Get to know your local law enforcement

TIFFIN — To recognize local law enforcement personnel during National Police Week, The A-T sent questions to some of our local departments' peacekeepers to help readers get to know their neighborhood police and sheriff's office staff. Tiffin Police Department Detective Eric England Q. Where are you from? A. I am from Tiffin and the surrounding area. Q. What is your educational background? A. I have an associate's degree in Criminal Justice as well as my peace officer certification. Q. Why did you decide to go into law enforcement? A. I got into law enforcement as another way to help the community. I was a volunteer fireman and EMT for several years and driving this was another way to help. Q. Was it your first career choice? A. Law enforcement was not my first career choice. I graduated from Sentinel's Building Trades program. Q. What have you learned since joining law enforcement? A. Working in law enforcement has taught me to be a better communicator. Q. What do you think it takes to be in law enforcement? A. I believe to succeed in a career in law enforcement, you must have dedication, be self-driven and have the ability to communicate with anyone. Q. What is the toughest thing about your job? A. The toughest part of the job is handling investigations where children are the victims. Q. What do you most look forward to doing at work? A. I look forward to the days when everything finally comes together and we can finally make an arrest on someone we've been investigating for a long period of time. Q. What do you wish the public knew about your job? A. I wish the public knew that officers are only doing their job to protect the community when citations are issued and arrests are made. There is much more paperwork to be completed with an arrest or citation than there is with a warning. Q. What are your hobbies? A. My hobbies are hunting, fishing and camping. Q. What's your favorite movie? A. Sound of Freedom. Q. What's your favorite food? A. Pizza. Q. What's your favorite color? A. Blue Q. Is there anything else you'd like to share about yourself or your work? A. I have been married almost 25 years and have four children I'm very proud of. I would not be where I am at this point without their support, especially my wife, who was stuck doing everything while I worked full time and went to the Police Academy for seven months. Sergeant Scott McDole Q. Where are you from? A. Tiffin, OH, born and raised. Q. What is your educational background? A. Graduated from Tiffin Columbian High School and went on to Terra Technical College (now Terra State Community College), where I obtained my associate's degree in police science/law enforcement as well as obtaining my state certification as a Peace Officer. Q. How long have you been in law enforcement? A. 32 years overall, 27 years full-time with the Tiffin Police Department. Q. Why did you decide to go into law enforcement? A. Childhood dream, watched a lot of police-oriented shows growing up. By high school, it was about being able to help others. Q. Was it your first career choice? A. Yes. Q. What have you learned since joining law enforcement? A. You can't be everything to everybody; sometimes it's beyond our control. Q. What do you think it takes to be in law enforcement? A. Patience and selflessness. Q. What is your favorite memory since joining? A. Not just one single event, but seeing the relief on people's faces when you are able to bring back control to a chaotic situation Q. What is the toughest thing about your job? A. Keeping control of your emotions while not appearing that you don't care. Q. What do you most look forward to doing at work? A. Seeing the public, waving and smiling when you pass by. Q. What do you wish the public knew about your job? A. The emotional scars that we are inflicted with and will carry for the rest of our lives. Memories etched in our brains that no one should ever have to see, hear or have to endure. Q. What are your hobbies? A. I enjoy watching movies, I umpire high school baseball and recently obtained a softball permit. My wife and I are involved with the Tiffin Seneca Heritage Festival German Heritage Lot. Q. What's your favorite movie? A. Too many to count, I enjoy comedies and some dramas. Sgt. York, 12 Angry Men (Henry Fonda). Q. What's your favorite food? A. German beef Rouladen with potatoes and gravy Q. What's your favorite color? A. Blue Q. Is there anything else you'd like to share about yourself or your work? A. Over the past couple of decades, I have witnessed a wonderful transformation within the City of Tiffin. The community has developed a positive attitude that continues to spread. I appreciate the great gifts that the community provides us from time to time, whether it is pizzas, snacks or drinks, it is heartwarming to know that our community cares deeply for our Police Officers and Firefighters. This week we remember two of our fallen heroes who were killed in the line of duty, Marshal August Shultz and Officer. Patrick