ASHLAND – In the past few years, Ashland police officers averted a mass shooting, administered life-saving first aid, rescued a woman from her kidnapper, obtained confessions from a murderer and got drugs and drug dealers off the streets.
Because of a number of pending cases last year, Ashland Police Department postponed its annual awards ceremony at that time. With those major cases behind them, the department recognized outstanding officers with service medals and commendations at an awards ceremony Wednesday.
“This is probably the largest number of service medals we’ve ever given out at any one time,” Ashland Police Chief David Marcelli said.
Service medals were awarded to Det. Brian Evans, Officer Abe Neumann, Lt. Tim Shreffler, Sgt. Tim Cox, Det. Curt Dorsey, Det. Kim Mager and Capt. Dave Lay.
Evans’ service medal was the second he has received for his ongoing work in narcotics. Marcelli noted Evans has seized a large number of drugs and his investigations have led to convictions in drug overdose death cases.
Neumann received a service medal for saving the life of a car crash victim.
“For the second time that I know of in his career, he crawled down into a crashed vehicle,” Marcelli said of Neumann. “He actually peeled the roof back and crawled in with a woman whose arm was almost severed and eventually had to be amputated. He rendered first aid and kept her from going into too much shock. While I’m no doctor and I don’t play one on TV, it sure seemed like he was saving her life, and that’s why he earned that medal.”
Lt. Tim Shreffler, Sgt. Tim Cox and Det. Curt Dorsey each received service medals for rescuing the surviving victim of convicted murdered Shawn Grate from a house on Covert Court Sept. 13, 2016.
“They had one chance to do it right,” Marcelli said. “Alerting him could have resulted in that victim’s death, a long drawn-out hostage situation or his escape. They had one chance at getting her out and not waking him up, and they performed it flawlessly.”
Det. Kim Mager also received her service medal for her work on the Grate case.
“She was instrumental in extracting a confession for the cases here in Ashland, two other cases and an unknown homicide that we weren’t aware of,” Marcelli said. “I don’t know how she did that, how she sat and listened to the things that animal said about the things that he did. It takes a special person to do that… We owe her a debt of gratitude to help get that man off the streets.”
Capt. Dave Lay received his medal for work on the same case. Lay was investigating Elizabeth Griffith’s disappearance when Grate was arrested, and he was the first person to attempt an interview with Grate following the arrest. Lay was able to extract a partial admission to the murder of Griffith, and later he oversaw the investigation.
“There were many, many, many, many officers from this department that touched that case,” Marcelli said. “I don’t want to diminish the work of the other detectives that helped or the officers that helped. You all deserve a pat on the back, but these were the folks that stood out in my mind for commendations.”
Mager had the distinction of receiving the most awards of the evening. In addition to her second career meritorious service medal, Mager also received four commendations for her work on four separate child abuse and neglect cases. In each case, she was able to extract confessions from the perpetrators.
Commendations also went to officer Brad Scarl (2), officer Kara Pearce (2), officer Kody Hying (2), Det. Curt Dorsey, officer Tim Atchison, officer Alan Swaggard, officer Adam Wolbert, officer Tim Atchison (2), officer Jonathan Kohler, officer Aaron Kline, officer Brian Kunzen, Sgt. Darcy Baker, Capt. Dave Lay and Lt. Gary Alting (3).
Lay’s commendation was for his investigation of a shots fired call at a Chinese restaurant on Oct. 24, 2015. His investigation included the execution of a search warrant and revealed that a male suspect was planning a mass shooting incident, likely to take place on Halloween.
“I can tell you with confidence that we were going to have a mass shooting in this city, perpetrated by this person who is now locked away in a mental hospital and is not competent to stand trial,” Marcelli said. “I can tell you the work in this case averted a mass shooting incident, without a doubt.”
Marcelli also recognized several members of Mansfield Police Department for assisting Ashland Police with drug cases. Commendations went to Det. Perry Wheeler, Lt. Joseph Petrycki Sgt. Steve Blust and Det. Nicole Gearhart.
Valerie Ortega of the records bureau was chosen by her colleagues as civilian of the year for 2017. Marcelli described Ortega as “the silent strength of the clerk’s office.”
Officer of the year for 2017 was Kody Hying. Marcelli said Hying is fairly new to the department but does an outstanding job, as evidenced by the commendations he received Wednesday.
Mayor Matt Miller passed out the awards and also addressed the department personnel. He thanked them for doing their jobs with excellence and encouraged them to continue to set a high bar for other area law enforcement agencies.
“It is an honor to serve the people this city with you the police officers, the men and women of the Ashland Police Department,” Miller said. “Whether you’re a detective or the chief, it is an honor to be on your team.”
Marcelli said he believes his department lives up to his goal of being the standard by which other agencies are judged.
“That makes giving out awards extremely difficult because the men and women of this division serve this community every day,” he said.
Marcelli noted that of the 144 defendants presented to an Ashland County grand jury in 2017, 92 of them were from Ashland Police Department cases. So far in 2018, APD cases accounted for 78 of the 115 defendants presented to a grand jury in Ashland County.
