An Erie police officer is honored as May's officer of the month.
Corporal Tom Covatto received the award from Assistant District Attorney, Beth Herz.
A 13 year veteran of the Erie police force, Covatto has been on the department's Quebec Unit for 8 years, which patrols Housing Authority properties in the city.

"We get to do a lot of community policing, which is a lot of hands on interaction with the kids. We go to baseball games, we go hiking with them, we do talks, we read to kids at preschool classes and stuff like that." Said Cpl. Covatto.

"Not only is he a dedicated and committed officer, but he's always professional, and most of all he's compassionate. He lets people know that he cares about them, he's not just there to get the job done, he shows up and goes above and beyond." Said Herz.

"He's done an excellent job. Any time I sit down with John Horan, he's in charge of the Housing Authority, and we talk about the Quebec Unit that patrols the area, it's always good comments, it's always good feedback form the residents over there. So again, just a job well done by an officer who truly deserves the award." Erie Police Chief Steve Franklin added.

There were three Erie police officers nominated this month. Early on in the voting, they decided that whoever won, they'd dedicate their award to Officer Mary Schmeisser. She was seriously hurt in the line of duty back in December. That's just what Cpl. Covatto did when he received the award.