Annual report cites efforts of deputies in 2020

In his annual report for 2020, Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick praises the department’s deputies for what he calls their unselfish work during the pandemic.
“While other law enforcement agencies across our region received extra pay for performing their duties, and with the union encouraging our deputies to do the same, our deputies disagreed. They came to me and said that since there were so many people in our community out of work while our employees continued to work and be paid, they did not feel this would be appropriate.
“Instead, they said that they thought it would be appropriate to perform their duties for normal pay. This is exactly the mindset we want our deputies to have,” the sheriff writes in the report. “We are very proud of our deputies and their commitment to their community.”
In April of last year, the sheriff’s office entered into a contract with the Erie County Health Department for medical service for inmates at Ottawa County Jail. Sheriff Levorchick said he has been very satisfied with the service.
Utilizing CARES Act funding, the county purchased a body scanner for the corrections building, allowing deputies to search incoming inmates for contraband and maintain social distancing.
In 2020, the patrol division received 16,480 calls for service and made 2,374 traffic stops, 148 criminal arrests and issued 550 traffic citations.
By comparison, the division made 323 criminal arrests, made 5,778 traffic stops and issued 890 traffic citations in 2019.
The department’s Special Response Team was called out six times in 2020.
In the civil division, nine sheriff’s sales were scheduled but six of them were canceled in 2020. In 2019, 31 sales were scheduled but six were canceled.