Trustees Corner by Trustee David DePasquale

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 2023 were $2 million.

In 2023, we had 13 full-time officers including the police chief, four part-time officers and School Resource Officer Glenn Nicholl, paid by the Nordonia school system. In addition, Officer Dan DeCrane is the full-time police representative to Rushwood Elementary school. It has been eight years since we contracted dispatch service with the city of Macedonia.

In 2023, the investigation division responded to 319 calls for service. All were closed by restitution, insufficient evidence, non-cooperation from the victim or referral to another agency.

The police department issued 283 traffic citations and 978 written warnings for traffic/equipment violations. Misdemeanor citations totaled 30 thefts, 47 frauds and 30 domestic disputes for 2023. The total number of arrests was 41. This is the eighth year our officers have worn body cameras.

Calls for service totaled 6,684. This was a decline of 269 calls from the previous year. The community policing calls totaled 9,947. This includes vacation checks, area checks, business checks, foot patrols, school patrols and other assignments. There were 11,218 “patrolled your area” cards distributed.

In closing out 2023, every police officer attended ongoing education totaling 1,500 hours of training. All officers completed mandated online training by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.

This year, the department purchased two new vehicles. The first is a Ford F-150 pickup truck. This was purchased utilizing American Rescue Plan Act funds and is outfitted for the traffic safety unit. The police department also purchased a Dodge Durango Police SUV. Updating vehicles is a necessary cost to ensure public safety and to keep up the department’s exceptional response time.

The Sagamore Hills Board of Trustees wants to congratulate Officer Glenn Lucore on being named the department’s 2023 “Officer of The Year.” Three of his main duties are field training officer, cruiser maintenance and traffic safety unit. Officer Lucore also has a CDL and is employed by the township’s service department during his off hours on an as-needed basis.

In January, Trustee Paul Schweikert wrote about a case Det. Victoria Miavitz worked. A granddaughter and her boyfriend stole the grandparent’s car out of a locked garage. Det. Miavitz arrested the granddaughter, but the boyfriend got away.

Police Chief David Hayes said, “Detective Miavitz gave the department an early Valentine gift when she nabbed the boyfriend.” They are both in jail. Congratulations to Det. Miavitz on a job well done.

The Sagamore Hills Police Department thanks all residents for their support and cooperation and wants to remind you that if you see suspicious behavior or non-emergencies, call 330-468-0900 to report. Call 911 for all emergencies.

Please remember as we enter spring to drive safely as our service department will be cold patching the roads and our kids will be outdoors playing. ∞