Joshua Patterson was honored for jumping in to help a police officer along Highway 10 last September. He saw an officer fighting with a woman on the side of the road and stopped to help. The officer was trying to keep the woman from walking into traffic when things became confrontational.
“Officer Breems was actually injured,” said Chief Brian Podany. “At the time that Joshua showed up, the female was digging her finger nails into Officer Breems’ face and trying to dig into his eye. He certainly could have been hurt much worse than he was. For someone to stop and put themselves in danger to try to help us out, when Officer Breems was trying to help this person originally, it certainly goes above and beyond.”
In a separate case, Hope Nelson was honored with a life saving award for helping a suicidal person on a bridge over Highway 10. She stopped her car and ran through a ditch to get to the person to offer comfort to keep her calm until police arrived.
Chief Podany praised the effort.
“We can’t be everywhere all the time so we have citizens like Hope that step up to help people in need. A life-saving award is an understatement.”
Another person who pulled the woman off the bridge will receive a life-saving award later.
Podany says being a good citizen is about caring for those who live next door, or who you happen to be driving by during a crisis.
“When we get to recognize people out there who are doing wonderful things to make this a better place, I think it’s a win for everyone in the room,” said Podany.
