STRYKER – Employees at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio have named Corrections Officer Andy Gallardo, of Williams County, the Employee of the Year for 2019. Gallardo was presented with the honor at a commission meeting.
Fellow workers at CCNO chose Gallardo for the honor based on an event in September of 20l9. Officer Gallardo was posted to E-Control, CCNO’s maximum security unit, when an inmate attempted to hang himself from the second tier.
Officer Gallardo was on the second tier attempting to talk the inmate down while other security staff were responding. The inmate was distracted as other staff entered the unit and that gave Officer Gallardo the opportunity to pull the inmate from the edge to safety. Officer Gallardo’s quick action prevented a potentially fatal accident from occurring.
Gallardo started his career at CCNO in 2017, and has demonstrated the attributes of a successful Corrections Officer. “That event was truly a dangerous one and Andy risked his own safety in order to save that inmate”, commented CCNO Executive Director Dennis Sullivan.
“Corrections staff often find themselves in similarly dangerous situations. it takes certain characteristics to do this kind of work, and CCNO is lucky to have officers like Andy to make sure our inmates are safe during their incarceration.”
“All of our staff do whatever it takes to protect the inmates and one another every time they walk through the door.”