Recent Press Releases

2025 Deputy of the Year

Sheriff Steve Levorchick and all members of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office would like to congratulate Deputy Jeff Griffin, who was voted as Deputy of the Year. Deputy Griffin was honored at a luncheon provided by the Kiwanis Club of Port Clinton, where he was honored for his dedication and hard work. Also recognized was Officer J.R. Cipiti of the Port Clinton Police Department, who was voted officer of the year for their agency.

Both of this year’s recipients are very well deserving of their awards. Both work daily to make their agency the best they can make it, as well as working hard to provide the best service possible to their community.

Again, congratulations to Deputy Griffin and Officer Cipiti!

Published 5-21-2025

2024 Lexipol Gold Award

The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce that we have been recognized for excellence in policy management and training in 2024 by Lexipol. Lexipol is the leading provider of solutions that empower performance excellence in public safety. This is the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office  3rd consecutive year we have been recognized.

The Lexipol Connect program tracks the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office performance on five metrics proven to measure success in policy management. The highest level of recognition offered, Gold, is achieved when consistent and effective policies are disseminated to personnel, timely policy updates as laws change, and officer training on policies.

The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office excellence in policy and policy training enhances community safety by ensuring consistent, effective response based on state and federal law and nationally recognized best practices.  Director of Training and Compliance Jeff Griffin is tasked with oversight of maintaining all policy and procedures in cooperation with Lexipol.

Published 4-1-2025

Scam Alert

The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office recently has taken reports and phone calls in regards to a scam involving threats of arrest for failure to pay fines. This scam is common across the country. Typically, the suspect will call the victim and state that they are a Deputy with the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office and the victim has failed to pay a fine or court cost from a case at the state or federal level. Suspects have also stated to the victims that if they fail to pay the fine the victim will be arrested. In the most recent incident, someone used an application that is often called a “Spoof” application to make it appear that the suspect was calling from one of the Sheriff Office phone numbers. When the victim checked the number that appeared on his caller ID, it showed as being one of the phone numbers used by the Sheriff’s Office. In other incidents suspects have used actual Deputies names and demanded money from the victim.

-The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office does not collect fine money directly.
-The Sheriff’s Office will never ask you to pay a fine using bitcoin, gift cards, or money orders.
-The Sheriff’s Office will never call you to ask for you to pay a fine or court cost over the phone.
-If you believe that someone is attempting to scam you by saying they work for the Ottawa
County Sheriff’s Office, hang up and call the non-emergency number for the Sheriff’s Office
(419)-734-4404.

Captain Aaron W. Leist

Davis Besse Community Day and Car Show

On Saturday, September 21, 2024, Davis Besse hosted their annual Community Day and Car Show. The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office was invited to participate.

Sheriff Steve Levorchick, Chief Deputy Brad York, and Captain Aaron Leist represented the administrative staff for the day and enjoyed visiting with many of the people that attended the event.

Deputy Heather Moss provided children identification cards to the families that wanted their child photographed and an identification issued. These identification cards are then kept by the parents should the child go missing. It is instant identification they can provide to responding agencies to quickly locate the child. Deputy Moss issued approximately 50 ID cards Saturday.

Lieutenant Jerome Arnold and Reserve Deputy Brian Sloan brought the MRAP armored vehicle and allowed the children to climb throughout the vehicle. They also demonstrated SWAT equipment that they had on site.

Detective Jonah Boyer and K9 Diesel, Sergeant Robert Dotson and K9 Kash, and Deputy John Morton and K9 Kreutz were all in attendance and visiting with all who visited our area.

We would like to thank the folks at Davis Besse Nuclear Power Station for their hospitality and for having us at this event. We hope to attend in the future.

September 11th, 2001

Today we mark the anniversary of one of the most tragic days in our nation’s history. September 11th, 2001 is a day that is scorched into our memory’s. We ask that everyone join us today in remembering the lives lost as a result of the terror attacks. Let us remember the brave men and women of the first responder communities running into the chaos to help victims. Let us remember the courageous men and women of our military communities who selflessly served our country in response to the attacks, with some paying the ultimate sacrifice. In a time in our country where division and hatred are the norm, let us think back to the events of September 11th, 2001 and how we responded as a nation. Strangers helping strangers, the pride in our country, and our ability to show resilience allowing us to overcome tumultuous times. September 11th, 2001 Never Forget!

Genoa Schools Field Day 2024

On May 17th, members of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office along with SWAT members participated in Genoa Schools Field Day. We enjoyed showing our equipment and K9 partners to the students of Genoa Local Schools. There was even a game of tug of war in which members of the Sheriff’s Office competed against the students. The students came out victorious! Deputy Marc Nye is our School Resource deputy assigned to Genoa Schools. 

2024 Deputy of the Year

Sheriff Steve Levorchick and all members of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office would like to congratulate Deputy Phil Langhals, who was voted as Deputy of the Year. Deputy Langhals was honored at a luncheon provided by the Kiwanis Club of Port Clinton, where he was honored for his dedication and hard work. Also recognized was Officer Curt Cochran of the Port Clinton Police Department, who was voted officer of the year for their agency. 

Both of this year’s recipients are very well deserving of their awards. Both work daily to make their agency the best they can make it, as well as working hard to provide the best service possible to their community. 

Again, congratulations to Deputy Langhals and Officer Cochran!

Ice Rescue

On January 22, 2024 the United States Coast Guard was deployed to the area of the Catawba Island State Park for a report of a group of ice fishermen stranded. The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, Catawba Island Police Department, Catawba Fire Department, Put in Bay Fire Department, and Port Clinton EMS also responded and assisted on scene. Some of the resources deployed were a Coast Guard helicopter, air boats, and the Sheriff’s Office Sherp. All persons were accounted for and were safely transported to shore. We are asking everyone to have a plan, let others know of your plan, have a life jacket, use common sense, and remember that no ice is safe ice.