A trooper from the Delaware Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol was recently named the 2021 Trooper of the Year by patrol leadership.
Trooper Caio S. Hermann was given the title at the patrol’s 2021 Leadership Awards held in Columbus in March. The patrol reported Hermann was selected from nine District Troopers of the Year across the state. In a release about the award, the patrol reported Hermann leads the Delaware Post and the state in impaired driver arrests with 207, and he has made 44 felony arrests.
Hermann said he joined the Patrol Academy in 2018 and began working the late shift at the Delaware Post the following year. At the end of last month, Hermann said he couldn’t believe he had earned the recognition so early in his career.
“I achieved (Trooper of the Year) during my (second year),” he said. “I never imagined this would be possible.”
Hermann said he was born in Brazil and moved to the United States when he was 4. He said when he was growing up, his uncle was a police officer but he had no practical exposure to law enforcement before he joined the academy in 2018.
“(The academy) was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, without a doubt,” Hermann said.
Hermann said his work philosophy is to give it all he has, a lesson he said he learned from his father.
“I’m giving it all I have. I’ve always been that way in anything I do,” Hermann said. “That’s just how my father brought me up. He said, ‘It doesn’t matter what you do, you do it to the absolute best of your ability.’”
Hermann said he was surprised but thrilled when he found out that he had been nominated for the Delaware Post’s Trooper of the Year by his coworkers.
“I was very happy to hear that,” Hermann said. “What matters most is to know that those that get to work with me every single day thought highly enough of me to name me the Trooper of the Year. I thought that was really neat.”
Hermann said he was nervous about the interview with the senior staff from the patrol but completed it and learned he was one of nine troopers in the running for the top award.
Hermann said he was thankful when he learned he had been selected at the conference in March.
“I’m very, very thankful for the opportunity,” he said. “I never would have thought this would have been possible as a year two trooper. I’m really thankful for (my coworkers). It’s all thanks to everyone that’s come my way. I’m truly lucky to be around the people (at the Delaware Post).”
In the release, the patrol praised Hermann’s system for managing his duties, tasks, assignments and investigations. Hermann said he is as meticulous as possible with his paperwork because it allows him to get back on the road.
“I’m very specific about certain things … down to the way I put my papers in a stack,” Hermann said. “The more interactions I have, the more chances I have of finding that person we don’t want driving around beside us or coming through our neighborhoods. I triple check everything that I do. I think that provides the best service for the people I’m with as well. I can’t sit here and say it’s error-free, but it’s very rare to find an error.”
Hermann said he is pleased with the award, but he remains focused on his work.
“I’m passionate about (the patrol), and I believe in its mission,” Hermann said. “‘Service with respect’ is something I strive to make sure everyone feels. I want to take that person that’s yelling and wondering why they were stopped and make them want to give me a fist bump, a handshake, or wish me well by the time I’m done with the interaction with them. I go to work with pleasure. That makes a big impact in terms of how your shift is going to go.”
