By Mary Drier (Contact / Staff Bio)
April 4, 2009 - 11:41 a.m. EST

CARO — The annual Tuscola County Sheriff’s meeting is a night for the department to honor its own, and several were.

Deputy James Hook, who is a 14-year veteran with the department, was named as “Officer of the Year for 2008.”

He grew up in Gaylord, graduated from Johannesburg-Lewiston High School, and has a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Lake Superior University.

Besides receiving the department’s top honor, Hook also received a Professional Excellence Commendation for his assistance in investigating the burglary of a business in Tuscola Township Jan. 3, 2008.

Previously, he received four other Professional Excellence awards.

Also, several other sheriff’s department staff received Professional Excellence commendations for going above and beyond the call of duty, and excellent investigative work. They were presented by county Commissioner Tom Kern, who is a former Tuscola County Sheriff.

Those who received commendations were: Deputies Kyle Glocksine, Brian Schuman, Steve Roland, Justin Sieveke, Rodney Bertsch, Jarad Cherniawski and Mike Mattlin; also, Sergeants Brian Harris and Mike Pine.

Mattlin, Hook, Sieveke, Bertsch and Cherniawski were honored for their work assisting Pine in investigating a burglary at a business on Ormes Road in Tuscola Township, Jan. 3, 2008,

When Pine arrived, he discovered the theft of thousands of dollars worth of copper and thousands of dollars worth of damage to the property.

“There were two things that happened that helped these officers clean up the complaint. One was a witness description of a vehicle and a tip to Crime Stoppers, but in the end, it was lots of good old-fashioned police work,” read Kern’s commendation. “The officers spent countless hours on interviewing and eventually were able to arrest a suspect with two felony counts.”

On Aug. 8, 2007, Roland was dispatched to a burglary complaint on Buell Road in Tuscola Township where numerous guns were taken. He took down the information and conducted an on-scene investigation, but there was very little evidence to work with and no suspects at that time.

“Approximately a week later, a Vassar police officer was called to a business on Water Street where shell casings were found. The officer contacted Deputy Roland to see if the shell casings matched the type of weapons taken the previous week,” explained Kern. “When Deputy Roland took the casings back to the victim, he identified them as coming from his residence, and Deputy Roland went to work tracking down suspects.”

Roland’s perseverance led to the felony conviction in 2008 of two subjects for burglary and also led to more felony arrests on open cases in the City of Vassar.

According to Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark Reene, Roland’s ability to track down the stolen weapon that had changed hands several times and had been buried several miles from where it was stolen, made the case.

Roland’s work on the complaint was commendable, noted Kern.

Pine was dispatched Oct. 27, 2008 to a residence on North Garner Road in Fairgrove for an attempted breaking and entering.

The home owner saw a vehicle pull into his yard. Because they looked like salesmen, he didn’t answer the door. After that, one of the suspects went around to the back of the house and tried to kick in the back door. The home owner rushed to the back of the house. When the suspect realized someone was home, he ran to his vehicle and left at a high rate of speed.

The victim was able to get a plate number, but no one was home at the suspect’s residence.

Pine conducted the investigation at the scene and left the area, but continued to search for the suspect’s vehicle. When he was driving around, the suspect vehicle was spotted at a residence in Fairgrove.

Pine interviewed the suspects with the help of other officers and subsequently the suspects were taken into custody.

Pine did extensive work on the complaint. He contacted Bay City officers, collected evidence and conducted extensive interviews. Because his persistence on the complaint was commendable, he was honored for those efforts.

Glocksine and Schuman were honored for their quick action preventing an inmate from committing suicide May 10, 2008 when she tied torn strips of clothing around her neck. When the officers stopped her, she became aggressive and fought them. They were able to get her into a restraint chair and called mental health.

Also, Harris and Sieveke were honored for their quick action May 8, 2008 in regard to a possible suicide attempt by an inmate. The officers found the inmate had already tied a shirt around his neck. Sieveke held the subject while Harris cut the shirt from his neck.

Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.