Sheriff calls resident ‘freaking hero’ for help during stabbing incident

PHOTOS BY DAN STARCHER

Wayne County Sheriff Tom Ballinger, left, embraces David Logan during a recent awards ceremony at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. Logan was recognized for stopping to help Ballinger and Sgt. Dan Broome after the two officers were stabbed during an incident on May 12. 

Wayne County Sheriff Tom Ballinger, left, presents Sgt. Dan Broome an Award of Valor from the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association for his continued actions in the line of duty on May 12 after sustaining a serious injury.

 

DGKN staff report

More than a month after he and Sgt. Dan Broome were stabbed in the line of duty May 12, Wayne County Sheriff Tom Ballinger said heroism came from many directions, according to a Wayne County government news release by Dan Starcher. 

During a recent awards ceremony, Ballinger recognized Broome for his courage, honored deputies and emergency personnel for their lifesaving actions, and thanked citizen David Logan, whose decision to stop and help the two wounded officers left a lasting impression on the sheriff.

Ballinger, who was stabbed in the arm, said Logan arrived not knowing the officers and, without hesitation, jumped in to help.

“All I know is a citizen pulled up and asked if we needed something,” Ballinger said in the release. “Before I could get a word out of my mouth, he had no gloves on, no protection, nothing. He knelt and put his hand on a man he had never met before in his life, who was bleeding out. This is a freaking hero. I’ll be forever indebted to this man.”

The incident also left Sgt. Dan Broome seriously wounded after being stabbed in the upper thigh. Broome was transported to Wooster Community Hospital and later Life Flighted to Summa Akron City Hospital.

According to the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association Award of Valor citation—the highest award the Association can give—Broome was honored for continuing to engage quickly and actively during the incident after sustaining a serious injury in the line of duty.

“It is with great respect and gratitude that we honor Sgt. Broome for his sacrifice to this office,” Ballinger said in the release. “I’m able to recognize his heroic efforts for actions that I saw firsthand.”

The ceremony highlighted other acts of bravery and service apart from the stabbing incident, including deputies who rescued a man suffering from dementia and hypothermia after he wandered into a ravine, jail staff who extinguished a fire before firefighters arrived, and employees recognized for years of service.

But the events of May 12 remained at the forefront.

Among those recognized were Lt. Ben Rubenstein, Deputy Zach Derflinger, and Medway Drug Enforcement Agency Agent Nate Cope, whose immediate actions helped stabilize the injured officers until emergency medical personnel arrived.

Ballinger recalled Derflinger applying a tourniquet to his arm, and Rubenstein tightening a second one.

Asked afterward what it meant to see such widespread community support, Ballinger said law enforcement depends on the public it serves.

“Our goal is to take care of the citizens of this county in their worst moments and even in their good moments,” Ballinger said in the release. “For Mr. Logan to stop, not knowing who we are, but knowing we were law enforcement and we were in trouble, and not even hesitating to help, was something I’ll always remember. That just lets you know that good will always prevail.”