2003 Commendations
2005 Commendations
2006 Commendations
2007 Commendations
2008 Commendations

WEEK OF 10/19/2004 - 10/26/2004

DISTRICT FOUR
SERGEANT RICHARD LEHMAN

In September, Sergeant Richard Lehman prepared and initiated a project to reduce the number of homicides and other violent crimes in District Four.  During the planning and operation phase, Sergeant Lehman took numerous steps to ensure the project was a success.  He requested additional personnel from surrounding districts, conducted information gathering through the use of Problem Oriented Policing booklets, prepared an outline for personnel involved in the operations, addressed safety tactics during field operations, created a questionnaire for use during field operations, and retrieved pamphlets with information on street violence for dissemination in the field.

The operation resulted in 33 arrests, which included warrants for acts of violence and the recovery of three loaded handguns.  Additionally, numerous contact cards and photographs were completed during the operation for use in future investigations.  Sergeant Lehman is deserving of this commendation for his thorough preparation, attention to detail, concern for safety, and leadership.

WEEK OF 08/10/2004-08/17/2004

TACTICAL PLANNING SECTION
LIEUTENANT DOUGLAS VENTRE

In January of 2004, the Cincinnati Police Department embarked on a plan to equip all sworn members of the Department with a TASER.  An aggressive strategy was developed to quickly train the officers in the proper deployment of this new law enforcement tool.  Lieutenant Douglas Ventre was instrumental in the establishment of a training curriculum, development of equipment distribution system and the designing of a process to track each use of the TASER.  Lieutenant Ventre was a critical component in the successful training of the Department’s officers and proved to be an invaluable resource to this project.  Lieutenant Ventre is deserving of an official commendation for his demonstrated commitment to the Police Department and the skill and professionalism he displayed during this undertaking.

DISTRICT TWO
POLICE OFFICER ANN LALLY

On April 7, 2004, Police Officer Lally was on patrol in the Hyde Park area.  Officer Lally observed a subject run from the Shell Oil Station, enter a nearby vehicle and quickly drive behind the building.  Alerted by this behavior, Officer Lally stopped the subject and began an investigation.  Officer Lally learned the Shell Oil Station had been robbed at gunpoint.  As a result of this investigation, the subject was also implicated in another robbery which occurred on Vine Street earlier in the evening.  Officer Lally’s efforts in apprehending this individual are to be commended.  Her beat awareness and her investigation techniques are testimonies to Officer Lally’s dedication to duty.  Officer Lally’s efforts resulted in the arrest of a violent individual and prove her worthy of this commendation.

WEEK OF 07/27/2004-08/03/2004

DISTRICT FOUR
POLICE OFFICER DONALD BROWN
POLICE SERGEANT DIANE REED

On June 20, 2004, while on routine patrol, Officer Donald Brown and Sergeant Diana Reed were notified by a citizen that an eight year old child was recently assaulted and had stopped breathing.  After Officer Brown determined the victim had a limited pulse he immediately retrieved the necessary Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation equipment from his police vehicle.  Sergeant Reed began administering CPR, which kept the flow of oxygen to the victim’s brain until the arrival of the Cincinnati Fire Department.  Once the child was tended to by fire personnel, Officer Brown performed his duties in establishing the crime scene and locating both witnesses and the suspect.  Officer Brown and Sergeant Reed are deserving of this commendation for their quick response and dedication to duty which helped save the life of the eight year old victim and assisted in solving a violent crime.

TACTICAL PLANNING SECTION
POLICE SPECIALIST JOHN ROSE
POLICE SPECIALIST ANDREW NOGUEIRA

DISTRICT TWO
POLICE OFFICER RONALD HALE

In January of 2004, the Cincinnati Police Department embarked on a plan to equip all sworn members of the department with a TASER.  An aggressive strategy was developed to quickly train the officers in the proper deployment of this new law enforcement tool.  Police Specialist John Rose, Police Specialist Andrew Nogueira, and Police Officer Ronald Hale were instrumental in the establishment of a training curriculum, development of an equipment distribution system, and the designing of a process to track each use of the TASER.  Officer Hale, Specialist Rose, and Specialist Nogueira were critical components in the successful training of the Department’s officers and proved to be invaluable resources to this project.  These officers are deserving of this official commendation for their demonstrated commitment to the Police Department and the skill and professionalism they displayed during this undertaking.

DISTRICT FOUR
LIEUTENANT CHRISTOPHER J. RUEHMER

On July 10, 2004, after serving for two years as a member of the Cincinnati Police Department SWAT Unit, Lieutenant Christopher Ruehmer requested that he be relieved of his duties as an active member of the unit.  Lieutenant Ruehmer was selected for the team from a group of highly qualified candidates.  He has served with distinction as a member of the SWAT Unit and made a significant contribution to the SWAT program.  Lieutenant Ruehmer is deserving of this official commendation because of his commitment and dedicated service to the SWAT organization.

