Petoskey council recognizes Honors Board of Review recipients

PETOSKEY — Members of the Petoskey Department of Public Safety and several citizens were recognized during Monday’s Petoskey City Council meeting for being among the 2023 Honors Board of Review recipients.

The Honors Board of Review is comprised of Director Adrian Karr, Senior Lieutenant Todd Troxel and Detective Scott Lamont. They meet once a year to review requests for recognition of meritorious service or actions.

“What’s really neat about this is these requests are submitted by our fellow personnel, our fellow officers wanting recognition for other officers that have done an outstanding job,” Karr said during the meeting.

Twelve awards were presented. They include: the Chief’s Award, which is awarded by the chief to citizens whose actions merit recognition for their service to the department or community; a Unit Citation, which is awarded to two of more officers who, in the line of duty, perform an outstanding service to the department or to the community; a Certificate of Merit; the Mayor’s Award; a Lifesaving Award, which is intended for individuals directly responsible for saving a human life; and a Public Safety Citation, which is given for service in the line of duty that required unusual thoroughness, conscientiousness, determination and initiative in the performance of a difficult assignment.

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Unit Citation, awarded to Officers Will Bowen, Hunter Arnold and Connor Kish

On Jan. 2, 2023, Public Safety Officers Will Bowen, Hunter Arnold and Connor Kish were nearing the end of their shift after working the holiday weekend. They were performing road patrol duties when Arnold observed a vehicle driving poorly, nearly striking parked vehicles and curbs. Kish conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle, which led to the arrest of the driver for operating under the influence of narcotics and possession of methamphetamine.

A follow-up investigation revealed two children, a two-month-old and five-year-old, had been left at an apartment unsupervised. These findings led to a joint investigation with the Department of Health and Human Services, and additional charges were requested for child neglect and unlawful driving away of an automobile.

Public Safety Citation, awarded to Officer Lawrence Donovan 

On March 21, 2023, Public Safety Officer Lawrence Donovan was off-duty and driving on Horton Bay Road at around 5:30 a.m. He noticed a glow coming from the backyard of a residence on Resort Pike Road, and recognized that it was consistent with a structure fire. Donovan investigated and found a large chicken coop had caught fire. He called dispatch and requested the Resort-Bear Creek Fire Department for the issue. Donovan remained on the scene and helped direct responding firefighters.

Unit Citation, awarded to Officers Will Bowen, Hunter Arnold and Connor Kish, and dispatchers Kiara Zynewicz and Talina Lacount 

On April 23, 2023, dispatchers Kiara Zynewicz and Talina Lacount advised Public Safety Officers Will Bowen, Hunter Arnold and Connor Kish of an alarm at the Sweet Fire Tobacco Store on West Mitchell Street. Both the officers and dispatchers were aware of a previous break-in at the business earlier in the month. The dispatch information was quickly relayed to the officers. After arriving at the store, officers found the front window broken and it appeared someone had either gained entry or attempted to gain entry. Knowing the suspect in the previous incident had been on foot, Bowen checked the area and located a subject walking. Bowen questioned the suspect and determined he was most likely the person responsible. A search warrant at the suspect’s residence confirmed those suspicions. The suspect was held accountable for hundreds of dollars of theft and thousands of dollars of damage to the building.

Certificate of Merit, awarded to Officer Scott Gosciak and Deputy Donald Martin of the Emmet County Sheriff’s Office 

On Aug. 15, 2023, officers were dispatched to a location just outside the city limits for a report of “somebody hitting two girls.” A witness reported to dispatch that the suspect had a cord around the victim’s neck and was choking her. Public Safety officers responded to assist the Emmet County Sheriff’s Office. The male suspect fled the scene when he heard approaching sirens, but Officer Scott Gosciak made contact with the suspect along the U.S. 31 bluff. The suspect attempted to flee by jumping over the bluff as Gosciak grabbed him, and both Gosciak and the suspect fell and slid down the embankment. Deputy Donald Martin also jumped over the bluff and down the embankment in order to assist Gosciak. During the fall, Gosciak injured his shoulder but was able to maintain control of the subject. The injury caused Gosciak to be off work for several months.

Lifesaving Award, awarded to Officer Benjamin Carlson 

On June 23, 2023, Public Safety Officer Benjamin Carlson responded to a report of an overdose at a business in the city. He observed a woman lying on the ground. She was receiving chest compressions from an unknown Good Samaritan. Carlson confirmed the possible overdose and administered a single dose of Naloxone. He checked for a pulse and an easily palpable carotid pulse was noted followed by chest rise. Emmet County EMS then arrived and took over patient care.

