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Patrolman Richard Baldwin is VFW’s officer of the year
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Youngstown Police Department Patrolman Richard Baldwin is shown in a hallway at Chaney High School, where he works as a security officer two days a week. The Ohio Veterans of Foreign Wars named Baldwin its Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. He will receive the award Saturday at the VFW’s Mid-Year Conference in Columbus.
YOUNGSTOWN
Richard T. Baldwin, a patrolman with the Youngstown Police Department, acknowledged with a smile that part of the reason he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1973 was the uniform.
But it wasn’t only the uniform that drove him — it also was a chance to serve his country and his community.
When his tour in the Marines ended, Baldwin continued to wear uniforms — military and law enforcement — the rest of his life, leading to his being selected as the Department of Ohio Veterans of Foreign War’s Law Enforcement Officer of the Year 2011-2012.
He will be recognized this weekend at the VFW Mid-Winter Conference in Columbus for his military and community service.
Baldwin, 57, will receive plaques, one bearing his name and another for display at the police department, and $300 for the charity of his choice.
“I am very proud of the award. It is exciting to represent the Youngstown Police Department in a good way,” he said.
Baldwin served in the Marines from 1973 to 1977 during the Vietnam War era, but was not deployed to Vietnam.
He enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard assigned to the 838th Military Police Co. based in Austintown in 1977, retiring in Oct. 1, 2004, as a master sergeant.
As a guardsman, he deployed six times for state emergencies and federal duties, including recovery efforts after the local tornado in 1985 and the inmate riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville in 1993.
During his years in the guard, he also deployed in 1991 for Operation Desert Shield/Storm and in 1996 for Operation Joint Endeavor, serving in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Germany; and stateside in 2001 for Homeland Security at Ohio airports and in Washington, D.C., as part of Operation Noble Eagle.
“I think Rick is a great public servant who is very deserving of this recognition,” said Barry E. Landgraver, executive director of the Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission, who nominated Baldwin for the award.
Baldwin, who joined YPD in 1986, was a member of the Youngstown Tactical Response Team (SWAT), FBI Crisis Response Team, Violent Crimes Task Force Fugitive Unit, Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force, and the U.S. Marshals Task Force and Fugitive Unit.
He was involved in dealing with life-threatening incidents such as hostage situations, barricaded individuals and drug raids and executing high-risk warrants and fugitives, according to Landgraver’s nomination.
In March 2007, he defused a suicide-hostage situation in Youngstown “by calmly talking the subject into surrendering his weapon,” Landgraver said.
He has been in the patrol division and corrections department of the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department since 1983 in unpaid reserve status and serves at the Youngstown State University Police Department, where his duties entail security of university property, staff and students, especially during sporting events.
During his career, he attended numerous FBI training seminars. He also completed SWAT training and several drug investigation, gang, cultural diversity and hate-crime courses during his career.
Born and reared in Youngstown, Baldwin, the son of Richard J. of Austintown and the late Mary Lou Baldwin, graduated in 1973 from Chaney High School, where he now works two days a week as a security officer.
On receiving the Ohio VFW Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award, Baldwin said, “There are many, many outstanding police officers. I really appreciate the honor. It’s a beautiful thing.”