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Jackie Wegman Receives
Officer Of The Year Award

BY KRISTEN FRITZ — MIRROR REPORTER
The Maumee Police Division presented its 2007 Officer of the Year Award to Officer Jackie Wegman at its annual awards banquet on January 22.
A member of the police division since 1985, Wegman has served as the school resource officer at Maumee High School since January 2007. She was nominated by her supervisor, Sgt. David Tullis.
In letters to Maumee Police Chief Robert Zink, MHS principal Larry Caffro and assistant principal Sandy Werling praised Wegman for her work with both students and administrators.
Wegman begins her day walking the halls of the high school, where she has the opportunity to greet the students – and hear firsthand what is going on in the building, according to Werling.
“She is quick to identify potential issues within MHS and she responds proactively whenever possible,” Werling wrote. “She has developed an exceptional rapport with our students and they confide in her when there are important issues concerning them.”
Caffro noted the many ways Wegman has served the students – visiting classrooms, working on safe driving programs, creating a police academy and conducting grade-level meetings on harassment.
In addition, Wegman assists at athletic events, investigates threats, assists with safety drills and helps return truant students to school.
Caffro and Werling said Wegman has become an important part of the administrative team at the high school.
“She sits in our weekly administrative meetings and contributes valuable insights that contribute to the operation and the safety of our building,” Caffro said.
Sgt. Jim MacDonald, master of ceremonies for the awards ceremony, praised Wegman’s professionalism and work ethic.
“She shows instinctive initiative on any report that involves a juvenile, usually before it even gets assigned by the supervisor,” he said.
“Officer Wegman represents the Maumee Police Division in a commendable, dedicated and professional manner,” he said.
In accepting the award, Wegman called it “the highlight of my career.”
She said the award represents all of the people she works with every day.
“Just like Verizon, I have a network,” she said, and thanked fellow officers, trainers, dispatchers, command staff and secretaries.
She also thanked her family, including her parents and sister, her husband Marty Wegman, whom she met on patrol, and his children Kristy Ogden and Jason Wegman.

