Staff photo / Ed Runyan Youngstown police officers Kenneth Garling, left, and Zachary Scott were among the people honored by the Rotary Club of Youngstown on Wednesday at the club’s annual public safety awards program. The event was at Wick Park.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Rotary Club of Youngstown honored the men and women of the Youngstown police and fire departments as well as the nursing director of the Youngstown Board of Health on Wednesday.

From the police department, officer Zachary Scott was recognized with a Public Safety Award for his actions Feb. 9, when he was grazed by a bullet fired at him while chasing a vehicle on Ravenwood Avenue near Glenwood Avenue on the South Side.

Police Chief Carl Davis told the club at the Wick Park Pavilion that Scott and his partner were working a Neighborhood Response Unit patrol when Scott saw three masked men carrying guns get into a Jeep.

The officers tried to make a traffic stop, but the Jeep drove off fast. The Jeep slowed to make a turn, and multiple shots were fired from the Jeep at Scott, the chief said.

“Officers continued the pursuit while officer Scott returned fire toward the suspect. One of the (bullets) did strike officer Scott, which did end the pursuit in order to transport officer Scott to St. Elizabeth (Youngstown) Hospital,” Davis said.

The bullet grazed Scott’s head, causing a non life-threatening injury.

The chief praised Scott and his partner, saying, “due to their proactive investigation, officer Scott very well may have prevented another shooting and possible homicide.”

He added Scott’s efforts to “overcome the suspects’ resistance was impressive, professional and heroic. Their actions placed them at the highest risk in order to protect the citizens of Youngstown.”

He also detailed why he recommended officer Kenneth Garling for a Public Safety Award. On Aug. 23, 2023, Garling was part of the Mahoning Valley Crisis Response Team, also known as the SWAT Team, that was called to a home in Howland late that night.

There, a man was holding three family members against their will inside the house, the chief said.

It took 10 hours from the time the SWAT team arrived for the conflict to be resolved. The team determined the man’s actions were becoming more agitated, erratic and unstable, so a hostage rescue was carried out.

Garling, who had spent most of the 10 hours in a marksman / observer position, was the first person to volunteer. He was assigned a ballistic shield to protect other SWAT officers. At about 6:30 a.m., SWAT members, including Garling, Sgt. Chris Staley from the Youngstown Police Department and officer Nick Newland of the Boardman Police Department, entered the home.

The man, who was holding a shotgun, was commanded to drop the weapon, but he fired a shotgun blast at the entry team, hitting Garling in the leg and thigh and Newland in the leg and forearm, the chief said.

Garling and others continued into the home, and the man was struck by gunfire from officers. He later died from his injuries. Garling and Newland were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

An investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation concluded the use of force by the SWAT team was justified, according to Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins.

Davis said Garling put the safety of the hostages and other SWAT team members ahead of his own.

From the Youngstown Health Department, Theresa Sanchez, health district director of nursing, was honored. Erin Bishop, health commissioner, said Sanchez “has strived to find efficient ways to expedite care, whether it is outreach in our prisons or jails, in the community, developing relationships with our city school nurses.”

Sanchez also brought mental health and grief therapy to the nursing division. She is certified in grief recovery “to help people who carry emotional baggage and unresolved issues that can weigh us down,” Bishop said.

Members of the Youngstown Fire Department were honored for their work May 28 at the Realty Tower downtown after its explosion.

Luke Politsky, the club’s coordinator of public safety awards, invited the firefighters in attendance to receive the Public Safety award on behalf of the entire fire department.

Club member Deanna Rossi, who lived in the Realty Tower, said her son was inside the building at the time of the explosion, and she was “on scene.”

She thanked the fire department “for everything you do on a daily basis,” including the “inspections that kept the building where it was and let people get to safety.”