Hancock County Sheriff’s Office
Michael E. Heldman, Sheriff
The Special Deputy Organization is comprised of citizens who are trained to assist law enforcement agencies. This organization is responsible for security at the county schools’ football and basketball games and the Hancock County Fair.
These individuals log several thousand volunteer hours, including the hours at the Hancock County Fair. They also provide services for a variety of other special events around the county each year, including the Spring and Fall Craft Shows held at the fairgrounds. Other details included the Flag City Multi-sport Event, various parades and traffic details, school dances, and other functions as requested.
The Posse is a unit of the Special Deputy Organization and is utilized in parades and at the fair. The unit is also available for special duties that might arise where crowd control is an issue. The group also provided security presence in the Findlay Village Mall parking lot during the holiday shopping season.
Each certified Posse member has had to undergo rigorous training with their horse and pass tests to determine that they and their mount are qualified to handle themselves in stressful situations. These volunteers provide their own gear and mount and participate in all training on their own time and money.
This unit is specially trained in underwater search and recovery and has been utilized many times to search the reservoir, the Blanchard River, and area ponds and streams when the need arises.
Members of the team include divers, boat crew, boat captain, and the land crew. The unit undergoes regular training sessions throughout the year to strengthen their skills and teamwork.
The Bike Patrol provides services in areas where cruisers cannot be utilized. They are also utilized for special events such as parades, 5K runs, and the Balloon Fest. They may also be seen at the Hancock County Fair, Special Olympics Torch Run, and other activities throughout the year.
The unit members must go through training to learn how to handle their bicycles in all kinds of terrain and situations. They are certified at the end of their training.
The Sheriff’s Office recently partnered with the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) to purchase two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), otherwise known as drones. The UAVs provide vital aerial support for the first responders serving our community without the cost of a manned aircraft.
The UAV team consists of six certified pilots, representing law enforcement, fire departments, emergency medical service, and emergency management fields. The team can be used to locate missing children, assess inclement weather damage, map motor vehicle crash scenes, locate hotspots at structure fires and remotely identify hazardous materials, among many uses.
UAVs allow first responders to respond in a more coordinated, efficient, and safe manner as a whole. Our ultimate goal as first responders is to make sure everyone goes home safely, both first responders and the public.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) originated in 2000 and included five original members. Over the years, the Team has grown to 12 members. The ERT trains every month to ensure all members maintain a high level of tactical proficiency. This training consists of classroom training and live-action scenarios and is essential to improve the Team’s communication and efficiency.
The Hancock County ERT also trains with other area teams, providing all the ability to be familiar with and use mutual resources as needed. This also creates an environment of learning and the opportunity to network with those team members. The opportunity to train with area teams also allows the members to train with a wider variety of equipment.
The Emergency Response Team members respond to a wide variety of situations that might arise. The Team is on an on-call basis.
Deputies who show interest in being team members have to complete an interview process. The member then attends and must complete a Tactical Operations course.
