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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Where Mayor Tony George saw a problem, Martin Dartoe had a solution.</p><p>George on Friday awarded a proclamation to Dartoe, a Department of Public Works employee, for chasing down a suspect who fled from a state trooper last month. But the public recognition came with a caveat for others in Dartoe&#8217;s shoes to leave it up to the professional crime fighters.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t recommend private citizens chasing somebody,&#8221; said George, a former city police chief. &#8220;If they see an officer in trouble follow them, call 911, give a description of the combat and stay with them and tell them where they&#8217;re at.&#8221;</p><p>Dartoe, a former wrestler at King&#8217;s College, didn&#8217;t play it safe, by any account. He body-slammed the suspect Jason Alexander Hackett and held him down until police arrived.</p><p>A garbage man by day, Dartoe, 29, didn&#8217;t consider himself a hero and applied a lesson from his homeland of Liberia when he reacted by stopping his car and running after Hackett on Scott Street the night of Jan. 14.</p><p>&#8220;The Liberian saying, &#8216;Cleaning season,&#8217; it&#8217;s time to start cleaning stuff up,&#8221; Dartoe said.</p><p>&#8220;Too many animals out there. They gotta go. Cleaning season,&#8221; he added.</p><p>An applicant for the vacancy on Luzerne County Council, Dartoe said he will run for the seat in the May 21 primary. He sounded as if he was campaigning. &#8220;It takes guts and the people of Wilkes-Barre, the people of Luzerne County need someone with guts,&#8221; Dartoe said. &#8220;I am nuts and guts.&#8221;</p><p>State Police Lt. Michael Carroll, commander of patrol for Troop P in Wyoming, attended the brief ceremony for Dartoe and thanked him for assisting Trooper Carmen Yureck who was involved in the pursuit that night.</p><p>&#8220;I think he did a courageous act. A lot of times people in society now, when they see a police officer involved in a situation they&#8217;d rather film it than call 911 or offer any kind of assistance,&#8221; Carroll acknowledged.</p><p>Dartoe has expressed an interest in working in law enforcement and Carroll encouraged him. &#8220;He has spoken some aspirations about being a police officer. So if that comes forward, we would love to be there when he receives his badge,&#8221; Carroll said.</p><p> Dartoe&#8217;s pastor Mark Desilva and sister Jill Sperl made sure they were in the audience.</p><p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t miss it. You make me a nervous wreck,&#8221; said Sperl, of Beaumont in Wyoming County.</p><p>Desilva, of Living Hope Bible Church in Plains Township, described Dartoe as &#8220;a godly young man.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s always seeking to help people,&#8221; Desilva said.</p><p>&#8220;His passion is to make the world a better place, literally,&#8221; said Sperl.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Even though Martin Dartoe, left, of Wilkes-Barre doesn&#8217;t think twice about helping someone in need, his sister Jill Sperl, right, said it makes her a nervous wreck. The city of Wilkes-Barre on Friday presented the Department of Public Works employee with a proclamation for assisting in the apprehension of a suspect last month who fled from state police. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Martin-Dartoe-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Even though Martin Dartoe, left, of Wilkes-Barre doesn&#8217;t think twice about helping someone in need, his sister Jill Sperl, right, said it makes her a nervous wreck. The city of Wilkes-Barre on Friday presented the Department of Public Works employee with a proclamation for assisting in the apprehension of a suspect last month who fled from state police. </caption0><photoCredit0>Jerry Lynott | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>DPW employee chased down fleeing suspect</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

‘Someone with guts’: DPW employee recognized for capturing fleeing suspect