DISTRICT FIVE
POLICE OFFICER MATTHEW LATZY
POLICE SPECIALIST KRISTEN SHIRCLIFF

District Five has experienced a rash of robbery offenses in the Clifton, Clifton Heights, University Heights, and Fairview areas.  Most of these offenses occurred between 0930 and 0200 hours within a three to four block radius of the University of Cincinnati.  Due to the proximity of the reported offenses and the hours of occurrence, local juveniles seemed to be the most likely suspects.  On June 23, 2004, while conducting follow-up investigations on other robberies in the area, Police Officer Matthew Latzy, working in conjunction with Police Specialist Kristen Shircliff, noticed five young black males following a gentleman, now know as Zhaohui Shi.  Mr. Shi was carrying a laptop computer as he walked south bound on Bishop Street.  The five subjects surrounded Mr. Shi and one of the subjects tried to pull the laptop computer away from him.  Mr. Shi struggled with them in an effort to retain his property.  Officer Latzy and Specialist Shircliff quickly confronted the five subjects and took them into custody.  As a result, Mr. Shi was not injured and his property was not damaged or stolen.  The five subjects were transported to District Five for an interview and subsequently charged with robbery.  Specialist Shircliff and Officer Latzy’s dedication to duty, attention to detail, and outstanding interviewing skills resulted in the arrest and recent convictions of all five suspects for robbery.  They displayed professionalism throughout this incident. 

WEEK OF 07/13/04 - 07/20/04

DISTRICT ONE
POLICE OFFICER VINCENT GEORGE

On May 13, 2004 at approximately 0020 hours, Police Officer Vincent George observed a red pickup truck pulling out of a parking lot in a reckless manner. Officer George immediately began to broadcast his observations and location. Officer George also located a witness who had observed shots fired from the vehicle. Officer George quickly relayed the suspect's description to the responding officers. Within seconds of the broadcast, the suspect had been located and taken into custody without incident. The suspect was subsequently charged with one count of Aggravated Robbery and one count of Aggravated Murder. Officer George is deserving of Department level recognition. His perseverance, dedication to duty, knowledge of his beat, and professionalism resulted in the arrest of a homicide suspect and the removal of a dangerous felon from our streets.

DISTRICT ONE
POLICE SERGEANT DAVID A. CORLETT

On May 13, 2004 Police Sergeant David A. Corlett heard a broadcast from Police Officer Vincent George of a shots fired incident in the area of the Cincinnati Public Library. Sergeant Corlett responded without delay to assist Officer George in locating the suspect. Sergeant Corlett was able to locate a suspect based on the description that Officer George obtained and broadcast. Sergeant Corlett was able to take the suspect into custody without incident. While Sergeant Corlett was handcuffing the suspect, he was advised by Communications Section that there was a shooting victim in the parking lot at 2 East 7th Street. Sergeant Corlett responded to the scene while calling for a K-9 unit to conduct an article search for the gun. Sergeant Corlett established three separate crime scenes and was able to reconstruct the scenes to show their correlation to the Homicide Unit supervisor. The suspect that Sergeant Corlett took into custody was subsequently charged with one count of Aggravated Robbery and one count of Aggravated Murder. The weapon used in the crime was located by the responding K-9 unit. Sergeant Corlett is deserving of Department level recognition. His perseverance, dedication to duty and professionalism resulted in the arrest of a homicide suspect and the removal of a dangerous felon from our streets.

WEEK OF 05/02/04 - 05/08/04

DISTRICT TWO
POLICE OFFICER ERIC DUNN
POLICE OFFICER ELTON SHAW

Police Officer Eric Dunn, and Police Officer Elton Shaw are commended for the courage and professionalism they displayed in the recent arrest of subjects wanted in connection with an armed bank robbery that occurred in Springfield Township. During the pursuit of the subjects, Officer Dunn anticipated the direction of travel and was able to place himself in position to assist when the pursuit concluded in District Two. The chase ended when the pursued vehicle crashed. Two subjects fled from the car, firing shots at the officers on scene. As other officers returned fire, the third subject ran. Officer Dunn gave chase and apprehended the subject without incident. The subject was identified as being wanted for numerous crimes and as one of the U.S. Marshal's Office Top-15 Most Wanted. The suspect had attempted to conceal his identity but, with his experience and investigative skills, Officer Dunn was able to reveal the subject's true identity. Officers Dunn, and Shaw, are worthy of commendation for their bravery, dedication and experience.

WEEK OF 04/27/04-05/04/04

DISTRICT THREE
POLICE SPECIALIST PATRICIA HOFFBAUER

INSPECTIONS SECTION
SERGEANT GREGORY CROWELL

DETAIL COORDINATION UNIT
SERGEANT STEVE LANG

On March 22, 2004, Mr. Lashawn Williams and an accomplice robbed the Fifth Third Bank at Two Centennial Plaza. The two suspects fled the area on foot and then in a vehicle. District One officers obtained a brief description of the suspect vehicle and broadcast the information throughout Hamilton County. Specialist Hoffbauer observed a vehicle matching the description pull behind an apartment building on Harrison Avenue. The occupant fled from the vehicle on foot into woods. Sergeant Crowell and Sergeant Lang heard the broadcast and responded to the general area where the suspect was last seen. They observed the suspect come from behind a house and were able to arrest the suspect without incident. The suspect gave a complete statement to investigators, including the identity of his accomplice.

