Mentor Police Win Award                                                                                              

Capt. Knight and AAA Safety Coordinator JT Miller

November 15, 2012  Independence, Ohio    Today, AAA East Central announced the national award winners for Northeast Ohio. Several communities in Lake County received awards ranging from Bronze to Gold, but the City of Mentor was the only community to receive the prestigious Platinum Award.   Captain Knight and Officer Marilyn Satterfield were in attendance to receive the honor.  Each year, AAA accepts applications from communicates and are asked to describe in detail the efforts and successes of their transportation safety initiatives.Emphasis is placed upon what AAA calls the “3E’s”: enforcement, education and engineering.

There are four national awards given each year, each based on the size and level of success of a city’s efforts. The top platinum award is given to communities that have achieved great success within the area of traffic safety. The gold award recognizes projects and initiatives that demonstrate superior effort within traffic safety. Silver award recipients have implemented traffic safety initiatives that demonstrate a strong, sustained effort. Finally, the bronze honors substantial efforts in traffic safety.

The City provides a Mentor Police received three traffic enforcement grants in 2011 and participates in all the National Mobilization campaigns. This is in addition to the Third Grade Seatbelt program and poster contest, high school mixer and shakers program, bike helmet purchasing and safety citation programs, Officer Phil elementary school program, child safety seat inspections, a Bicycle Patrol Unit, and the list goes on and on. Officers are members of the Lake County Safe Communities and the Greater Cleveland Safe Kids Coalitions which provide the public with many safety initiatives and countywide projects.

Mentor Police Hires Two Officers      

November 6, 2012    

Matthew Jacob and Bryan Distelrath took their oath of office for Mentor Police on Monday, November 5, 2012.

Matt was a Reserve Officer Hubbard Twp. Police Department for the past eight months. In December of 2011, Matt graduated cum laude and received his Bachelor of Science in Applied Science degree from Youngstown State University. He completed his basic police academy training at YSU.

Bryan worked for the past four years at Conneaut Police Department.  He completed his basic police academy training at Lakeland Community College.  Bryan received his Bachelor of Arts Science degree in Justice Studies from Kent State University.

Records Room Clerks “Revive” Front Lobby Display Case

 July 2012   The ladies of the Record Room Division are happy to announce the unveiling of the “revived” Mentor Police Department’s front lobby display case!  The former display case was frankly looking a bit “old & tired” and in need of a face lift.

 The location of the case coupled with the large daily volume of traffic to the lobby area just seemed to lend itself as the perfect opportunity for additional communication with our visitors.

 The idea to use the case as a continuously changing conduit for education and awareness on a variety of events and subjects was the brainchild of some great teamwork.  That teamwork coupled with the enthusiastic support from Chief Llewellyn was all that was needed to “jump start” the project and bring it to fruition.

This month’s highlights include the “Police Unity Tour” held  in Washington D.C. this past May and the top three winners of the Third Grade Seatbelt Safety poster contest. The display case also is promoting current programs such as Mentor Police Department’s bicycle helmet and bicycle registration programs.

 Look for the contents of the case to change on a monthly basis with fresh and up to date content.  Subjects such as the new K9’s officers, Camp 911, and the Special Olympic Torch Run are just a few of the display’s highlights in the upcoming weeks.

The only constant to remain in the case is the display for fallen officer Ptl. Lawrence Yaxley.  His duty hat, photos, and the story of his accidental death have been respectfully displayed in a manner in which we believe the family would appreciate.

 If you have any events, programs or memorabilia that you would like to see displayed in the case please contact Diana Lombardo-Bruening or Debbie Korecz in the Records Division at (440) 974-5762.

Mentor Police Hires Corrections Officer

June  2012         The Mentor Police Department welcomes Nancy Gasper as a full time Corrections Offficer.  Nancy has worked as a part time corrections officer since January.  Prior to coming to Mentor, Nancy  had experience with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, where she worked in the jail for two years. 

Mentor Hires Captain’s Secretary

April 2012         Mentor Police Department welcomes Karen Brooks to the Administrative Staff.  Karen was hired for the position of Secretary to the  three Captains and to assist with ancillary duties as assigned. She comes to us from Euclid Police Department where she worked as a Dispatcher for 3 years and the Detective Bureau Secretary for 10 years. 

Lake County Association of Chiefs of Police Honor Officers with Life Saving Awards 

On Tuesday, February 1, 2012, the Lake County Association of Chiefs of Police presented Patrolmen William Kuret, Richard Gerber, Jonathan Smelcer, Michael Bruening and Matthew Alvord with its Life Saving Award.

This award was presented to Ptl. Kuret and Gerber for their quick assistance of a female who, after being pulled from a car, was found to be not breathing and who was turning blue. On December 2, 2011, Ptl. Kuret and Gerber responded to a call which reported a woman had passed out in her car near the Intersection of Plaza and Mentor Avenue.

Ptl. Kuret arrived in less than two minutes and found that the woman was not breathing and began chest compressions. Ptl. Gerber arrived and administered oxygen from a CPR mask.  Their quick actions kept her alive until the Mentor Fire Department arrived and administered narcan, which eventually revived her.  The woman has made a full recovery.

The Life Saving Award was also presented to Ptl. Smelcer, Ptl. Alvord and Ptl. Bruening for their prompt actions in assisting an unresponsive male with no heartbeat.  On December 26th, Ptl. Smelcer and Alvord arrived and found a man who was in cardiac arrest.  Ptl. Smelcer and Alvord took over from a woman who had started to administer CPR.  Officers Alvord and Smelcer continued with CPR as well as using the Automated External  Defibrillator(AED).  Ptl. Bruening arrived and used a bag valve mask to provide oxygen until the Mentor Fire Department arrived and the man was given a second AED shock, which restarted his heart.   The man was then transported to the hospital.

We congratulate Patrolmen Kuret, Gerber, Smelcer, Bruening and Alvord for their outstanding work in the line of duty and for receiving this special award.

Don’t Be A Victim of a SCAM

Thieves and con artists are relentless in trying to separate you from your hard-earned money. One of the latest scams involves the thief calling a home and convincing the victim that he or she is their grandson or granddaughter, who will need money to get out of jail after an accident in Canada. Many victims have related that the voice does sound like the relative. The victim is instructed to wire money so the “grandchild” or other relative can get bailed out of jail. Variations on the scam have noted that the grandchild was in an unfortunate incident where drugs were found or that the grandchild has been in an accident or altercation. The money is usually wired to a foreign country and may not even be to Canada. The victim is usually instructed to wire the money using a Western Union at a Wal-Mart, Drug Mart, K-Mart or grocery store. Sometimes the thief tells the victim not to mention the reason for the wiring of the cash to the Western Union Representatives. This is because Western Union is aware of the scams and will tell the victim not to wire the money. If the victim does wire money, of course, the victim finds out later that the loved one is home, and has not been to Canada.

Please keep in mind the following:

- Do not ever send money to some unknown entity in the form of a cashier’s check, money order, Western Union wire, etc. It is basically untraceable.

- Always check with the loved one before wiring money. Call later in the day if they do not answer. Call another close relative even if the “grandchild” says not to tell anyone. Do not call the number the scammers give you to call the victim.

- If you feel somebody has contacted you about a scam, please be sure to contact the police and file a report immediately.