Quiet, Hard-Working Police Veteran Named Towson Officer of the Year

In a ceremony on Tuesday, community leaders recognized a humble hero.

Officer Stephen Schissler was named the officer of the year for 2011 by the Precinct 6 Police Community Relations Council.

"I'm very grateful. I appreciate that they all decided to do this. I didn't really expect anything," said Schissler, a soft-spoken seven-year police veteran who lives in Fallston.

The council selects the officer of the year based on officer of the month selections from the previous year.

"It's a tough job picking out an officer of the year," said Wesley Wood, the council's director. "They're all outstanding, but I put a little extra weight on this catch."

Schissler, 36, was recognized for his actions on one wild August day when, moments after a rare hit the mid-Atlantic, a report went out on the radio of an in the 900 block of York Road.

Schissler believed the getaway car from the incident would pass through the Towson roundabout. He identified the car, tried to stop it in the traffic circle, then pursued it down York Road, giving "calm and clear" reports on the radio, a sergeant said in a report read by Wood during Tuesday's Police Community Relations Council meeting in the Towson precinct's community outreach office in Hillendale.

"It was obviously a little more hectic than usual [with the earthquake] but it was pretty standard, until there were robbers running around," Schissler said. "I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time."

The suspects got out of the car near the intersection of York Road and Towsontown Boulevard, where Schissler pursued four of the five suspects and detained them at gunpoint. .

It was "just a small pursuit through Towson and I ended up getting a hold of them," Schissler said.

The arrests helped clear 16 robbery cases in the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Capt. Jonathan Trentzsch, earlier this year, said colleagues used terms to describe Schissler like "nice guy," "reliable" and "hustler."

"It's kind of nice to see a guy that just works hard and maybe keeps to himself to be recognized," Trentzsch said. "Steve just goes along and does his job everyday, does a good job consistently."