Agenda Item #2A- Life Saving AwardAGENDA ITEM:
DATE:
SUBMITTED BY :
STAFF REPORT
City Of Atlantic Beach
Commission Meeting
Life Sav in g Award
December 8, 2014
Victor L. Gual ill o -Poli ce Co mmand e r \,\~\
AG~NOA ITEM #2A
OECEM IJER 8, 2014
BACKGROUND: The C ity o r Atlanti c Bea ch Pol ice Departm ent recogni zes departm ent memb ers
fo r th e ir excepti onal performan ce in the a rea of pre se rvat io n of hum an life.
Whil e an office r's dail y act ions ma y ultimately re su lt in in creased sa fet y to th e publi c, th ere ai'C some
c irc um s tances when officers enco unter immin en t s ituation s where th eir acti o ns have an un deniab le
and direct e ffect to save a life.
Atl a ntic Beac h Poli ce Officers, Ja so n Fi sse l and Stephe n Davis responded to th e rep o rt of a man who
was threa tening to jum p off of the Intr acoastal Wat erway Brid ge at 11 :09 PM on October 06, 20 14 .
Officers Fisse l and Dav is arri ved at th e top of th e Intra coas tal Wat erway Brid ge and saw a mal e
lea nin g forw ard agai nst th e barri er WHII and gua rdrail out ove r the water. The offi cers spo ke to the
man and lea rn ed that he had just cra shed hi s ca r in a s in gle ve hi c le accide nt on the bridge. The
o fficer s mana ge d to pos iti on th e mse lves o n either side o f the citizen and Officer fi ssel engaged him in
co nversa ti on. The man told th e offi ce rs that he wanted to take hi s ow n life. Officer f issc l kept
d istrac t ing th e citi ze n by talking to him about the acc ident , shinin g hi s fla shli g ht on paperwork that
was on the ground and finally by drop ping hi s fla shli ght on th e gro und , whi ch al lowed Officer Davis
to inch closer to him . By int e nti ona lly droppin g hi s fl as hli ght , Officer Fi sse l's qui ck thinkin g allowed
Officer Dav is the fina l opp ortunit y to move, unn oti ced, th e la st few feet towa rd the c iti zen and grab
him , pullin g him awa y from the edge o f th e brid ge. The offi ce rs had to wres tl e th e man away from the
edge of th e brid ge to a point of sa fety, where th ey were ab le to secu re him and place him into th e back
of a po lice c rui se r. Once th e s itu ati on l1acl ca lmed, Oflicer Davi s was able to ta lk to the c iti ze n, vvho
told him th at he wa s a co mb at ve teran who s uf fered fr om Pos t Traumatic Stress.
Th ese Officers ex hibited excep ti ona l professiona li sm, bravery and teamwork whi le wo rkin g to save
the life o f a person ill grea t di stress. It is with great pride that I re co mm end th ese officers for th e
Po lice Depa 1tment's Life Sav in g award. The officers will be rec og nized with a n o ffi c ia l lett er
re co rd in g th e ir ac hieveme nt a nd be auth o1·ized to \Vea r th e agenc ies Life Sav in g award pin o n th eir
uniform .
BUDGET:N/A
RECOM M F.NOATIONS : To rc cog ni t.:e Officers Fis sel and Davi s al th e Dece mb er 8, 20 14
Co mmi ss ion Me etin g and present th em wi th th e Life Savin g awa rd .
ATTACHMENTS: N/A ..