FO officers celebrated for heroic actions
Two Fort Oglethorpe police officers received special recognition in mid-august for their life-saving efforts in the line of duty earlier this year.
During the Aug. 12 City Council meeting, Police Chief Mike Helton presented officers Ethan Sarrell and Justin Ruth with letters of commendation and commemorative awards for their heroic efforts that saved two lives in March and April of this year respectively.
“We’d like the council to know the actions these officers have taken while serving in this city and then present them with these awards and letters of commendation,” Helton said.
According to Helton, the incident involving Sarrell occurred on March 19 and resulted in him helping to save the life of an 18-yearold arrestee.
After being dispatched to a domestic dispute at Cloud Springs Lodge, Sarrell arrested an 18-year-old male and his mother. The incident took a turn while Sarrell was transporting the duo to jail.
“During the transport to the Catoosa County Detention Center, you noticed the son had ceased verbally communicating with his mom, and the mother alerted you at that time that her son had stopped breathing,” Chief Helton explained.
Helton said the man slumped over in his seat and became motionless, which prompted Sarrell to change his course of action.
“At the time of your arrival at the jail, with the mother frantic knowing her son was not breathing and that something was seriously wrong, you began an assessment and alerted the jail staff of the situation,” Helton recalled. “You recognized the need to remove the gentleman from your car.”
Sarrell put the young man on the ground and began checking him for a pulse. He then called EMTS and began CPR on the young man.
“After multiple rounds of CPR and three doses of Narcan, the young man had regained a pulse and began to breathe again,” Helton said. “The emergency medical responders soon arrived and transported the young man to the hospital.”
Obviously impacted and invested in the situation, Helton says Sarrell even went back to check on the young man later in the day after he was taken to the hospital, a follow up that wasn’t lost on the man’s family.
The mother told police her son had taken a combination of drugs and mixed those with alcohol earlier in the day before his arrest, which resulted in his body shutting down.
“During the investigative interview, the mother stated that the officer was the best officer she had ever met and that that man saved my son’s life,” Helton said. “After the young man was interviewed, he stated that if he had gone to bed that night, he might not have woken up and that ‘he saved my life.’”
Helton said efforts like Sarrell’s are what serving and protecting the community are all about.
“The city of Fort Oglethorpe and the police department acknowledge your actions, which contributed to saving this young man’s life, and we thank you for delivering excellent service to those who need protected.”
As for Officer Justin Ruth, on April 2 he responded to a residential fire and was able to pull a woman from a burning home.
Multiple officers responded to the residential structure fire on Dogwood Drive in Fort Oglethorpe, but Ruth was the first one on the scene.
“You were the first responder to arrive at this scene and you immediately noticed the residence was engulfed in tall, visible flames coming from the rear, garage, and roof areas,” Helton explained. “You immediately began scanning the windows and doors in an attempt to determine if anyone was still inside the residence. While doing so, you observed a female pacing back and forth inside a bedroom window.”
Ruth communicated his findings to dispatch and to emergency crews, and then made contact with the female. Ruth tried to get the woman to open the window, but she was unable to.
“You recognized the imminent danger the female was in due to the flames getting closer and with the smoke levels in the home, you knew it was imperative to get her out of that residence,” Helton recalled to Ruth. “You instructed the female to back away from the window and grab a blanket while you utilized your departmentissued baton and broke out and cleared the glass before extricating the homeowner from the residence through the window uninjured and got her to the other side of the street.”
In addition to the letters of commendation, Helton presented each officer with a commemorative award with an inscription that read “In recognition of your outstanding service and commitment to our community.”
After the ceremony, the City Council and those in the audience gave the officer a congratulatory standing ovation.
“Thank you gentlemen for your outstanding service,” Mayor Earl Gray said.