New Leader Chosen for Township Policing

Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick recently announced his choice for the leadership post for Put-in-Bay
Township and Middle Bass Island.
Jerome Arnold, an officer with about 20 years of law enforcement experience and already a deputy with the
Ottawa County Sheriff Department. Along with appointment he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Sheriff
Levorchick said, “Lieutenant Arnold has been involved in several high profile cases and is an integral part of our
SWAT team.”
The PIB Township job was posted January 13th and Arnold was picked for the post Jan. 25th. According to the
sheriff’s office there were no other applicants for the job
Arnold was previously a patrol officer with the Fostoria police and before that he was a supervising police
sergeant with Mercy Health Partners hospital in Toledo and employed with the Lake Township Police Department.
He was also an officer and an aircraft firefighter with the Lucas County Port Authority.
In 2019, Arnold and another Fostoria police officer both were recognized for entering a burning home and
saving the life of a woman inside.
Levorchick said, “Lieutenant Arnold has begun planning his needs for the Put-In-Bay Township deputies,
whom he will lead. Lieutenant Arnold will be working with the trustees of Put-in-Bay Township to ensure he is
meeting the needs of the community and also to ensure that our deputies are afforded the necessary equipment to
perform their duties.”
The Put-in-Bay Township Trustees also released the contract it has with the sheriff for police protection
services for the next three years (see Page 13).
One of the significant parts of the contract reads, “This agreement is subordinate to all other functions of the
Sheriff and further that the operation of this agreement and the responsibilities of the Sheriff hereunder are directly
conditional upon the availability of the manpower and equipment to perform the services requested . . .” Also there
are no specific dates or requirements for police service on Middle Bass other than that the Sheriff “agrees to hire an
adequate number of deputies to work within Put-in-Bay Township on a full time basis.” Coverage of Middle Bass by
the Village Police the last few years was one of the big factors in contracting with the Sheriff, so it will be
interesting to see how coverage on Middle Bass works out this coming season.

The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please click here.