Deschutes County sheriff’s deputy honored

It takes a lot of courage to enforce the law, but even more to show restraint while doing so.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office stresses proper crisis intervention, and on Tuesday morning, one of its deputies was recognized for his superb work in that area.

Deputy Mark Wolff works at the Deschutes County Jail, where he’s shown his de-escalation skills in a stressful work environment.

But he credits everyone around him for the award he received.

“I look at it as a team award, because in here, a lot of times we will go with other deputies and participate,” Wolff said. “If someone’s not being effective, someone else can take a turn and try to be effective with de-escalating.”

Melissa Thompson, director of the Deschutes County Crisis Intervention Team, said Wolff compassionately approaches difficult situations that involve people in crisis.

“At the end of the day, these are human beings that are suffering from a mental illness, and so they want to be treated with the same respect that anyone else is,” Thompson said. “He’s able to show respect, show patience.”

Sheriff Shane Nelson added that Wolff and the entire team at the jail lives up to those standards set by the sheriff’s office.