Going the extra mile was the focus of a special awards ceremony Tuesday afternoon (4/10/2012) at the Rutherford County Sheriffs Office. Nine people’s lives were saved by the efforts of 12 Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office officers during the past 13 months.
Sheriff Robert Arnold presented Lifesaving ribbons to the officers and commented, “I am proud of all of you,” He also thanked the families who supported the deputies in their careers.
Officers Who Received LIFE SAVING Awards
Patrol Deputy Luis Parra-Flores saved the wife of a mother who contemplated taking her own life March 8, 2011.
Patrol Deputy Roscoe Sanders risked his life to save a sleeping man when fire engulfed his home Aug. 3, 2011.
SRO Carl Watts of Smyrna Middle School rescued a child who planned to take his life Sept. 20, 2011.
SRO Sgt. Irvin Turner of Siegel High found a missing high school student armed with a knife threatening herself and other students Sept. 26, 2011. Turner calmed her down and convinced her to drop the knife without harming anyone.
Training Cpl. Greg Wassom negotiated with an armed, suicidal man for two hours and persuaded him not to take his own life Dec. 22, 2011.
Patrol Sgt. Trent Givens and Deputies Matt Powell and Shane Vaughn performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a man who suffered a heart attack at his home Jan. 14. They were able to save his life.
Detention Cpl. Joshua Cope observed an inmate hanging himself with a sheet in booking Feb. 10. Cpl. Cope lifted the inmate up and cut him down to save his life.
ICE Deputy Christian Wrather came upon a citizen having a heart attack and started CPR Feb. 16. Sgt. Mike George joined Wrather in performing CPR and saved the citizen’s life.
Patrol Deputy Jeff Verbruggen responded to a man suffering heart a heart attack March 25. He started CPR and followed the prompts of his Automated External Defibrillator to save the man’s life.
Protect and Serve
Three patrol deputies earned awards for their persistence in seizing more than 200 pounds of cocaine.
Sheriff Arnold presented a Sheriff’s Commendation to Patrol Cpl. Brian Wright for his persistence in an investigation that led to the recovery of more than 200 pounds of cocaine April 3 in the rural Florence community. The sheriff recognized Patrol Sgt. Chris Kauffman for using his experience in the investigation and Deputy Mike Hoekstra and K-9 Balu for locating the cocaine hidden in a horse trailer.
Narcotics Detective Sedric Fields received the first Officer of the Month award for seizing $14,996 from illegal drug proceeds in July.
Sanders risked his life to save a sleeping man when fire engulfed his home Aug. 3, 2011.
Watts of Smyrna Middle School rescued a child who planned to take his life Sept. 20, 2011.
Sgt. Turner saved the life of a high school student armed with a knife Sept. 26, 2011. Turner calmed her down and convinced her to drop the knife without harming anyone.
Cpl. Wassom negotiated with an armed, suicidal man for two hours and persuaded him not to take his own life Dec. 22, 2011.
Sgt. Jimmy Cassidy organized the Shop with a Sheriff event to provide Christmas to about 25 students and coordinated three Christmas parades.
SRO Michael Martin spotted a man threatening people while armed with a pistol Jan. 6 on the street in front of La Vergne School. SRO Martin recovered the pistol from the suspect and filed several felony charges against him.
Deputy Jon Levi of the Mounted Patrol Division worked with several Eagle Scouts to map and mark horse trails in the county to make the trails safer for citizens. Each trail will be marked with signs and will have GPS coordinates to allow quicker response time by emergency personnel.
Deputy Verbruggen responded to a man suffering heart a heart attack March 25. He started CPR and followed the prompts of his Automated External Defibrillator to save the man’s life.
Family members and friends attended the ceremony to support the deputies.
Ford of Murfreesboro Honors Deputies Monthly
Sheriff Arnold also presented awards to nine officers named as Deputies of the Month. Owner/General Manager David Lee of Ford of Murfreesboro presents an engraved watch each month to an outstanding officer chosen by the sheriff’s office.
