MADD names Henrico Lt. Netherland as officer of the month

MADD of Virginia recently named Henrico Police Lt. Robert Netherland, III as its August officer of the month. MADD volunteer Vanessa Haislip presented Netherland with the award (pictured above).

Netherland has been with Henrico Police since 1994 and previously received the MADD law enforcement award several times in the 1990s. At that time in his career, he often averaged one DUI/DUID arrest per night while working evening and midnight shifts.

As a member of the Henrico Police Crash Team, Netherland became deeply involved in impaired driving crash investigations. In time, Henrico County dedicated a prosecutor to those cases, and officials credited Netherland’s expertise in the fields of crash investigation and impaired driving to an increase in convictions.

Netherland was assigned to the Virginia General Assembly for several years and wrote the “Drinking while Driving” law, which is an extra charge on top of a DUI arrest if an open container is found in the vehicle. He also was responsible for writing grants in 1998 for the Henrico Crash Team, which have now grown into to more than $300,000 per year – some of which support checkpoints and saturation patrols.

Netherland has served as a trainer for the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and has presented at a number of conferences; most recently at the 2018 Virginia Highway Safety Summit and the Mid-Atlantic DUI Conference.

Netherland’s sister, Denise, was killed by a drunk driver in 1980, and several years later his mother, Shirley, served as president of MADD in Central Virginia for six years. His father was a Virginia State Trooper.

Netherland has led and/or participated in his department’s raising of thousands of dollars through its participation in the Richmond area MADD Walk each year. This year, the Henrico Police held a Brunswick stew sale that raised over $6,000 toward the Walk.

Netherland and his officers also encourage the participation of MADD volunteers at checkpoints, and he invites them to share their victim stories at the briefings.

Netherland and the department also participate in the MADD Candlelight Vigil, which is held in Henrico each year.