The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Officers lauded for dealing with critical incidents
During an April 4 meeting of the Lake County Association of Chiefs of Police, five Lake County officers were recognized their actions in dealing with critical incidents and life-saving actions.
Julie Hammond of Community Alliance of Law Enforcement Mental Health Services presented the CALMS Committee Crisis Intervention Team Training awards to Captain Cynthia Brooks and Sgt. Matt Darone, both of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The awards were for their de-escalation of a situation involving a person having a mental health crisis during a critical incident in the jail.
Brooks and Darone were recommended for the award by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Hammond also presented a CIT Officer of the year award to Mentor Police Officer Rick Smith
“We had a couple of folks, both family members and individuals who (Smith) has interacted with, that have told us some really nice things about his compassion and working with folks and being able to calm folks down and talk to them and really help them get connected to the services they might need,” Hammond said.
“All the tools we have given him in CIT he has taken advantage of and he is a good partner with us in terms of using the things he
has learned in CIT.”
Also during the meeting Willowick Patrolman Jacob Cook, Sgt. Dan Hirz and Patrolman Keith Lawrence were recognized by Willowick Police Chief Brian Turner and Eastlake Police Chief Larry Reik for their life-saving actions. Cook, Hirz and Lawrence pulled a 75-year-old man from a burning mobile home on Jan. 12.
“It was great to be awarded with Sgt. Hirz and Officer Lawrence, I’m glad we were able to get the gentleman out of the house safely and with a positive outcome,” Cook said.
“It’s humbling because we all know we just happen to be there and anyone of
us in the department would be doing the same thing. It was just our turn,” Hirz said of the award. “I think when we get into this job and we start doing things — writing a speeding ticket, making a domestic arrest — we think to ourselves, ‘yea we maybe saved a life, maybe saved a fiery crash or saved someone from getting beat to death by a spouse.’
“We don’t often have the opportunity to see it first hand and be able to sign a name to a life you save. This was a great opportunity for that.”
Lawrence, said he was both honored and humbled for the recognition and award from the association.
“It’s a good feeling and
as far as what we are being honored for. I think we all just desperately wanted to save that guy’s life that night and we saw that we had that once-in-a-career opportunity to do something like that,” Lawrence said. “I myself, am just really glad that we were able to do it and actually saved a life.”
Turner was quite proud to nominate his officers for the award and was very happy to hear that the association agreed with his recommendation.
“They (Cook, Hirz, and Lawrence) were very deserving and the Life Saving Award summed up perfectly what they did that morning in January,” Turner said.