Williams County Prosecutor Katherine Zartman has announced the commencement of a new program in Williams County, that being the Williams County Prosecutor’s Office Top Cop Award. Ms. Zartman adopted the program after reviewing similar programs in other county prosecutor’s offices throughout Ohio. At a ceremony held in the East Annex on the morning of March 29, Ms. Zartman announced the first recipient of the new, quarterly award, Chief Dan McGee of the Montpelier Police Department.
Displaying the certificate, Ms. Zartman said, “This is the Williams County Prosecutor’s Office Top Cop Award. Today we are presenting the inaugural Williams County Prosecutor’s Office Top Cop Award to Montpelier Police Chief, Dan McGee. This is in recognition of his work, protecting and serving the people of Montpelier, Ohio. There are two primary reasons we selected Dan for this award. First, and especially notable at this time, is his work in the investigation on the 2015-2016 case of the aggravated murder of victim Jonathon Hofner, which resulted in the successful prosecution of Bradly Gilbert. A number of law enforcement officers from multiple departments were instrumental early on in this case, but after the flurry of initial law enforcement activity within the first two or three days, Chief McGee did all of the follow-up investigation. This was an extensive amount of work. He did multiple search warrants, subpoenas, combing through electronic information, conducted interviews, and followed up on leads. Chief McGee’s work on the case, in my opinion, made a great deal of difference in the outcome of the case.”
“Secondly,” Ms. Zartman continued, “…we wish to recognize Chief McGee’s efforts in rallying the community to donate to allow local children to obtain needed E-Sight devices. Brady Hohl & KaSandra Romero are two children who are legally blind. The E-Sight device allows them to see in a miraculous manner, but they come at a cost of $15,000 each, and insurance does not cover them. The Chief, in addition to other work, posted four videos on Facebook entitled ‘How Do You See the World,’ educating the community about the issue, and asking the community to donate to help the children with the purchase of the devices. His efforts helped lead the families being able to purchase the devices for the children with the help of the donations. This device, it is safe to say, will change their lives. Chief McGee does a good deal of good works for the community, is very involved with those persons or programs that need help, speaks with children and…rallies help. For his exemplary service and his 18 years with the Montpelier Police Department, the Williams County Prosecutor’s Office presents to Chief Dan McGee, the first the Williams County Prosecutor’s Office Top Cop Award.”
Ms. Zartman started the Williams County Prosecutor’s Office Top Cop Award program to give recognition to local law enforcement officers and their departments. “We intend to present the award to officers for any kind of good work they do—whether it’s excellent work on an investigation or multiple investigations, or whether it’s supporting their communities in unique or charitable ways,” she said. “We are honored to work with incredibly fine law enforcement officers in Williams County, and they deserve this recognition. We think that it is important to recognize police officers who might not always be thanked for their work. Sometimes they get criticisms and insults instead of the compliments and thanks that they should receive.”
“I was taught to never do anything ‘sorta-kinda’, or ‘just because’,” Chief McGee said. “There’s always got to be a reason for the ends, and if you’re going to do something or get involved in something, you do it all the way. That’s just the way that I try to do things. I may not always be successful at it…but I try.”