Troy Chief of Police Shawn McKinney, center, introduces newly promoted Sgt. Nicholas Freisthler, left, and Capt. Dominic Burnside following their promotion ceremony at Troy City Hall on Monday.
Troy Police Officer Laura Blankenship was transferred from the patrol section by to detective section, becoming the first female Troy officer to become a detective.
TROY — Two members of the Troy Police Department (TPD) were promoted during a ceremony at City Hall in Council Chambers on Monday, March 13.
Dominic Burnside was promoted to captain from the rank of sergeant with his family by his side Monday.
Burnside grew up in Piqua and graduated from Piqua High School in 2001. He attended Bowling Green State University and graduated in 2005 after earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
According to a city of Troy press release, Burnside was employed with the Miami County Municipal Court, from 2005-2007, as an adult probation officer before attending Ohio’s Basic Police Officer Academy where he successfully graduated first in his class.
In January 2007, he was hired by the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, and he served as a patrol deputy and narcotics detective until January 2013.
Burnside was hired by the city of Troy as a police officer on Jan. 7, 2013, and was initially assigned to the patrol section. On May 21, 2018, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant and worked as a supervisor in the patrol section. During his time with the TPD, he has received specialized training in the areas of homicide investigations, narcotics investigations, forensic pathology, and interview and interrogation. He has served as a detective, field training officer, evidence technician, member of the tactical response team and member of the department fleet and uniform committees.
Burnside resides in Troy with his wife Kristin, and their five children.
Also promoted Monday afternoon was Officer Nicholas Freisthler to the rank of sergeant. His family was also present.
Freisthler grew up in Sidney, where he graduated from Lehman Catholic High School in 1998, and he then enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1999. During his time in the Marine Corps, Freisthler served as a military police officer deploying to Iraq, Jordan, Estonia, Japan and the Dominican Republic, the press release said. In the Marine Corps, he received advanced leadership training at the Staff Non-Commissioned Officers Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Freisthler finished his career in the Marine Corps as a company gunnery sergeant for his military police unit. he retired from the Marine Corps in January of 2022 after 22 years of service.
Freisthler holds an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Edison State Community College, and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Ohio University and will graduate with his Master of Business Administration from Ohio University in May of 2023.
Freisthler attended basic police academy at Rhodes State University in Lima in 2001 and was hired as a patrolman for the city of Eaton in 2002. Freisthler worked for Eaton until 2008 when he was hired by the city of Troy, the release said. He has served on the tactical response team and as a school resource officer, evidence technician, detective and drone pilot.
Freisthler is the son of Don Freisthler (a retiree of the city of Sidney and city of Piqua water treatment departments), and Carolyn Freisthler of Sidney. He lives in Troy with his wife Erin, and four children.
The city of Troy also recognized Laura Blankenship, on Monday, who has transferred from the position of police officer to detective within the TPD.
As of Monday, March 6, Blankenship moved from the patrol division to the detective division. She has been with the city of Troy since January 2016 and is TPD’s first female detective.
