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2019 Western Region Officer of the Year Winner

By Taylor Matsko posted 07-23-2019 04:35 PM

  
2019 Western Region Officer of the Year Winner
Corporal Daren Krag, of the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office, has been named the 2019 Western Region Officer of the Year.

The Oregon State Marine Board has high standards for education through law enforcement. Over the years, some marine deputies choose to go above the rest to ensure Oregon’s waterways are safe. Cpl. Krag is one of these deputies, leaving a permanent footprint behind and setting an example of why law enforcement is essential to the safety of boaters on the water.
Corporal Daren KragUnder Cpl. Krag’s leadership, his team has conducted over 72 hours of classroom instruction in local schools and safety fairs reaching 1,732 individual students. This instruction has been delivered in various ways including boating safety courses to help boaters obtain their boater education cards, helping elementary students appreciate the critical importance of wearing a life jacket and more.Cpl. Krag has personally completed 796 patrol hours in 2018, with his team completing 2,368 patrol hours total. Cpl. Krag is one of Oregon’s lead instructors, providing more than 190 hours towards the annual marine academy, drift and jetboat training. He also serves on the agency’s boat accident investigation team. His work in these areas demonstrates his dedication to all marine safety and the State of Oregon.

Not only does Cpl. Krag coordinate various activities on the water, but also is passionate about patrolling the waterways of Klamath County. In 2018, he stopped 256 vessels to issue 501 separate violations. Under his direction, his marine deputies completed 687 violation stops issuing 1,087 separate violations. Cpl. Krag personally issued 20 citations for “Child Not Wearing PFD”, 14 PWC violations, 24 violations for no boater education card, 83 life jacket violations and 30 BUI arrests. Cpl. Krag has arrested more than 120 BUI offenders since 2010, far more than any other officer in Oregon. These arrests have prevented accidents, injuries, but most importantly, fatalities.

Cpl, Krag’s positive contributions to the Oregon marine community are unsurpassable. Klamath County comprises 96,034 acres of water, including Oregon’s largest lake, or about 12% of Oregon’s boatable waterways. This means that Cpl. Krag’s team is ready and capable to respond to any and all events, year-round. This includes responding to accidents during the frigid winter months when the lakes are often frozen over.

It comes with no denial, Cpl. Krag’s valor, pride and ability to remain consistent in enforcing the law, while respecting the public boater, is truly a gift. His interactions are respected as educational lessons and left with respectable outcomes. Cpl. Krag is held with the utmost respect among the Oregon marine law enforcement community and Oregon is lucky to have him as one of their top marine deputies. Congratulations Corporal Daren Krag!

First presented in 2000, the Marvin “Butch” Potts Memorial Award, known as the Boating Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award, is presented annually to the boating law enforcement officer who has made outstanding contributions to the field of boating law enforcement. The award program consists of three levels: state, regional and national.

The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators is a national nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that works to develop public policy for recreational boating safety. NASBLA represents the recreational boating authorities of all 50 states and the U.S. territories. We offer a variety of resources, including training, model acts, education standards, publications and more. Through a national network of thousands of professional educators, law enforcement officers and volunteers, we affect the lives of over 76 million American boaters.
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