COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Ross County sheriff’s deputy who was shot in the line of duty last November will be one of nine law enforcement officers honored by Ohio’s attorney general this week.
Sgt. Eric Kocheran will receive the Valor Award on Wednesday during the Ohio Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Conference. Kocheran was injured Nov. 17 in a shootout in the doorway of the sheriff’s office. The suspect, who body camera footage shows fired his gun first, was killed.
In addition, several other members of central Ohio law enforcement agencies will be honored, including:
- Columbus Division of Police officer Shawn Lutz will receive the Community Service Award for his work in the Linden neighborhood and with the city’s LGBTQ+ community
- Columbus Division of Police officer Jerry Orick will receive the Training Award for his work in training other officers in criminal and shooting investigations
- Columbus Division of Police Sgt. Lindsey Alli will receive the Service Award for her work in recruiting members of the department
- Morrow County Sheriff John Hinton will receive the Community Service Award for his work with the United Way of Morrow County, a local food pantry, and his work on mental health and addiction services.
Law enforcement members from Youngstown, Dayton, and Brunswick will be honored, as will members of the Central Ohio OOCIC/HIDTA Drug Task Force and the Ohio Northeast Smuggling Enforcement Team.
In addition to the awards, the annual Law Enforcement Conference allows members of the law enforcement community to get together to learn different tactics for policing. This year’s conference is set to include workshops on catalytic converter theft, the link between animal abuse and domestic violence, and missing persons cases.
The two-day event started with opening ceremonies Tuesday and wraps up with the awards ceremony and workshops Wednesday.