Local prison employees recognized
SACRAMENTO – Calipatria State Prison correctional officer Alfred Gascon was recently announced as the recipient of CDCR’s Medal of Valor for helping save the life of a victim of a vehicle collision on June 7, 2019, in Holtville.
The day of the incident coincided with Gascon’s final day of working at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison, and on his return to the Valley from Blythe he decided to take a route home different than usual.
That alternate route led him toward the intersection of Highway 115 and Alamo Road, where a just-occurred two-vehicle collision resulted in one of the vehicle’s passengers being ejected.
Gascon was able to locate the ejected passenger after noticing something submerged in the waters of a nearby canal, and discovered the victim had severe head injuries and no pulse.
Though bystanders had refused to help Gascon extract the victim from the canal, he was nonetheless able to do so, and began life-saving measures that after several minutes resulted in the victim’s heart starting to beat again.
His heroic actions that day did not stop there. After noticing black smoke pouring from under the hood of one of the damaged vehicles, Gascon broke the driver’s side window and helped the trapped victim to safety.
As harrowing as the incident was, Gascon largely kept news of it from his new coworkers at Calipatria State Prison, where he started working on the Monday following the Friday incident.
When word of his good deeds started getting around, many remarked to Gascon that his decision to take an alternate route home that day was not some random act.
The former county firefighter would also come to find out that of the three crash victims, one was a former high ranking Calipatria State Prison officer, while the other two were individuals enrolled in CDCR’s local Male Community Reentry Program, which allows eligible offenders to serve the end of their sentence in the community instead of in confinement.
“A lot of people tell me, ‘You took that road for a reason, because if you never took it and you took it that day, there was a reason you went down that road,’” Gascon said in a video accompanying the CDCR’s virtual award ceremony on Friday.
The Medal of Valor represents the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s highest award, earned by employees “distinguishing themselves by conspicuous bravery or heroism above and beyond the normal demands of correctional service,” CDCR stated.
Besides Gascon, two other current and former local prison employees were honored by CDCR on Friday during its annual Medal of Valor awards ceremony, presented online in a prerecorded format on account of COVID-19.
Calipatria State Prison parole services associate Rosalie Cota was awarded the department’s Bronze Star. The award recognizes those who are able to use proper training and tactics in a professional manner to save another’s life without placing themselves in peril.
Cota is credited with helping assist a motorist who had sustained life-threatening injuries following a vehicle accident on Sept. 6, 2019, on Highway 111. The incident left the victim suspended by his seat belt while being smothered by the airbag in his overturned vehicle.
Upon Cota’s arrival on scene, the injured motorist handed her his utility knife to deflate the airbag. Afterward, Cota noticed the injured man wearing attire associated with law enforcement and introduced herself as a prison employee. In turn, he introduced himself as Calipatria State Prison Sgt. Tim Vrooman.
When Cota was unable to break the vehicle’s windshield in an attempt to extract Vrooman, she managed to open the trunk, crawl in through the back of the “mangled and compressed” vehicle and cut the seatbelt that was choking her colleague, a press release stated.
During the process, Cota noticed Vrooman’s head had been split open and carefully wrapped it with a blanket she found on the back seat. For the next 40 minutes Cota kept Vrooman calm and awake until paramedics could arrive.
As a result of the incident, Vrooman suffered four broken ribs, a skull fracture requiring 25 staples to close and a punctured lung. He and Cota have remained in contact to this day.
Additionally, Harley Robbins, a former Centinela State Prison correctional sergeant, was awarded the CDCR’s Gold Star.
The Gold Star medal is awarded to employees who display courage in the face of immediate peril while acting to save the life of another person, CDCR stated.
Robbins was recognized for diving into a local canal to extract a 16-year-old girl who was trapped inside an overturned and submerged vehicle following a vehicle accident that took place at an undisclosed date and location.
He was able to transfer her to the canal bank, where both he and an off-duty doctor began life-saving measures, resulting in the girl’s revival. Unfortunately, the girl was eventually removed from life support. Her family thanked Robbins and others for their help that kept her alive long enough for them to say goodbye, a CDCR press release stated.
As part of Friday’s virtual ceremony, CDCR recognized dozens of employees with Bronze, Silver and Gold Corrections Stars; Distinguished Service Medals; Beacon Awards, and medals for Correctional Officer, Correctional Supervisor and Executive of the Year.
“This year’s honoree’s shows that the bravery and professionalism of our staff extends beyond institution walls and into the community,” said CDCR Secretary Ralph Diaz during the pre-recorded awards ceremony.