Sweeney. Flags were placed at their grave sites and candles were lit on Tuesday, May 13, in their memory as part of the National Candlelight Vigil held at the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C. Officer Shawn Vallery Q. Where are you from? A. Tiffin, Ohio Q. What is your educational background? A. Columbian High School grad and associate's degree in police science with Peace Officer certification from Terra State Community College. Q. How long have you been in law enforcement? A. 28 years. Q. Why did you decide to go into law enforcement? A. Chose law enforcement wanting to make a difference and try helping others. Q. Was it your first career choice? A. It wasn't my first choice. Q. What have you learned since joining law enforcement? A. Things change rapidly as to how things are done in law enforcement and each day brings a different situation to solve. Along with seeing issues that people are dealing with and just need that extra help to possibly change their lives, law enforcement plays a big part in. Q. What do you think it takes to be in law enforcement? A. Some with patience, common sense, integrity, hardworking and be able to juggle many different hats to help others. Q. What is your favorite memory since joining? A. While a detective, I was investigating a person who had abused multiple children. I did not have much evidence,e but was able to convict him of these offenses, for which he got life for his actions. Q. What is the toughest thing about your job? A. Dealing with the death of a range of ages and the impact it has on families. Q. What do you most look forward to doing at work? A. Just being out patrolling and interacting with the community. Q. What do you wish the public knew about your job? A. That the decisions we make are way more important than complicated than they appear. Q. What are your hobbies? A. Working out. Q. What's your favorite movie? A. Gladiator. Q. What's your favorite food? A. Pizza. Q. What's your favorite color? A. Blue. Officer Andrew Stevens Q. Where are you from? A. I am from Tiffin. Q. What is your educational background? A. I went through Tiffin City Schools and graduated from Columbian High School in 2007. I have taken several college courses through the Community College of the Air Force, Tiffin University and Terra State Community College. Q. How long have you been in law enforcement? A. I started my career in law enforcement in 2008 by enlisting in the United States Air Force and becoming a Security Forces (Military Police for the Air Force). I separated from the military in 2013. I attended the police academy at Terra State Community College in 2015. I worked for Green Springs PD, Bettsville PD, and Mercy Hospital PD after police academy graduation until I was hired at Tiffin PD on April 22, 2019. Q. Why did you decide to go into law enforcement? A. I decided to get into law enforcement after doing several ride-alongs and seeing the job firsthand. You can have an instant impact on the community by assisting people in their time of need. Q. Was it your first career choice? A. It was my first career choice as I was not sure what I wanted to do after high school until I started to do ride-alongs at Tiffin PD after my high school graduation. Q. What have you learned since joining law enforcement? A. Since joining law enforcement, I've learned the importance of empathy and communication in building trust within the community. Every interaction is an opportunity to understand diverse perspectives and make a positive impact. Q. What do you think it takes to be in law enforcement? A. Be adaptable. No two incidents or calls for complaint are exactly alike. Situations change from moment to moment as do the people involved, so you have to be able to adjust to what is occurring. Q. What is your favorite memory since joining? A. Becoming a Patrol Training Officer and helping to train new officers. Q. What is the toughest thing about your job? A. Not "bringing the work home with you" mentality. Witnessing people at their lowest, in a dire situation, or a tragedy can weigh heavily. Staying grounded by communicating with family, friends, and co-workers is vital. Officers work hard to make a positive difference despite these difficulties. Q. What do you most look forward to doing at work? A. Connecting with the community and showing that not all police interactions have to be or will be negative, whether it's helping someone in need or engaging with residents during outreach events. Q. What do you wish the public knew about your job? A. How much every officer at Tiffin PD strives to serve and protect with compassion and fairness, often under challenging circumstances. The job involves complex decision-making, balancing safety, authority, and empathy, and every situation is unique. Q. What are your hobbies? A. I enjoy traveling with family and friends, soccer, golf, hiking and video games. Q. What's your favorite movie? A. