Havana Police Officer Israel Baity was recognized as the 2018 Gadsden County Law Enforcement Officer of the Year at a luncheon Tuesday at First Baptist Church in Quincy. Baity (right) is pictured with Havana Police Chief Tracy Smith. Baity was recognized in large part for his heroics earlier this year in saving a fellow law enforcement officer from choking while attending a training workshop at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy in Quincy. The other nominees for the annual award were Officer Carlos Hill of the Quincy Police Department, Officer Christopher Trenton Jones of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and Trooper Steven Whritenour of the Florida Highway Patrol. Scott Whitehead, the co-owner of Faith Funeral Home in Havana and a member of the Havana Kiwanis Club, gave the invocation at the event. The event was jointly organized by the Quincy Rotary Club, Quincy Lions Club, Havana Kiwanis Club, Quincy Kiwanis Club, Chattahoochee Rotary Club and Quincy Pilot Club.
By Randall Lieberman
randall@prioritynews.net