Four members of the Cincinnati Police Department will receive recognition awards from the Rotary Club of Cincinnati at its meeting Thursday October 2 in the Pavilion Ballroom of the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel, 35 West Fifth Street. Rotary President Ute Papke will welcome Police Chief Thomas H. Streicher, Jr., who will introduce members of the Police Department to be honored for their outstanding efforts in the categories of Valor/Hero, Career Enhancement, Superior Achievement and Administrative Excellence. The meeting begins with lunch at noon, and presentation of awards will begin at approximately 1:00 p.m. Recipients of this year’s honors are Valor/Hero: Police Officer Donald Meece; Career Enhancement: Police Specialist Ralph Unger; Superior Achievement: Police Officer Michael Roth; and Administrative Excellence: Captain Jeffrey L. Butler, Jr. [Information on each recipient follows this page.]
Rotary International is a worldwide network of 1.2 million business and professional people united under the motto “Service Above Self” and dedicated to humanitarian service for the advancement of understanding, good will and peace. The Rotary Club of Cincinnati was founded in 1910, and its membership of more that 400 community leaders places it among the top ten clubs in the world.
Police Officer Donald Meece will be honored for his bravery and quick response September 14, 2007, when he observed a subject who matched the description of the suspect in a home invasion robbery that had just occurred. Officer Meece exited his vehicle and ordered the suspect to stop, but the person ran away. Officer Meece engaged in a foot pursuit of the subject, who twice turned and fired at the officer. Officer Meece took cover and fired three shots at the suspect. Two canine teams arrived within minutes and conducted a track. They found items discarded by the fleeing suspect, but he eluded capture. Officer Meece displayed courage, perseverance and dedication to duty. At great risk to himself, he identified, pursued and engaged an armed suspect, never once wavering from his duty despite being confronted by imminent danger.
Police Specialist Ralph Unger will be honored for his efforts to enhance his career through training and to apply his skills to further the mission of the Cincinnati Police Department. This year Specialist Unger earned certification as a Forensic Video Analyst by the Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association after completing more than 300 hours of training and passing exams at three levels. Only 17 people in the world have attained this certification. Specialist Unger’s willingness to invest his own time in perfecting his skills has benefited his own Department and other law enforcement agencies in the Tri-State area. He constantly strives to improve his skills through training and reading, and he shares the information he has received by instructing others.
Police Officer Michael Roth will be honored because he combines the methodical tenacity of traditional “street policing” with new technological tools to investigate crimes and arrest offenders. In the first eight months of 2008, he has made 45 felony arrests and 117 felony case closures. When a convenience store was robbed in early June, evidence was meager but surveillance video showed the masked gunman. Detective Roth located a handkerchief along the trail taken by the suspect and submitted it for DNA analysis. When a similar offense was committed in Cheviot, he worked with Cheviot detectives who had information on a possible getaway car. Detective Roth utilized the Automatic License Plate Reader’s database to find where the vehicle was most often seen. The vehicle was located and its driver was interviewed. This yielded information that put the car at the scene of the Cheviot offense and the nickname of a suspect. With the nickname file, Detective Roth then identified a likely suspect. When the handkerchief came back from testing with this suspect’s DNA, he was arrested and charged with both aggravated robberies.
Captain Jeffrey L. Butler, Jr. will be honored for his accomplishments as Commander of the Information Technology Management Section. He is an innovative leader who works to find and implement the best technology to further the mission of the Department. His team’s success with two notable projects illustrates his ability to work with street officers to determine their needs, and with vendors to develop systems that address those needs with workable applications. COPSMART, the county-wide project designed to put computers in police cars, began nearly ten years ago. Once Captain Butler became involved, he worked diligently to push the project forward. His team offered support to the county project team and worked with the current vendor on field testing. After nearly a decade, several report modules are finally at the officers’ fingertips. Captain Butler and his team also worked with the vendor to improve the utility of the Automatic License Plate Reader system. He recognized its potential to serve as a data collection tool for investigative and intelligence gathering purposes, in addition to its original purpose of identifying vehicles with outstanding fines or linked to persons with open warrants. He worked with the vendor to develop a system that collects and stores vehicle data. Both street officers and investigators have been quick to recognize and use this new tool. It has helped them to track travel patterns and locate vehicles involved in hit-skips, robberies and homicides. Other area law enforcement agencies have purchased the ALPR system and will share information across jurisdictions for better intelligence gathering and case solution. Captain Butler works diligently to provide officers with the best tools to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. He inspires others to look for creative ways to support members of the Department and to serve the citizens of Cincinnati.