Lifesaving Award, awarded to Officer Lawrence Donovan 

On Aug. 20, 2023, Public Safety Officer Lawrence Donovan was traveling with his wife back from a vacation in the Upper Peninsula when they came upon a car accident that had just occurred. Backseat passengers, including a women in her early 20s and a baby in a car seat, had suffered minor injuries. The driver and front seat passenger were both still trapped in the upside-down vehicle and seriously injured. Donovan used what lifesaving equipment he had to attempt to stabilize the patients and await the arrival of local EMS and fire personnel. When help arrived, he continued to assist with the extrication of the trapped victims. According to officials, it was expected that all parties involved in the accident will survive their injuries.

Lifesaving Award, awarded to Lt. David Schultz, Officers John Duch and Erik Hoig, EMT George Spanier and Paramedic Dustin Gaberdiel 

On Dec. 14, 2023, officers and Emergency Medical Services were dispatched to a residence in the city for a report of a cardiac event. Upon arrival, the patient had no pulse and CPR was immediately started. Officers and Emmet County EMS staff worked on the scene for over an hour before transporting the female patient to McLaren Northern Michigan hospital. On Jan. 5, 2024, Lt. David Schultz contacted the patient’s husband, who reported that his wife is expected to make a full recovery after spending 14 days in a Grand Rapids intensive care unit.

Lifesaving Award, awarded to Officer Frederick Haalck 

On Feb. 3, 2023, officers were dispatched to McLean and Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey to a report of an unresponsive 86-year-old woman. Public Safety Officer Frederick Haalck checked for a pulse, which he found to be “weak and thready.” He performed two rounds of CPR and applied high flow oxygen. The patient became responsive and was transported to McLaren Northern Michigan for further advanced care. Officials noted that this entire incident took place in only 14 minutes.

Public Safety Citation, awarded to Lt. Todd Troxel

On April 2, 2023, officers in Cheboygan responded to a reported felonious assault with a firearm. During the incident, the armed suspect barricaded himself in his residence with a woman and potentially two children. The Northern Michigan Mutual Aid Emergency Response Team was activated and requested to assist. Lt. Todd Troxel was the lead negotiator during this incident, and his team was able to de-escalate the situation for a peaceful surrender.

Public Safety Citation, awarded to Lt. David Schultz, Officers Karl Fritz and Erik Hoig, and Marty Flynn, City of Petoskey Water Department Supervisor 

On Feb. 20, 2023, the Petoskey Department of Public Safety received notice that its 5-year Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating was once again up for review. The date for the review was determined to be April 26, 2023. Lt. David Schultz supervised the process as Public Safety Officers Karl Fritz and Erik Hoig did the majority of the heavy lifting. Water Department Supervisor Marty Flynn was also a crucial member during this process. The impact of the time and hard work spent gathering the necessary data resulted in a reduction of the City of Petoskey’s ISO rating from a 4 to a 3. Officials said this will directly impact the citizens of Petoskey by potentially lowering their insurance premiums for homeowners.

Chief’s Award, awarded to Sean Dempsey, Terry Barrette and Leah Schillinger 

On Aug. 25, 2023, dispatch received a report of a woman who appeared to be in mental distress on the Bridge Street Bear River Bridge. The 911 caller for this incident was Sean Dempsey, who said the woman was crying while standing on the opposite side of the railing and appeared to be preparing to jump. Terry Barrette, supervisor for the City of Petoskey’s Department of Public Works, was holding onto the woman and attempted to talk her into coming back over the railing. Another citizen, Leah Schillinger, also assisted by attempting to calm the woman while holding onto her. With the officers, the two helped lift the woman back to safety and Schillinger remained on the scene to console the woman until Emmet County EMS arrived to transport her to McLaren Northern Michigan for further treatment.

Mayor’s Award, awarded to Jill Tompkins, Crystal Masta and Jennifer Shorter 

On Feb. 9, 2023, School Resource Officer Benjamin Carlson was notified that two second grade students had left their school unsupervised. Shortly after, employees at Grandpa Shorter’s in downtown Petoskey called to report that the girls had been located in the store and were safe. Both students were dressed in their winter pants and boots, and when asked, “What happened today?” they responded, “We escaped school.” The girls were safely returned to their school.

Mayor John Murphy, who was emotional while presenting the Mayor’s Award, noted “how lucky we are to have the police officers we have.”

“I get choked up because when you hear these stories and you hear people complain … if you were to share some of these stories with them I think they’d get a real good feel about the value that Public Safety officers play in each of our lives.”

— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.  

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey council recognizes Honors Board of Review recipients