Kisha, 25, joined the Gibsonburg Police Department in December. According to Ohio records, she began her career in Stow in March 2024

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Author: Diane Woodring (WTOL), WTOL Newsroom
Published: 1:28 PM EDT August 27, 2026
Updated: 1:28 PM EDT August 27, 2026

GIBSONBURG, Ohio — A criminal complaint logged Thursday with Sandusky County District Court identified the police officer who was stabbed in the neck in Gibsonburg on Wednesday as 25-year-old Maria Kisha, who state records show has been with the department for eight months.
Gibsonburg Police Chief Don Karr declined to release the name of the officer Wednesday, but referred to the officer with female pronouns.

Karr described her condition as “stable” and declined to provide any further details regarding Kisha or her service. However, Kisha has a documented record of excelling as a student with an interest in law enforcement dating back to at least high school.
Kisha was born and raised in Tallmadge, a suburb of Akron, according to the Stow Police Department. She was part of the department’s “Police Explorers” program for teens and young adults interested in police work. Speaking with the Akron Beacon Journal during an event in 2017, Kisha, then a junior at Tallmadge High School, said that she wanted to get into law enforcement and possibly become a police officer. Kisha served as team captain and lettered in soccer all four years of high school.

In 2019, Kisha was awarded the Josh Miktarian Memorial Scholarship, established in memory of the Twinsburg Police K-9 officer who was killed in the line of duty in July 2008. Two graduating seniors pursuing a degree in law enforcement are selected for the scholarship each year, with one representing Tallmadge High School and another representing Twinsburg High School.
After graduating, Kisha attended Lake Erie College and earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology while also playing soccer as a goalkeeper for the Lake Erie College Storm, interning with the U.S. Marshals and serving as student body president.
Kisha was sworn in full-time with the Stow Police Department on March 4, 2024. She resigned in good standing with no pending discipline on June 21, 2024, and joined Put-in-Bay’s police department part-time on May 19, 2025, according to state police records. Kisha resigned from the Put-in-Bay Police Department in good standing with no pending discipline on Dec. 30, 2025, after being officially appointed full-time with the Gibsonburg Police Department on Dec. 21, 2025.

Kisha was sworn in by Gibsonburg Mayor Steven Fought during a council meeting on Dec. 18. She is currently the only female police officer serving with Gibsonburg.

Who is the suspect?
Gibsonburg Police Chief Don Karr identified the suspect as 25-year-old Scott Dodd, who fled after allegedly stabbing Kisha in the neck Wednesday morning near a bank in downtown Gibsonburg. Dodd was taken into custody in the northwest corner of the village by West Stone and Sander streets Wednesday afternoon after a manhunt involving at least 10 different law enforcement agencies from across the state.
Dodd is scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon on the first-degree felony charge. Sandusky County Sheriff Chris Hilton said Wednesday at a press conference that he expects Dodd will face additional charges, although it is not clear at this time what those charges will be.
Dodd was born on March 9, 2001, and was listed as living in the southwest end of the village in a Sandusky County District Court document regarding a 2025 assault conviction. However, Sandusky County Sheriff Chris Hilton said on Wednesday that Dodd is homeless.
RELATED: Who is Scott Dodd? Here’s what we know about the man accused of stabbing a Gibsonburg police officer
Dodd pleaded guilty to a first-degree misdemeanor charge for assault in October 2025. Court documents state that he “did strike juvenile on left side of face with open hand.”
He was sentenced to 30 days in jail with credit for 19 days and one year of probation. Dodd was also ordered Dodd to take anger management classes and treatment that would be assessed by the probation department to have no contact with the victim.
Protection orders were also filed against Dodd in 2024 and 2025.
WTOL 11 News team members Megan Hartnett, Paul Kwapich, Andrew Bailey and Jeffrey Schmucker contributed to this report.