Local Officers Honored For Capturing Bank RobberIssue Date: July 12, 2018 Presentation of some very special awards for law enforcement personnel highlighted the monthly meeting of Marinette County Board's Public Services Committee on Tuesday, July 10.
Five FBI agents from Wisconsin and Michigan had traveled to Marinette to recognize eight Marinette County Sheriff's Department officers and one Peshtigo Police officer for their part in capturing an armed and dangerous bank robber, Devontae Amos, in Marinette on Aug. 25, 2017. In a separate ceremony they recognized several Marinette City Police officers for their part in the capture.
The meeting and award presentations were held in the County Board Room for space reasons, and the public seating area was filled nearly to capacity with families and public officials on hand to witness the presentations.
Sheriff Jerry Sauve presented the first-ever Marinette County Sheriff's Department Life Saving pin to Deputy Zak Albrecht for his prompt actions on June 13 that saved the life of a man who was unconscious in a Peshtigo motel room from a heroin overdose. Albrecht had delivered two doses of Naloxone, otherwise known as Narcan, and the man lived.
Sauve said Albrecht and other officers had been supplied with Naloxone and trained in its use because of the opiate epidemic that had hit hard in this area. "We hoped and prayed that someday it would pay off, and it did," Sauve declared.
In the letter presented to Albrecht, Sauve commended him for his life saving actions, and recounted the events that led up to it. At approximately 2:17 pm. Central Dispatch received an emergency call of a possible Heroin overdose occurring in a motel room. "You responded to the scene, assessed the situation and administered two doses of Naloxone," Sauve wrote. The unconscious man responded and was stabilized until paramedics arrived and took over emergency treatment.
"Your quick assessment and application of recently received training certainly made a difference and created a positive outcome for the patient, his family and the community. Your actions are truly commendable. Thank you for a job well done!" Sauve wrote in his letter of commendation to Albrecht.
Officers honored by the FBI for their part in Amos' capture were Narcotics Investigator Bill Swanson, Detective Dan Miller, Sergeants Lance Lincoln and Randy Miler, and Deputies Dave Oginski and Steve Schmidt. Also recognized but not present were Sheriff's Sergeant Bob Amundson and Deputy Spencer Elias and his canine partner, Cash; and Peshtigo Police Officer Robert Hulce.
FBI agents on hand for the award presentations included Justin Tolomeo, special agent in charge of the FBI's Milwaukee Division, and and Tim Slatter, his counterpart in Detroit, along with Special Agent Jay Johnston, Supervisor Steve Flattery, and Special Agent Scott Neville.
"Today our agency is very honored to have five representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation here from Detroit and Milwaukee," Sauve said before introducing them at the start of the meeting. "The purpose of their visit with us is to hand out awards to several of our officers in reference to the capture of a real desperado almost a year ago that was a bank robber."
"As the sheriff had mentioned, these officers and deputies on Aug. 25 arrested an armed and dangerous individual who had fled justice in Milwaukee after committing a series of armed robberies and decided to continue his bank robbery spree," Tolomeo said. "If not for the work of the officers and deputies we are going to honor today he might have continued to do such"¦or begin to hurt people."
"The mission of the FBI is to protect the American People and to uphold the Constitution," he went on. "It's key that we have partnerships at the local, state and federal levels. This is just one great example of how it all came together at the right time."
"We do not work alone," Slatter said. "We rely on partnerships with the private sector, local leadership in the community and certainly our state and local law enforcement partners," Slatter declared. "Without these partners we couldn't do this job!"
Slatter thanked the family members present for allowing their loved one to be involved in law enforcement, for going through the nights spent alone and worried, ""¦for allowing them to do good for a living. It is not lost upon us how dangerous and complex their job is."
He said the officers could not have done their jobs without the training, support and equipment provided for them, great investigative work, and the information being provided to them in a timely manner.
"There was a lot of effort and some great investigative work going on behind the scenes," Sauve declared. "And our partnership with the Marinette Police Department really paid off."
Amos, aged 25 at the time, was spotted in Marinette on Aug. 25, 2017 after robbing the Bank in Stephenson, Mich. earlier on the same day. He had previously robbed three Milwaukee area banks. He had escaped FBI custody after being briefly captured in Milwaukee early in the month. On Aug. 8, 2017 the FBI had offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to Amos' arrest. After being arrested in Marinette he had a brief stay in the Marinette County Jail before extradited to Michigan.
In a very brief business session following the award presentations the committee heard the annual report from Coroner George Smith, viewed the Sheriff's Department monthly overtime report, agreed to write off some overdue accounts (mostly involving charges for staying at the jail), and approved entering a 3-year agreement with Aramark for inmate food services at the jail. The Aramark contract will be coming to the full County Board for approval on Tuesday, July 31.
Despite recent controversy over committee attempts to change the times and locations of their meetings, Administrator John LeFebvre said there was no problem when committee Chair Ken Keller suggested holding the next meeting at the Law Enforcement Center so committee members can tour facilities there. Sauve said he would really like them to see the recently installed new floors in the jail.
Keller felt it was important for new committee members to be familiar with the facilities for which they are responsible.
Agenda items for the next meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at the Law Enforcement Center, include possible creation of a recreational trail patrol person, setting the fee for the new appointed Medical Examiner position that will replace the elected coroner after Jan. 1, and setting user fees in preparation for the 2019 budget.
The meeting included none of the usual reports on jail programs, arrests, 911 calls and other issues. There were no public comments, no correspondence and no reports from department heads other than Smith.
Supervisor Glenn Broderick, who had attempted on previous occasions to get the committee meetings moved permanently to the Law Enforcement Center, said he thought the meeting location had to be an agenda item, which they had been told at a previous meeting. He wanted a committee vote to approve holding the meeting at the LEC, but Corporation Counsel felt that choice could be made by the committee chair without committee approval.
LeFebvre said because was to be a temporary change, for one meeting only, and not a permanent move to a new location, it did not violate any of the County Board's new rules. Those rules are listed in an ordinance that took effect after the bi-annual County Board reorganization following the April elections.
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