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Q. What's your favorite food? A. Steak. Q. What's your favorite color? A. Green Seneca County Sheriff's Office Deputy Joshua Crowe Q. Where are you from? A. I am from Tiffin, but my father was in the Army, so I did not grow up in the area. Q. What is your educational background? A. I have an advanced high school diploma. Q. Why did you decide to go into law enforcement? A. I wanted to go into law enforcement to help individuals in their time of need. No, originally, I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps and join the military Q. What have you learned since joining law enforcement? A. I have learned a lot since joining law enforcement. I learned that there are a lot of different "hats" that we have to wear as we respond to many different calls for service. Q. What do you think it takes to be in law enforcement? A. I think it takes a lot of strength and support to be in law enforcement. You are constantly seeing the bad or evil in the world and sometimes this comes with trauma. Luckily, the Seneca County Sheriff's Office has a lot of amazing individuals you can always go to and a very understanding administration that is there for you as well. Q. What is your favorite memory since joining? A. My favorite memory is probably one that happened on Christmas Day. It was a 911 hang-up. When I arrived on scene, I was greeted by an amazing family and a little girl. The little girl was very shy, scared and crying when I first arrived, as she was the one that accidentally called. By the end of the call, I was able to build a rapport with her and give her a present on Christmas. She was smiling and laughing by the end of the call, and she even wanted a picture. Q. What is the toughest thing about your job? A. The toughest part of the job is seeing everyone at their worst and seeing the things that many first responders do and then having to go home to your family and still be you for them, especially for your children. Q. What do you most look forward to doing at work? A. I look forward to working with the individuals on my shift the most. I have two other Deputies and a Sergeant that I have grown very close to, and they are practically family. I know whenever I need them inside or outside of work that they will be there for me. Q. What do you wish the public knew about your job? A. I wish the public knew that our job isn't always black and white. There are many laws and policies that we have to follow. I want to remind everyone that this is a profession most of us picked to help others and that we are humans just like everyone else. A lot of us are completely different outside of work and you would never guess we are in law enforcement. Q. What are your hobbies? A. My hobbies are playing video games, cooking and spending time with my family. Q. What's your favorite movie? A. My favorite movie is either 21 Jump Street or Halloween (2018). Q. What's your favorite food? A. My favorite food is Steak and mashed potatoes. Q. What's your favorite color? A. My favorite color is blue. Q. Is there anything else you'd like to share about yourself or your work? Deputy Anthony Traxler Q. Where are you from? A. Tiffin. Q. What is your educational background? A. Graduated from Calvert High School in 2015. Graduated from Sentinel's Public Safety Program in 2015. Graduated from Tiffin University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a major in Forensic Psychology with a minor in Homeland Security Completed the OPATA Police Academy at Rhodes Community College in Lima. Q. How long have you been in law enforcement? A. Started my career at Hancock County in the Jail in June of 2020 and transferred to Seneca County in February of 2022 in the Jail and transferred to a Road deputy in November of 2022. Q. Why did you decide to go into law enforcement? A. I decided to go into law enforcement because of my aunt's neighbor, Dave Horn, who used to work for Tiffin Police Department. Q. Was it your first career choice? A. Law Enforcement was my first choice. Q. What have you learned since joining law enforcement? A. How to communicate with people in their hardest times. Q. What do you think it takes to be in law enforcement? A. It takes the ability to retain a lot of various information and the ability to know how to approach a multitude of different situations Q. What is your favorite memory since joining? A. I was sent to a vehicle that hit a parked car outside of Fostoria and the vehicle continued driving on SR 18. I located the vehicle and pursued the vehicle till the engine stalled. The operator of the vehicle was under the influence of alcohol and was placed in jail. Q. What is the toughest thing about your job? A. Having to give bad news to people. Q. What do you most look forward to doing at work? A. Conducting Traffic Stops. It allows me the opportunity to talk to members of the community and lessen the chance of a traffic crash. Q. What are your hobbies? A. Spending time with my family Q. What's your favorite movie? A. Van Wilder Q. What's your favorite food? A. Pizza Q. What's your favorite color? A. Blue