MARION — Light Ohio Blue has honored a Marion police officer for his support of the statewide campaign.
Lt. Mark Elliott, an 18-year veteran of the Marion Police Department, was named 2020 Officer of the Year by the organization dedicated to supporting Ohio law enforcement personnel and their families.
In a Facebook post announcing the award, Light Ohio Blue officials wrote, "Mark has been active with the Light Ohio Blue campaign and has personally undertaken in making the Marion region glow blue in support of law enforcement personnel across the Buckeye State. Mark's passion to honor his fallen colleagues and their surviving family is evident in the great lengths he takes to keep their memory and sacrifices alive."
During his career with MPD, which began in 2002, Elliott, 41, has served as a patrol officer, detective assigned to the MARMET drug task force, assistant team leader for the special response team and a supervisor in the K-9 unit. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2015. Elliott and his wife have two children.
Chief Bill Collins praised Elliott for his work with MPD and commitment to the community.
"Mark exemplifies what our department is all about," Collins said. "He is very compassionate about other people. He's always looking to do community events, like the Light Ohio Blue campaign. He's been a part of that for the last several years. He does a very good job in his role as a supervisor and reaching out to our community."
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Described as a humble man by Collins and MPD spokesperson Lt. B.J. Gruber, Elliott downplayed his worthiness to receive the award from Light Ohio Blue.
"There's a whole lot of people who probably did a whole lot more than I did to deserve it," Elliott said. "I didn't do anything but ask people to put blue lights on their houses. There's plenty of guys that do a lot more."
Elliott and his K-9 partner Six, a Dutch Shepherd who will celebrate his ninth birthday in June, have worked together since 2013.
"The stuff I get to do is mostly because of him," Elliott said. "I've gotten to do some pretty neat stuff because of him. People need help, other departments need help, we get to go to some really cool places to help them out because of him. He's here because of a lot of generous donations from people in Marion that helped pay for his equipment and our training.
"Going around and getting pictures at people's houses is just a way for us to say thank you for putting up the blue lights and to say thank you for bringing him here."
Seeing the blue lights turned on at people's houses is a reassuring sight, Elliott said.
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"It means a lot," he said. "I've worked almost all third shift during my career, and being out at night, you get into some hairy stuff. It's nice when you're on a traffic stop or a call and look over and see that next door neighbor has that blue light on. You know if something bad happens, they're at least going to call for help for you."
Elliott said police dogs like Six are indispensable members of the law enforcement community.
"He does a little bit of everything," he said. "He's a force multiplier. If something bad is going on and you get him out, people stop what they're doing and pay attention to what's going on. We use him to help find people. We had somebody lose a piece of equipment a couple of weeks ago and we brought him to look for it. He can find stuff bad guys lose and find stuff officers lose. The biggest thing we use him for — and really what any dog is used for nowadays — is finding drugs."
eacarter@marionstar.com
@AndrewACCarter
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Light Ohio Blue honors Marion police officer as 2020 Officer of the Year - Marion Star
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