A veteran UCF Police officer and a College of Sciences professor were recently honored by the United States Secret Service for their work with the federal agency.
Detective Eric Walton, a 30-year veteran with UCF Police, and Michael Sigman, a chemistry professor at UCF, were honored with a surprise presentation as a thanks for providing valuable insight and necessary tools to Secret Service personnel, as well as other law enforcement and private sector partners.
The Secret Service has held a cohesive partnership with UCF’s National Center for Forensic Science, which is led by Sigman and has resulted in numerous training classes being held at the Partnership I classroom in Research Park near UCF’s main campus.
Walton has served as a task force officer with the U.S. Secret Service Orlando Field Office’s Digital Evidence Forensic Lab for several years and has also instructed gas pump skimmer identification classes at the Secret Service National Computer Forensics Institute in Hoover, Alabama.
In January, Walton was the fifth-ranked forensic examiner in the nation by the U.S. Secret Service. He also created and presented a gas pump skimmer training program for 7-Eleven, Inc., which will be used at all of the chain convenience stores from New Jersey to Florida.
Walton’s experience and knowledge of digital forensics and gas pump skimming devices have proven to be an asset in criminal investigations.
Each were presented with a plaque for their continued collaboration and partnership between law enforcement and academia in an effort to enhance the Secret Service’s investigative capabilities.