WEEK OF 03/03/04-03/09/04

DISTRICT FIVE
POLICE SPECIALIST DARRYL MORTON

On February 26, 2004, at approximately 1453 hours, a subject later identified as Robert Jones passed a note to a teller demanding money from the College Hill PNC Bank at 5851 Hamilton Avenue. The subject grabbed the cash along with the note and fled the building. Before Police Communications Section became aware of the robbery via an activated bank alarm, Specialist Morton, while driving in the area, observed the subject running from the bank. Recognizing that to be unusual behavior, Specialist Morton pulled over, exited his vehicle, made a broadcast and began pursuing the subject on foot. Specialist Morton apprehended the subject a block away. A phone call to the bank confirmed they had just been robbed. Specialist Morton not only apprehended the subject but also recovered the money, knife, note, gloves, and hat used during the offense. Because police personnel were not yet aware of the offense, had it not been for Specialist Morton's dedication to duty, keen observation skills, and intuitiveness, this subject may have eluded arrest. Specialist Morton's actions are a credit to the Police Department and are deserving of this commendation.

DISTRICT FOUR
POLICE OFFICER TIMOTHY HAINS
POLICE OFFICER GARY CHRISTIE

SPECIAL SERVICES SECTION
POLICE SPECIALIST DAVID KENNEDY

On January 24, 2004 at 1041 hours, Mr. Joseph Fioni of 2515 Burnet Avenue, apartment #601, called 911 and reported he was being robbed by two black men who had entered his apartment. Mr. Fioni is wheelchair bound. The 911 call ended abruptly as patrol cars were being dispatched. Officer Timothy Hains, Officer Gary Christie along with Specialist David Kennedy of the Canine Unit, all arrived within three minutes of being dispatched. The officers entered the building and met with a resident in the lobby who stated she had been there for ten minutes and no one had entered or left in that time. Since the twelve-story apartment building has two elevators, the officers decided Specialist Kennnedy and Officer Hains would take separate elevators and Officer Christie would take the stairwell. The only suspect description at that time was two black men, one large and one small, wearing all dark clothing. As Officers Hains, and Kennedy approached the elevators, one of the elevator doors opened. A large black man exited the elevator accompanied by a smaller black man, both of whom were wearing dark clothing. Officers Hains and Kennedy detained these men and took them to the victim's apartment for identification purposes. The victim quickly dismissed the smaller subject but said the larger subject resembled one of his attackers. In addition, the larger subject began shaking and sweating profusely. Officer Hains explained to the subject that he needed to fill out a F.I.R. card and asked for his identification to which the subject replied, “No”. Officer Hains conducted a pat down of the subject's outer garments and felt what appeared to be plastic identification cards in his pants pocket. Officer Hains discovered one of these cards was a telephone calling card containing the name of the victim, Joseph Fioni. The subject, Robert Howard, confessed to the crime and identified his accomplice. Mr. Howard directed Officers Christie and Kennedy to his accomplice's location where they arrested him and recovered the remainder of the victim's property. Both subjects were charged with Aggravated Robbery. As a result of Officer Hains' quick response, fast thinking and dedication to duty, two dangerous individuals were removed from the streets of Cincinnati and a citizen was well served by the Cincinnati Police Department.

WEEK OF 02/02/04-02/09/04

DISTRICT ONE
POLICE OFFICER ADAM D.HENNIE

Throughout 2003, all sworn members of the Police Department participated in firearms training and qualification at the Firearms Training Unit. A portion of that training involved a scored tactical shooting course requiring the officers to engage multiple targets from various covered positions and while moving. Police Officer Adam D. Hennie assigned to District One, achieved the best score out of all the officers who participated with a course time of 27.04 seconds. Officer Hennie's proficiency with his firearm, ability to overcome shooting obstacles and dexterity under simulated stress were all tested during his notable performance. Officer Hennie is deserving of official commendation because of his commitment to excellence and for the skill he displayed while engaged in a training exercise.

WEEK OF 1/5/04-1/12/04

DISTRICT FIVE
POLICE OFFICER BARON OSTERMAN

On November 15, 2003, District Five Officers found Nicole Wright, 17 years of age, shot to death inside the residence. The victim’s brother called 911 and admitted to shooting his sister and stated he was going to kill himself. A very brief description of the subject was obtained and a search of the Northside area began. Officer Osterman took a quadrant position and observed an individual walking approximately one mile from the homicide scene. As Officer Osterman drove past the individual, he noticed the subject turned away and hid his face. The suspect’s clothing description did not match what was given to police on the scene, but Officer Osterman became suspicious and stopped the subject. After a brief field interrogation, the subject admitted to Officer Osterman that he was the victim’s brother. Officer Osterman immediately took him into custody. Police Officer Baron Osterman is deserving of this commendation for his investigative initiative, dedication to duty and professionalism. Officer Osterman’s observation and investigative techniques resulted in the removal of a murder suspect from the streets of Cincinnati and the closure of a homicide within one hour after the fatal shooting. The subject was charged with Murder by the Cincinnati Police Department’s Homicide Unit.