Photo from left to right: Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb, Sergeant Andrew Rozler, Deputy Hanz Heineman, Deputy Steven Dombek, Captain Shawn Gregory and Undersheriff Eric Butler

Cattaraugus County Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb announces that the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office recognized three of its Deputy Sheriffs. 21-year veteran Deputy Sheriff Sergeant Andrew Rozler, 15-year veteran Deputy Sheriff Hanz Heineman and 12-year veteran Deputy Sheriff Steven Dombek were all awarded the Sheriff's Office Meritorious Award. This prestigious award has been issued a total of thirteen times in the history of the Sheriff's Office which was established in 1817. Sergeant Rozler, Deputy Heineman and Deputy Dombek are the 15th, 16th and 17th recipients.

On May 7, 2018, these Deputies responded to an incident in which they were at great personal risk and de-escalated an extremely dangerous situation involving a highly trained, combat veteran who had several loaded firearms on him and he was having a psychiatric emergency. The stressors they faced throughout this incident were deemed above and beyond their normal call of duty, and their actions lead to an immediate perfect ending that resulted in no one being injured. Their actions that day qualify them for the Meritorious Award.