Deputy First Class William A. Watters was named the Deputy Sheriff of the 4th Quarter for 2008. (Submitted photo)
LEONARDTOWN, Md. (March 13, 2009)—Sheriff Timothy Cameron today announced his selection of staff to receive accolades for their performance in the fourth quarter of 2008. Deputy First Class William A. Watters was named the Deputy Sheriff of the Quarter; Correctional Officer First Class Daniel L. Catlett was named the Correctional Officer of the Quarter; and Ms. Patricia L. Smith was named the Civilian of the Quarter.
Sheriff Cameron had the following to say about DFC Watters:
"During the months of October, November, and December, DFC William Watters wrote the most citations (43), was tied for the most DUI/DWI arrests (3), answered the second most calls for service (518), and was tied for the most MAARS reports for Squad 3B (9). During this period he was tasked to assist other officers with finding suspect information for the numerous breaking & entering to motor vehicles, residential burglaries, and thefts that had been occurring in District 2. DFC Watters, along with the assistance of other officers, developed a suspect that has been tied to crimes in both Sandgates and the 7th District. Another suspect was later developed that was tied to crimes in Leonardtown and the 7th District area. This suspect was later apprehended and charged by BCI."
Correctional Officer First Class Daniel L. Catlett was named the Correctional Officer of the 4th Quarter for 2008. (Submitted photo)
Sheriff Cameron detailed CFC Catlett's exceptional performance, saying:
"On December 18, 2008, while on early shift, CFC Catlett was called to Post XII to escort an inmate to Post II for release. During the frisk search in preparation of the escort, CFC Catlett noticed the inmate had a fresh tattoo on his hand. Even though the inmate was being prepared for release CFC Catlett took the time to do extensive questioning with the inmate as to where and how the tattoo came about. As a result of the questioning, CFC Catlett had gotten the inmate to reveal the name of who was conducting the tattoos and how the tattoos were being done. Further investigation led to the detection of other inmates with new tattoos. Following up with unscheduled searches of inmate cells revealed items needed to conduct tattoos. Contraband was recovered and all inmates with fresh tattoos were seen by the medical department."
Ms. Patricia L. Smith was named the Civilian of the 4th Quarter for 2008. (Submitted photo)
Sheriff Cameron honored Ms. Smith with the following words:
"Ms. Smith has been a member of the Corrections Division since November 17, 2000. During her tenure, Ms. Smith has always displayed genuineness in dealing with others and is dependable and honest. She is a consummate team player which is demonstrated by her willingness to step in whenever a fellow co-worker is on leave or tasked a special project. Ms. Smith ensures their work is accomplished as not to endanger the operations of the facility.
"The Corrections Division is a unique work environment to say the least. The demands of any 24/7 operation are tremendous; however, the Support Services Section has not realized any additional support staff for many years and the inmate average daily population has increased from 178 in 1999 to 350 in 2008. With that stated, in October 2008, a staff member assigned to the Records Room resigned leaving a vacancy in a critical function of the Corrections Division. Ms. Smith has dedicated countless hours to ensuring the Records Room closed filing is up to date, inmate records are closed out and/or labeled in accordance with policy and in compliance with the Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards. This is not small feat as in the fourth quarter 839 inmates were released."