Several City of Hilliard Division of Police employees were recently recognized for their exceptional efforts serving the community.
Officer Quinn Izar and Support Services Clerk Kristen Grove were named the 2022 Employees of the Year. They were nominated for recognition by their co-workers.
Izar, who joined HPD in 2020, is a third-shift patrol officer. Since the beginning of 2022 he has led the Division in arrests for operating a motor vehicle. In 2022 he received the Award of Excellence from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for his efforts to remove impaired drivers from roadways.
“Officer Izar has made a huge impact as one of HPD’s most proactive officers and is committed to keeping his community safe,” said Chief Michael Woods, reading from the nominations. “He is a go-getter and is always willing to help a citizen or another officer. He is the epitome of community policing.”
Clerk Grove, who has served with HPD since 2016, was named Civilian Employee of the Year.
“Grove is a hard worker with a great attention to detail,” a nominator stated. “She is always working to improve the Division – even when no one is watching.”
Additionally, Life-Saving Awards were presented to Officers John Harden, Greg Toczek, and Casey McManaway for their actions to resuscitate a man suffering from an overdose, and to Officer Ian King for his efforts performing the Heimlich maneuver on a choking man.
Officer Randall Pugh was presented with a Commendation Award for his work apprehending a homicide suspect and recovering the firearms believed to have been used in the crime. A Commendation Award was also presented to Officer John Harden, Officer Hunter Schweickart, Officer Quinn Izar, Officer Mike Taggart, and Officer Randall Pugh for their teamwork responding to a particularly chaotic third shift.
Office Manager Pattie Morris received the Chief’s Award for her work overseeing the officer hiring process.
Achievement Awards were presented to staff for various incidents, including assisting a domestic violence victim, seizing substantial amounts of deadly drugs, responding to mental health crises to ensure safe outcomes, investigating shots fired calls, and apprehending a child predator.
Those recognized were: Sergeant Austin Vogelsang, Officer Matt Hayes, Officer Kyle Bright, Officer Dustin Gigandet, Detective Brandon Long, Detective Kristen Winter, Sergeant Marcus Blevins, Sergeant Justin Cramer, Sergeant Jared Zellers, Officer Anthony Irby, Officer Rich Russell, Detective Mike Metz, Detective Tom Morris, Detective Dustin Vance, Officer Andrew Murry, Officer Jonathan Kane, Officer Hunter Schweickart, Officer Josh Barnett, Officer Jon Gleason, Officer Jeb Pencil, Sergeant Kris Settles, Sergeant Suzy Muraco, Communications Administrator Andrea Litchfield, Officer Ron Burkitt, Officer Glenn Rogers, Officer Mike Deaton, Officer Shane O’Connor, Officer Jonathan Hitchings, and (Ret.) Officer Jim Large.
