Ottawa County deputy takes the stages in Put-in-Bay

PUT-IN-BAY — A local deputy used his background in music to sow some goodwill between law enforcement and crowds in Put-in-Bay last weekend. Ottawa County sheriff's deputy Nick Davenport joined bands at three venues last weekend. Davenport and other deputies were working on the island to assist the Put-in-Bay Police Department. In uniform, Davenport — with permission from Sheriff Stephen Levorchick — played three songs: "Simple Man" and "Tennessee Whiskey" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Chris Stapleton, respectively, along with Blackstreet's "No Diggity." Videos of the performances on social media have gotten tens of thousands of views. "I think it's good when an opportunity presents itself to humanize the badge, especially in times like now," Davenport said. "It was a lot of fun." He said the crowd "went crazy" during the performances, with some even throwing money onto the stage. "Obviously, I left that (money) to the bands," he said. Davenport has 14 years of experience singing and playing the guitar. He used to play in a band called The Davenport Twins with his identical twin brother, Alex, who's a Clyde police officer. Levorchick said Davenport performed in the earlier hours of their shift on South Bass Island when they weren't dealing with many calls. He said his deputies "worked very hard" throughout the night and assisted Put-in-Bay police with a number of calls. "I was so happy our deputies were willing to step outside the box to engage the crowd at Put-in-Bay and it proved to be a perfect move because it engaged that crowd in a positive way," Levorchick said. "During our work on South Bass Island, one of our major efforts was to build that rapport with the crowd to defuse any situations that may occur later. We ordered our deputies to enforce the law but to do so in a diplomatic matter, to do so with courtesy but also to remain consistent."