-6572, ext. 107; or send an e-mail to rschuster@gfherald.com .