Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jonathan Schlager, the agency’s 2013 Deputy of the Year, is now Okaloosa County’s Top Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.
Schlager, assigned at Hurlburt Field, began his law enforcement career in the U.S. Air Force and has continued to serve as a reservist since 2009.
Last year, he responded to 1,698 calls for service, generated 187 offense reports, and made approximately 90 arrests. He was also selected as a shift field trainer and logged almost 340 hours field training newly hired deputies.
When Schlager began working a string of warehouse burglaries in August 2013, he identified a suspect, located multiple victims unaware their storage units had been burglarized, obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect and helped the Criminal Investigations Division recover more than $35,000 in stolen goods that could be returned to the rightful owners.
The accounting firm of Carr, Riggs, and Ingram served as judges for the Deputy of the Year honor.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: OCSO's Deputy of the Year integral in stolen goods recovery, field training