The 2019 distinguished law enforcement valor award was given to Sgt. William Chad Knight and Officers Jeremy Campbell, Vincent Carter, David Denlinger, Ryan Nabel and Brian Rolfes of the Dayton Police Department.
“On Aug. 4, 2019, after a gunman began firing in the popular Oregon District in downtown Dayton, these officers took him down within 30 seconds, just as he was about to enter a crowded nightclub. Their immediate action saved countless civilians from the active shooter, who had already killed nine people and wounded 27 others. The officers went on to secure the scene and provide lifesaving assistance to the wounded, bolstering the beleaguered community’s faith in its police department," the attorney general’s office said during the presentation.
Also during the presentation, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost honored three Ohio law enforcement officials who died while on duty.
“Detective Del Rio was fatally shot while leading a DEA task force team in executing a search warrant at the home of suspected drug dealers," Yost said. “Those drug dealers have since been indicted.”
"The accomplished undercover officer was 55 years old, a married father of five and grandfather of three who had been with the Dayton police for nearly 30 years. Police Chief Richard Biehl said, ‘He left a legacy of service and sacrifice to this noble profession that is rare even among the best of us,’” Yost said.
Del Rio was honored along with Colerain Twp. police officer Dale Woods was fatally struck by a pickup truck as he was setting out cones at a scene of a car crash and Clermont County Deputy Sheriff Bill Brewer. He was shot after a man faked shooting himself to lure deputies inside his home.
Attorney General Dave Yost said that the law enforcement officials sacrificed their lives to protect others and are heroes.
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