Officers, civilians honored by Toledo Police Department

5/12/2014

Numerous officers and civilians were honored today during the Toledo Police Department's 2014 awards ceremony.

"There are so many amazing and hardworking people working for the Toledo Police Department," said Deputy Chief James O'Bryant.

Certificates of Appreciation were given to the following citizens:

• Roy Hammer, who, on June 25, was test driving a vehicle in West Toledo when he noticed a reckless driver. The driver backed over a median and turned onto Eleanor Avenue. Mr. Hammer followed and saw the driver narrowly miss striking a woman who was putting a child into a vehicle. Mr. Hammer pulled up to the vehicle at Vermaas and Eleanor avenues, got out of his car, and took the keys from the erratic vehicle's ignition and then called 911. The driver was "suffering from a serious medical emergency," officials said.
• William Pratt, on Sept. 19, saw two "suspicious males" outside his home as he left for the store. When he returned home, he saw the same men leaving out of the back door to his home and taking some of his property with them. He chased the two and caught up to them at 653 Oswald St. in East Toledo. The two males assaulted Mr. Pratt before running into the duplex at 653 Oswald. Mr. Pratt watched over the front of the house and recruited two utility repairmen to watch the back until police arrived. The men were taken into custody after a brief standoff.
• Charlotte Foster and Tiffany Piggee, who, on Jan. 10, helped a man whose wheelchair was stuck in the snow. After calling the man's apartment management, who refused to help, the women called 911, waited for police, and then pushed the man about one mile through the snow back to his apartment.

Meritorious Public Service Awards were given to:

• Kahlya Derkson, Idress Ramsey, and Timothy Griffin; the trio, on May 4, 2013, saw Detective Deb Hahn being assaulted by a man outside a downtown club where the officer was working off duty. Detective Hahn suffered a broken arm and was cut numerous times on her face and mouth. Ms. Derkson, a Cincinnati police officer, identified herself and was able to use Detective Hahn's radio to call for back up. Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Griffin chased the suspect, were threatened, and continued to follow until they could point responding officers to the suspect's location. The suspect, Deleno Stine, jumped into the Maumee River trying to elude police capture.
• Kenneth Jackson and Latoya Kirkwood, on Sept. 11, helped a man who was hanging halfway out of a vehicle in apparent "medical distress," officials said. Mr. Jackson, who was the first to notice, called out for someone to dial 911. Ms. Kirkwood, who was on her way home from school at Herzing University where she was studying medical assisting, heard the call for help and went to assist. There she and Mr. Jackson noticed the man was not breathing; Ms. Kirkwood administered CPR until paramedics arrived. "I just didn't' want the guy to die," said Ms. Kirkwood, who graduates from Herzing on Saturday.

Letters of Recognition were awarded to:

• Detective Amy Herrick for catching a shoplifter at Franklin Park Mall while the officer was off duty on April 2, 2013;
• Detective Deborah Hahn for helping a woman who was being assaulted and then suffering serious injuries when she confronted the attacker on May 4, 2013;
• Offier Abraham Harrison for pulling a woman out of an apartment where she was running a gas-powered generator, getting her to a well-ventilated room, and then evacuating the rest of the residents on May 9, 2013;
• Officer Donald Bryan for pulling a "lifeless" man from a vehicle to perform CPR until paramedics could arrive on July 24;
• Sgt. Ed mack, for overseeing the renovations and ensuring the on-time completion of the Northwest Station;
• Officer Douglas Lewis for recognizing a patron of Chuck's On Monroe as a person-of-interest in a homicide case and then working with bar employees to get the man's ID; he passed along the information to detectives who followed up and made a subsequent arrest.

The Meritorious Service Award was presented to Officer Amanda Evans who was working off duty at White Tower Restaurant, 1515 W. Sylvania Ave., when a woman slumped into her seat because of a medical condition. The officer administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

The Distinguished Service Medal, the department's second-highest honor, was given to Officer Thomas Reinhart. On May 23, 2013, Officer Reinhart and Officer Jason Picking, members of the Gang Unit, were on routine patrol in the 1000 block of Page Street when the saw a man pointing a shotgun at a woman who was laying on the road. When the officers stopped, a second man ran and Officer Picking chased the suspect. Officer Reinhart approached Thomas Bean, the man armed with the gun, and ordered him to put the gun down. Instead, the man pointed the shotgun at the officer and moved toward the officer. Officer Reinhart fired at Bean; Bean moved onto the sidewalk and pointed the gun at the officer again. Officer Reinhart shot the man a second time. Bean died of his injuries.

The Professional Service Award was presented to: Officers David Avalos, Tracy Britt, Burna Guy, Matt Kovacs, John Noonan, Otto Rectenwald, Marcos Revilla, Daniel Wagner, Melvin Woods, Rodolfo Garcia, Kerry Hayes, John Knerr, Michael Moore, Irma Oberneder, and David Williams; Detectives Sherri Kellar-Raab, Andre Bills, Andre Cowell, and William Noon; Sgts. Robert Furr, Laurie Renz, and Brent Scoble; and Lt. David Mueller.

Civilian Employee of the Year was awarded to Linda Leonhard, an administrative assistant in the Domestic Violence Unit. Officer of the Year was awarded to Donald Nachtrab, and Command Officer of the Year was awarded to Sgt. William Wauford.