Maumee FOP And Elks Honor Police Officers

At Awards Banquet

Several members of the Maumee Police Division were honored for outstanding service in 2007 during the department’s annual awards banquet on Tuesday evening at the Maumee Elks facility in uptown Maumee.
The night’s activities culminated in the presentation of the Maumee Police Division’s Officer of the Year Award to Officer Jackie Wegman, who serves as the school resource officer at Maumee High School.
The awards ceremony, co-sponsored annually by the Maumee Valley Lodge 118 Fraternal Order of Police and the Maumee Elks, attracted a crowd of approximately 80 police personnel and family members on a cold January weeknight.
Just prior to dinner, Mayor Tim Wagener made a few appreciative remarks to the assembled audience before leaving to preside over the Maumee City Council meeting that was about to begin just two blocks away. Herb Moore then took the microphone and led the group with a prayer.
Following the dinner, Maumee Police Chief Robert Zink opened the awards ceremony with a few remarks, praising the officers for their call to duty, before introducing local dignitaries who included Maumee Municipal Court Judge Gary Byers, Maumee prosecutors John Arnsby and Ray Runner, and Maumee City Council President Richard Carr.
Sgt. Jim MacDonald was introduced as the master of ceremonies and he opened his remarks by thanking his fellow MPD award review board members: Sgt. T.J. Stratton, Sgt. David Tullis, Sgt. Tom Hixon, Officer Wendy Newsome, Officer Paul LaPlante, secretary Amy Clocksin and board secretary Janet Huse.
MacDonald noted that the Maumee Police Division received 20,153 calls for service in 2007, an average of 388 per week.
Of those calls, 1,376 involved a criminal offense, and in 636 of those cases the department was able to identify sound suspects.
Last year, 1,012 arrests were made by the Maumee police and 747 accidents were reported – an average of over 14 per week. Citations numbered 2,352 and 198 parking tickets were written in 2007.
MacDonald pointed out that Maumee police personnel, including officers and dispatchers, received 6,175 hours of training in 2007, including firearms skills, which averages out to 119 hours per person within the department.
“We really do our job quite well, and we have done it safely this past year,” MacDonald noted. “It is nice to set aside a time of encouragement for one another.”
MacDonald then invited Carr to come up to the podium to help with the awards. Carr told the audience that he was attending the evening’s festivities, despite the fact that there was a council meeting going on at the same time, because he wanted to represent his colleagues in a manner that displayed city council’s respect and support for the importance of the ceremony honoring the men and women of the police division.
Citizen Commendation
MacDonald then proceeded with the awards, leading off with the Citizen Commendation. This award recognizes the work of local citizens assisting the police department.
This year’s recipient was the Maumee Municipal Court Domestic Violence Task Force: a group of nearly 40 citizens who assist the Maumee police by handling the extraordinary needs that a domestic abuse victim may have.
The needs, as outlined in the nomination letter written by MPD Lt. Mike Noble, may include “but are not limited to safe housing, food, clothing, babysitting services, transportation, the changing of house locks, pet care, emotional support, and more.”
“The task force is made up of police officers (from various agencies whose jurisdiction is under the umbrella of the Maumee Municipal Court), victims advocates, prosecutors, Judge Byers, Animal Control Officer Ken Streichert, church representatives, members from the probation department, as well as Children’s Services, and more,” Noble’s letter stated.
Judge Byers accepted the award on behalf of the organization, which meets every six weeks to help find solutions for those in need.
“We had 47 domestic violence occurrences in Maumee last year,” the judge reported. “When we met as a group, we decided we had to do something to stop this violence and perhaps save lives. Besides repeat drunk drivers, this (domestic violence) is the instance where people can most likely get hurt or be killed.”
Merit Commendations
Following the judge’s comments, MacDonald and Chief Zink presented Merit Commendations.
The first such award was presented to crossing guard Dorothy Hetz, who serves the children at Fairfield Elementary School. The nomination letter, written by Pat Donohue, included the following passage:
“Since January 4, 1999 Dorothy Hentz has provided our fine city with this invaluable public service to our young residents. Regardless of weather, Dorothy has dutifully stood her post at Centerfield and Eastfield Streets. Dorothy is reliable, responsible and has displayed energy and enthusiasm in working with our children, exercising sound independent judgment in the conduct of her work.”
The second Merit Commendation of the evening was awarded to dispatcher Rob Bunce, who was not in attendance to hear the words written by Kathy Babka, who nominated him for the award:
“Rob is more than deserving of this award. He always is there to go the extra mile to help out in any situation. He has provided leadership and dedication throughout the division while providing empathy and understanding of the complexities involved in our operations.
“Rob takes the initiative to try to improve and broaden the functions of our existing technology. His friendly, yet professional attitude makes complex issues seem so easy by offering his undivided assuring assistance.”
The third Merit Commendation of the evening was given to the MPD firearms instructors, Lt. Mike Fortney, Sgt. T.J. Stratton, Sgt. Jeff Siebenaler, Sgt. Tom Hixon, Patrolman Brian Mock, Patrolman Phillip Weaver and Sgt. Jim MacDonald. The responsibilities of these men include assisting the officers in the police division with handgun, rifle and shotgun training.
According to the nomination letter, these officers “have been an asset in incorporating the Maumee Safety Training facility into the officers’ training efforts. This has been accomplished with the use of reality-based scenario training and force-on-force simulation live fire with the officers.
ASP/OC instructors –Patrolman Robert York and Patrolman Jason Lohner –also were honored with the award. These men train department personnel in the areas of ASP baton, OC (pepper spray), Taser and defensive tactics, coupled with the concept of an officer making use of force decisions based upon an action response from a suspect.
Safe Driving Awards
MacDonald proceeded to the awards for safe driving, recognizing individuals for reaching milestones for driving without an accident while on duty.
Among the recipients:
Three Year – Animal Control Officer Ken Streichert.
Five Year – Officer Scott Russell and Officer Paul LaPlante.
15 Year – Sgt. Tom Hixon and Officer Mark Johnson.
20 Year – Officer Pat Sullivan and Officer Jeff Whitten.
25 Year – Sgt. Ellen Columber.
30 Year – Chief Robert Zink.
Honorable Service
Next on the list of awards were those for milestones for honorable service to the Maumee Police Division.
Among the recipients:
Five Year – Officer Josh Sprow, Officer Scott Russell and secretary Amy Clocksin.
10 Year – Officer Rob York, dispatcher Dave Logan and dispatcher Michelle Valvano.
15 Year – Officer Mark Johnson and Officer Tim Roberts.
20 Year – Sgt. Steve Crowe, Officer Pat Sullivan and Officer Jeff Whitten.
25 Year – Officer Bob Lindsay.
30 Year – Chief Robert Zink.
The program finished strong with three major awards, presented by Chief Zink.
Exceptional Duty Medal
The first such award was the Medal of Exceptional Duty, presented to Officer Greg Westrick.
Sgt. Jeff Siebenaler nominated Officer Westrick for this distinction for an incident that occurred on August 6, 2007 at 5:15 p.m. at St. Luke’s Hospital.
The suspect had left a suicide note for her pastor, stating that she had a gun and would be dead by morning. Recently discharged by the U.S. Navy, the individual had become secluded from friends and family with no means of support or job, and no permanent residence.
When the officers arrived at the scene, they were informed that there was a woman acting strangely in the restroom of the main floor. The area was cordoned off and secured.
The officers opened the main door to the restroom and could see a person slumped despondently in one of the stalls. The officers could hear her working the action and safety mechanisms of a pistol.
After numerous attempts to get the woman to talk, Westrick finally began a dialogue with her. She spoke with depression and a sense of lost hope, according to Siebenaler’s report of the incident.
After 40 minutes of negotiations, Westrick convinced the woman to give up. She surrendered and a .22 caliber handgun was found in her possession, with one bullet in the chamber and three others in the magazine clip. A suicide note with funeral instructions was also found in the woman’s possession, according to the report.
The suspect was secured and taken to Rescue Crisis Mental Health Services for help. She was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and inducing panic.
The Chief’s Achievement Award
The Chief’s Achievement Award was presented to Officer Rob York, who began his career with the MPD on March 7, 1997.
Chief Zink’s nomination letter noted that, “Officer York serves in assignments as a Bicycle Patrol Officer, Division Instructor and as a member of the Special Response Unit.
“In addition to these assignments, Rob has received numerous commendations over the years for outstanding police work. Rob has twice been awarded the medal of exceptional duty and in 2006 was awarded the medal for distinguished service.
“Officer York consistently maintains a positive image of himself, and the Maumee Police Division, by his knowledge, loyalty and integrity.”
With that presentation, all that remained was the recognition of Officer Jackie Wegman as Maumee Police Division’s Officer of the Year for 2007.

©2008 The Mirror Newspaper