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Canfield honors officer whose quick action saved resident, swears in new officers amid staffing push
Summary
At a Canfield City Council meeting, Sergeant Kyle Young presented a letter of commendation to Officer Emily Roth for a March 8 welfare check that located an unconscious woman in a running vehicle. Council and police leaders also swore in new hires and promoted a patrol sergeant while discussing recruitment and pay efforts.
Sergeant Kyle Young presented a letter of commendation to Officer Emily Roth at a Canfield City Council meeting for her response to a welfare check on March 8, 2025, at 281 Paulson Drive. Young said that upon entering the residence’s garage, officers found “an unconscious female seated in the driver's seat of a running vehicle,” and that Officer Roth “promptly turned off the vehicle, assessed the female's condition, and opened the garage door to begin ventilating the space.”
The council meeting included a swearing-in ceremony for newly hired officers and a promotion. Mayor Dragish administered oaths to newly appointed patrol sergeant Chad DeBart and to a newly sworn officer identified in the transcript as States Marie Harris (listed in the meeting as sworn in). Council members and Canfield Police leaders praised the recruits and emphasized recruitment and retention challenges facing the department.
The commendation and the swearing-in were presented alongside remarks about staffing. Police leaders told council that recent contract negotiations helped raise pay and support recruitment: “we were able to get our officers up where they need to be as far as pay goes,” Sergeant Young said, thanking council for support. The chief and others described difficulty recruiting qualified officers, noting officers leaving for higher pay or different agencies and calling local culture and council support important to retention.
Council took photos after the ceremony and staff invited families for department tours. The presentation and remarks underscored two strands of the department’s work presented to council—an immediate lifesaving response credited to Officer Roth and ongoing efforts to maintain staffing levels and train new personnel.
The city presented the March 8 address and time cited in the commendation and the names of the sworn officers during the meeting record; no disciplinary issues or follow-up actions were recorded during the item.
For residents, the meeting highlighted both an instance of a single officer's emergency response and the municipal steps being taken to recruit and keep officers on duty.
