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by Judith Hruz
Editor
The community “lost a brave officer and protector of peace” when Montgomery County Police Officer Noah Leotta died in December 2015, said Chief Marcus Jones during the May 20 dedication of the Olney police substation in honor of the young officer.
The new name on the station, located along Georgia Avenue just south of Spartan Road, will carry forward to the permanent substation building when it is built. With state funds, thanks to the District 14 Legislative Delegation, and countless business and individual donations, the county will build a permanent structure for officers to work in and for the community to use as a gathering spot.
The first substation opened in 1997 – then one of five police substations in the county, now the only one – as a place for 4th District officers to complete office duties and eat lunch without having to travel to the district station at Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road, thus keeping them in the community.
Noah Leotta died of injuries sustained while working the Holiday Task Force. While conducting a traffic stop in Rockville, he was struck by a vehicle driven by a man who served jail time after pleading guilty to manslaughter by motor vehicle. He had a blood alcohol content of nearly three times the legal limit.
Noah’s father, Rich Leotta, who has worked since his son’s death for tougher legislation on drunken driving, told those gathered for the dedication of the police substation in his son’s name that his son “would have been extremely humbled by this.”
Montgomery County 4th District commander Capt. David Smith thanked the Olney Chamber of Commerce, who has led the charge on having and keeping the substation in Olney and for giving the police one more way to remember the “bravery, honor and sacrifice” of Noah Leotta.
Every time he drives by the substation, he said, “I’ll know what the name represents.”