Veteran officer wins state award

The Daily Inter Lake

Kalispell Police Department Patrol Sgt. John Ortiz has been named Montana's Officer of the Year.

Ortiz was honored during the Montana Association of Chiefs of Police and the Montana Police Protective Association's annual conference recently in Kalispell.

Ortiz, who has been battling pancreatic cancer for the last 18 months, declined medical disability and continues to be "an immeasurable asset for the community," Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset wrote in a statement.

Ortiz, who has been with the department for 17 years, was the first D.A.R.E. officer in Kalispell and is a mentor within the department, according to Nasset.

Also recognized were Patrol Sgt. Myron Wilson and Officer Jason Parce, who each were awarded with medals of honor.

Wilson and Parce were called to a Kalispell home in June 2008 after suicidal man under the influence of drugs tried to start the roof of a home on fire. After negotiations failed, Wilson and Parce devised a plan to distract the man while they climbed onto the roof and subdued him with a Taser.

The man told officers while in custody he had been trying to kill himself for two days by injecting numerous types of drugs and household cleaners.

"Sergeant Wilson and Officer Parce put themselves in harm's way and displayed extreme bravery in bringing this situation to a successful resolution," Nasset wrote.