On the Job 

A task force formed to take on the heroin crisis, an officer who provided lifesaving aid to his sergeant, and a retired detective sergeant who set up a unit to help crime victims were among the nine individuals and three groups recognized in October at the 2016 Ohio Distinguished Law Enforcement Achievement Awards.

Distinguished Law Enforcement Lifetime Achievement Award
Det. Sgt. Delphine Baldwin-Casey (retired)
Youngstown Police Department

Retired Det. Sgt. Delphine Baldwin-Casey is known for breaking barriers and reaching goals. She was one of the first female police officers in Youngstown, joining the department in 1978.

She went on to become the first female front-line supervisor for the department.

One of her most notable achievements is the creation in 1996 of the Youngstown Crisis Intervention Unit, now known as the Family Services Investigative Division. The unit helps those affected by domestic violence and other violent crimes.

Distinguished Civilian Leadership Award
David Ginsburg
Downtown Cincinnati Inc.

David Ginsburg, president and CEO of Downtown Cincinnati Inc., has spent more than 20 years working to keep the city’s central business district safe and clean.

Ginsburg joined the nonprofit group at its inception in 1994, and since then, he has introduced several initiatives, and worked with law enforcement, to improve the downtown.

Distinguished Law Enforcement Community Service Award
Officer Michael McRill
Sidney Police Department

Officer Michael McRill, a former middle school teacher, joined the Sidney Police Department in 2000 because he had a passion for law enforcement and wanted to do more for his community.

In 2014, he became the community resource officer and revived the program by reaching out to citizens and businesses to gauge what was needed.

He has developed a self-defense class, an active shooter class, a school safety program, a heroin-information program, an Internet-safety program, and more.

Distinguished Law Enforcement Community Service Award
Officer Donald R. Stanko
Upper Arlington Police Division

For much of Officer Donald Stanko’s 24 years with the Upper Arlington Police Division, he provided D.A.R.E. instruction at schools, ran the Safety Town Program, then, during his free time, he volunteered as a fencing coach for the Upper Arlington Fencing Club, which he formed in 1999.

His work with children prompted him in 2009 to, along with two other officers, start a nonprofit group to raise awareness about safety online. The Digital Innocence Recovery Group is designed to educate people about creating a positive digital footprint.

Distinguished Law Enforcement Training Award
Sgt. Charles E. Humes Jr. (retired)
Toledo Police Department

Charles Humes, a retired police sergeant who works as a special deputy with the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, is also known as an elite trainer of law enforcement instructors and an author.

For the past nine years, Humes has served as a trainer at the annual conference of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association.

A law enforcement training video created by Humes, Dynamic Striking Techniques, is used by police departments and training academies worldwide.

Also, his “Conditioned Reflex Training” concept for pursuit driving safety is credited with preventing officer fatalities.

Mark Losey Distinguished Law Enforcement Service Award
Inspector Christopher E. Rhoades
Summit County Sheriff’s Office

In his 40 years with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Inspector Christopher Rhoades has been recognized for his investigative work and his dedication to crime victims, underprivileged children, and senior citizens.

When the sheriff’s office started a program to check on the elderly, Rhoades insisted on taking part.

When Rhoades saw that the children growing up in public housing needed better interaction with law enforcement, he and his wife opened their property for campouts and fishing for those children and their families.

At Christmas, Rhoades and his wife made sure the same kids received gifts by donating to and helping with the sheriff’s “Adopt a Family” drive.

Distinguished Law Enforcement Group Achievement Award
Summit County Juvenile Court, Bath & Copley Police Departments, Hidden in Plain Sight (HIPS)

Members of the Bath and Copley Police Departments and the Summit County Juvenile Court’s Diversion Program developed “Hidden in Plain Sight,” a free, traveling, interactive exhibit to help parents learn to recognize the signs of risky behavior among teenagers.
 
The exhibit was designed by program director Marcie Mason to look like a teenager’s bedroom, and contains items that may indicate that a teen is using drugs or participating in other dangerous activities.

It has been seen by more than 6,000 adults in about 300 presentations.

Distinguished Law Enforcement Group Achievement Award
Hamilton County Heroin Coalition Task Force

As the heroin epidemic took hold in Hamilton County, law enforcement agencies decided to band together to take on the drug problem and the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition Task Force was formed in the spring of 2015.

The goal of the task force is to undertake investigations to target the sources of heroin that result in overdoses and deaths.

In the past year, the task force initiated 70 cases, 53 of which were heroin-overdose death investigations.

Meanwhile, the task force established the “Not in My Neighborhood” campaign to provide anonymous tip hotlines for citizens to report heroin dealers. The group also used donated funds to print thousands of addiction-resource cards for police and firefighters to distribute.
 
Distinguished Law Enforcement Group Achievement Award
Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Ohio Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Section

This group was instrumental in solving the 1981 murder of Lt. Ray “Joe” Clark, chief deputy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and bringing justice to a killer after more than 35 years.

The murder was investigated without success until 2011, when the sheriff’s office established a cold case squad. In 2013, the office sought and received assistance from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Unsolved Homicides Initiative.

The team started fresh and analyzed every aspect of the investigation. Eighteen volumes of records were organized and converted to a searchable computerized format. Several suspects emerged, and all were cleared except two: former deputies Richard “Bob” Smithberger and Mitchell Ruble. Ruble had been fired by Clark for using excessive force.

In the end, Smithberger filled in the details of the attack. On April 28, 2016, Ruble was sentenced to life in prison for Clark’s murder.

Distinguished Law Enforcement Valor Award
Washington County Sheriff’s Office
Capt. Troy Hawkins
Lt. Bryan Lockhart

On the morning of Aug. 20, 2015, Capt. Troy Hawkins, Lt. Bryan Lockhart, and other officers responded to a call for help just a few blocks from two schools.

At the scene, officers encountered an armed man and told him to drop his weapon. The gunman ignored their orders and began hunting for responding officers. When the man approached Hawkins, who had taken cover, Hawkins ordered him to drop his gun. Instead of complying, the man turned the gun on the captain and they both fired. A bullet narrowly missed Hawkins, but the gunman was struck four times.

When Lockhart saw Hawkins being fired upon, he ran toward the gunman, who fired at Lockhart. The lieutenant shot back, and the assailant was hit and killed.
 
Distinguished Law Enforcement Valor Award
Richmond Heights Police Department
Patrolman Gregory A. Patterson

On Dec. 6, 2015, four Richmond Heights Police officers responded to a call from a woman who had fled her home because her husband had a gun and was threatening suicide. Sgt. Mike Gerl talked to the man, who agreed to let the police in the house. The man told police where to find his gun and agreed to go to the hospital.
 
As he prepared to leave, he asked if he could get his jacket. Gerl and Patrolman Gregory Patterson escorted him upstairs. As the man went for his coat, he instead grabbed a second gun from the closet shelf and shot Gerl.

Patterson drew his weapon and fired, killing the gunman. Patterson radioed for help and pulled Gerl out of the closet to start CPR. Paramedics responded immediately, treated Gerl, and took him to the hospital. Today, Gerl is recovering from his injuries.