by TImothy Rutt
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
recognized 32 deputies and reserve officers on Tuesday with
the department's Lifesaving Award.
The Lifesaving Award is given to "employees or reserve members of the Deepartment whose actions result in the saving or preservation of a human life that otherwise would have been lost without the employee’s direct involvement," according to a sheriff's department press release.
Those recognized include:
Reserve Chief Michael R. Leum and Reserve Commander Janet K. Henderson of the Crescenta Valley Station Montrose Search and Rescue Team. According to the press release, the two were walking in a river searching for a missing person in the Stoneyvale picnic area of the Angeles National Forest when they noticed a family playing in the water upriver. Henderson saw a toddler lying face down in the water near the family and yelled at the family to get their baby. The girl was already blue and not breathing when the deputies arrived. Leum held the baby face down on his forearm and delivered back blows so the baby could cough up water. Henderson, who is also an emergency room nurse, administered oxygen and monitored the baby's vital signs. The baby was airlifted to the hospital for emergency medical treatment, and was released the next day in good condition.
Depty Michael L. Winter of Crescenta Valley Station and his partner responded to a 911 call of a year-old child choking at home in La Canada Flintridge. Arriving before the rescue squad, Winter put the child on his stomach and carefully struck him several times to dislodge an obstruction from the child's airway. Once the obstruction was cleared, he immediately began to cry. The child was transported to the hospital and made a full recovery.
In addition to honoring the deputies, Sheriff Lee Baca honored two civilians: Gregory Lindamen, who saved the life of LASD Capt. Carrie Stuart, who was victim of a car crash; and Explorer Nicholas Hicks, who assisted two deputies in extracting a man trapped underneath a vehicle.
