Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson and Perrysburg Township Police Chief Mark Hetrick announced today that former Detective Sergeant and now Senior Investigator Todd Curtis was notified that he was being presented with the Purple Ribbon Law Enforcement Partner of the Year Award.
This award recognizes his work in bringing awareness to domestic violence as well as advocating on behalf of victims. The award is sponsored by Domesticshelters.org and Theresa’s Fund.
Curtis had worked for the Perrysburg Township Police Department for 15 years, advancing through the ranks until he was assigned as the sergeant supervising the detective bureau.
After retiring in March of this year, Curtis was hired as the Senior Investigator by the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office. During this time, he has used his experience to train other law enforcement partners and bring general awareness to the issues of domestic violence, particularly strangulation.
He has partnered with organizations such as Standing Courageous Inc. and the Cocoon Shelter, which nominated him for the award, in these training and advocacy roles. Curtis has been a strong voice in the Ohio legislature in the effort to enact laws particularly addressing strangulation as a felony offense.
In congratulating Curtis, Hetrick said, “Todd has worked tirelessly to raise domestic violence awareness through educating the law enforcement community as well as the public. He has also been involved in getting new laws at the state level to strengthen DV laws particularly when it comes to strangulation.”
Dobson stated, “Recognizing that this award is the result primarily of Todd’s work while a Perrysburg Township Police Officer, both the police department and the prosecutor’s office are grateful for his efforts on this issue. I thank Chief Hetrick for allowing Todd the latitude to engage in his education and advocacy and commit that he will have the ability to continue that here. Todd and I both know that the work at the statehouse isn’t done. We still need to bring the strangulation bill, which has languished in the Senate Judiciary Committee since December despite overwhelming support in the House, across the finish line. Hopefully, this award will bring attention to those efforts and result in a call for action in the Senate. It’s shocking that the chair won’t take action in the face of tragedies like Aisha Fraser and Gabby Petito.”
Theresa’s Fund is a non-profit charity started in 1992 in Arizona by Preston V. McMurry at a time when domestic violence wasn’t yet a headline. It focuses on changing the landscape of domestic violence services through grantmaking, board development and fundraising.
The fund developed DomesticShelters.org as a way to expand its reach to people across the U.S. and Canada. DomesticShelters.org works to make more people aware of the services available for those experiencing domestic violence and make it faster and easier to quickly find services and information best suited to location, language and needs.
A virtual Purple Ribbon Awards presentation will be held on Sept. 21.
