Trustee’s Corner

As trustee representative to the Sagamore Hills Police Department, most of my interaction with township law enforcement involves the budgeting of the police department. Our expenditures for 2021 were $1.9 million. In 2021, we had 12 full-time officers, including the police chief, and four part-time officers. It has been 6 years since we contracted dispatch services with the city of Macedonia.

Last year the police department answered 6,033 calls for service. This was a slight rise of 317 calls from the previous year. Our officers distributed 6,235 “Patrolled your area” cards, which lets taxpayers know that officers are patrolling neighborhoods at night.

The investigation division responded to 245 calls for service. Of these cases, five remain open and 240 others were closed by restitution, insufficient evidence, non-cooperation from the victim or referral to another agency.

In 2021, the department issued 75 traffic citations and 281 written warnings for traffic/equipment violations. Misdemeanor citations totaled 15 in 2021. The top three crimes police investigated were 30 domestic disputes, 28 frauds, and 20 thefts. The total number of arrests for 2021 was 23. This is the sixth year our officers have worn body cameras.

In closing out 2021, every police officer attended ongoing education with more than 77 different opportunities to attend training classes.

This year, the department will replace a police cruiser approaching 100,000 miles. Updating vehicles is a necessary cost to ensure public safety and to keep up the department’s exceptional response time. The Sagamore Hills Police Department thanks all residents for their cooperation and wants to remind you that if you see suspicious behavior, call 330-468-0900 to report it.

The Sagamore Hills Board of Township Trustees wants to congratulate Lt. Dan Rice and his community therapy canine partner Annie, named the department’s “Employee of the Year” by their peers. This is the third time Rice has been honored. We would also like to thank officer Dan DeCrane for spending time and energy to make “Shop with a Cop” a successful program. A special thanks to Lt. Rice, Sgt. Kenneth Wolf and his wife Kati who volunteered to assist officer DeCrane in making “Shop with a Cop” a special day for children on their Christmas holiday.

On February 1, 2022, a senior citizen living in the Houghton Rd. area became disoriented wandering from her residence. After receiving a missing person call, an immediate search of the area began. Sagamore Hills Township was assisted by Northfield Village Police department, Walton Hills Police department, Macedonia Police and Fire and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.

Sagamore Hills contacted the Valley Enforcement Group drone unit, which used its drone equipped with heat signature capabilities. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office requested the Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter. Within 8 hours, the lady was located and in good condition. She was taken to the hospital for observation and is doing well, according to her husband.

Police Chief David Hayes and the entire Sagamore Hills Police Department want to thank all the agencies that assisted in locating the missing person. ∞