An officer who saved a child’s life, a citizen who administered first aid to a critically-injured coworker, and a sergeant who set up a vital mobile command system now sought by other agencies were among the honorees Wednesday at the Santa Maria Police Department Awards Luncheon.
More than 200 people attended the luncheon held at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge which was sponsored by the Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce and Visitor & Convention Bureau.
“Today we’re going to be honoring some very special individuals for outstanding accomplishments and acts of heroism over the course of the past year,” Police Chief Ralph Martin said.
Sgt. Russ Mengel, recently promoted to community services supervisor, was named Officer of the Year for 2014, a recognition that he serves the department with excellence on a regular basis.
Mengel developed and implemented the Incident Command System, ensuring patrol supervisors’ vehicles are properly equipped to served as mobile command posts during critical incidents, Martin said.
Other agencies have requested Mengel’s assistance as they attempt to develop a similar program, Martin said.
“Our department has been described as the model to follow for other agencies trying to implement the ICS system in their own jurisdictions, and much of this is due to Sgt. Mengel,” Martin said.
Officer Roberto Ruiz was presented the Lifesaving Award for his role in saving a toddler who swallowed a marble and stopped breathing. In May, Ruiz was flagged down by a hysterical man who said he and his wife were transporting their 3-year-old child who swallowed a marble and wasn’t breathing.
“Realizing the child was not breathing, the airway was completely obstructed, Officer Ruiz performed the Heimlich maneuver in an attempt to dislodge the marble. After a few minutes, and probably some terrifying times for everyone involved, the child began to breath on his own,” Martin said.
An X-ray taken at the hospital revealed the marble had entered the child’s stomach. While the chief joked that the Heimlich should get the lodged item out of the patient, Martin added, “Either way you did a great job.”
A doctor later credited Ruiz’s efforts for dislodging the marble from the child’s airway.
“You were at the right place at the right to save this child’s life. You immediately identified the problem. You remained calm and effectively performed the maneuver as you were taught,” Martin said.
The chief also gave out Distinguished Citizen Awards for people involved in two different incidents in 2014.
One went to Aurelia Vega, a neighborhood sales representative for Heritage Square development, for her lifesaving measures Dec. 8.
Hearing a construction worker’s cry for help, Vega instantly responded to find a man had been badly injured on his thigh by a hand-held Sawzall reciprocating saw.
“While other employees seemed a little confused and unsure what to do, Ms. Vega wasted no time,” Martin said. “She took a belt from one of the other employees. She used it as a tourniquet on the victim’s leg.”
Additionally, she grabbed towels to apply pressure on the wound to stem the bleeding until rescuers arrived and transported the man to the hospital.
“Ms.Vega’s immediate response and efforts were instrumental in saving the man’s life,” Martin said.
The chief also recognized three city landfill workers — Robert Cossa, Douglas Shearer and George Torres — for their critical roles in helping locate a missing student with special needs last year.
Carla Amado was named the winner of the Dispatcher of the Year Award. Amado, hired in 2008, delivers strong customer service in the role as “the Vin Scully of the department,” Martin said.
She also represented the agency at several job fairs, decorating the booth using her own resources and talking to hundreds of people about the career.
Records Bureau worker Nina Toedte was given the Support Employee of the Year Award for being a steady influence amid big changes, the chief said. She also took on the efforts of revising data after the discovery of some erroneous numbers and worked to ensure the errors don’t continue.
She also received a Certificate of Commendation for her performance while serving as acting police records supervisor.
These honors came as the Records Bureau coped with a heavy workload. To put it in perspective, Martin said, the agency arrested approximately 3,000 people. In 2014, the number climbed 62 percent to 4,800 — the highest probably in the history of the department and something police attribute to having more officers on the streets, Martin said.
The Records Bureau staff earned the Distinguished Team Award, recognizing their role in processing more than 12,000 police reports, maintaining records, answering phone calls and dealing with people who come into the station.
“They have performed their duties unselfishly, often working addition hours to maintain mandated deadlines and have increased the operational hours at the front window, providing additional service to the public,” Martin said.
The chief also spotlighted the department’s employees of the quarter for 2014 as those who served in an exceptional manner for the three-month period — Officer Andrew Brice, Officer Ernie Salinas, Officer Scott Casey and Detective Herminio Rodriguez.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.