Medina Today

Congratulations to Patrol Officer Luke Yehnert, who was awarded Officer of the Year for 2022!

Officer Yehnert had an active year full of traffic enforcement, criminal investigations, and specialized assignments, to include bike patrol and defensive tactics instructing for the Department. 

He led the department in traffic stops for the entire year, finding criminal activity along the way. He generated criminal cases through these traffic stops by finding drugs, impaired drivers, and warrant subjects, which helped to make our city a safer place to live and drive through. 

Officer Yehnert attended the very challenging Gracie Survival Tactics Instructor Course in 2022, successfully completing the course to become a defensive tactics instructor. He is a strong advocate for physical fitness and continued to build on his jiu-jitsu skills weekly with routine training during his off-time, even encouraging other officers to train with him. This additional training allowed him to become more proficient as an instructor to better teach these skills to other officers.

Several times throughout the year, Officer Yehnert assisted in training new officers on the road, filling in on several occasions. His performance during these training sessions led to him being chosen to attend Field Training Officer (FTO) school in 2023 to become an official FTO. 

Officer Yehnert’s Sergeant describes him as a team player with a positive attitude, who is quick to volunteer for any task and find ways to be proactive. He was selected as Officer of the Month in January and July. Prior to joining the department, Officer Yehnert served as an airborne infantryman in the 82nd Airborne for six years, completing two enlistments and finishing out his service as a Staff Sergeant. He then attended the University of Akron Police Academy to get his Ohio Peace Officer Certification, and started at the Wadsworth Police Department in 2020.

The Officer of the Year Award is determined by a vote of the department’s police officers, dispatchers, and supervisors. Officer Yehnert received the majority of votes from his peers for this award. Congratulations to Officer Yehnert on this well-deserved honor!

Original source can be found here.