HERO OF THE YEAR VOTING

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

 We now have our 4 FOP Heros for each quarter of 2024.  

We need your vote to determine who the Hero of the year will be.

Please post your VOTE in the comments section as to who you want to win. 

 This will be the only place where I will count votes. 

 ALL votes must be in by December 4, 2024**

See the nominees listed below.

1ST  QTR

JOSH  COLLINS

Two incidents:

On 08/20/23, Correctional Officer Josh Collins was traveling north bound on I-580 approaching the 580, bridge. Officer Collins witnessed multiple vehicles on the shoulder of the road and a motorcycle in the travel lane on its side and an individual laying in the same travel lane. Collins pulled his POV over to offer assistance. The rider of the motorcycle was alert and oriented, however complained of hip and back pain Collins checked for other injuries and found none were present. He maintained c-spine and continued evaluating his mental status by asking questions. Once EMS arrived, they asked if he could continue to maintain c-spine as they secured him to the backboard and loaded him into the ambulance. 

On 11/10/23, Josh was traveling on I-80 near Verdi where he witnessed a single vehicle Accident occur in the opposite travel lane. the vehicle struck the cable lane divider and the vehicle spun back into the roadway coming to rest on the shoulder of the road. Josh got off on the next exit and pulled over to offer medical aid. He asked the driver questions to check the alert and oriented status, but the driver of the vehicle appeared to be incoherent and have an altered mental status. The driver began to have multiple seizures, Josh counted the duration of each seizure and provided cervical spine immobilization “C-Spine” The driver became unresponsive. Thinking quickly, Josh checked for pulse and respiration but found neither were present. He determined CPR was necessary during the process of CPR the driver regained consciousness. Once EMS arrived, they took control of the scene.

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2ND QTR

JEFFREY ROMERO

On March 26, 2024 Officers E Gonzalez and Zuniga were conducting mass searches as instructed by supervisors. At approximately 1100 hours the officers were exposed to an unknown substance, they were given Narcan. Zuniga was fine but E Gonzalez began  to throw up and needed medical attention. While the officers were in operations waiting for their C1 packet and getting the ok to leave J Romero noticed that E Gonzalez was getting worse. J Romero and I picked up Gonzalez walked him to the parking lot and put him into Romero’s vehiclewith Zuniga. Zuniga said that Romero got on the freeway passing vehicles and one state trooper and did not stop until he had to exit. Romero did not care about himself his only concern was the officer’s well-being. I believe if it was not for Romero getting Gonzalez to the hospital as fast as he did Gonzalez might have had permanent health problems. Romero is my nominee for the Hero award.

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 3RD QTR

CERT Officer MIGUEL FULLER .

On May 31st, 2024, CERT Officer Fuller was driving to work when he came upon the catastrophic wreckage from the wrong-way head-on collision involving his Team Commander, Lt. Rivera, and another motorist.  Fuller was first on scene and immediately stopped his vehicle to render aid.  He ran to the first car, which had visibly rolled over, and discovered that the occupant was Lt. Rivera, who was in critical condition.  Fuller immediately initiated the medical response, engaging in clear, concise, and correct communications with various parties to coordinate the proper and necessary response.  This included providing a detailed description of the nature and extent of the medical emergency, conveying the condition of the injured occupants to Dispatch.  He also advised the duty Captain that the critical party was his Lieutenant, which expedited the communication chain and was paramount to the launching of the Flight For Life helicopter.  When a second motorist stopped to provide assistance, Fuller swiftly took command of the situation by directing their attention to the other crashed vehicle and occupant.  After Nevada Highway Patrol and Rescue personnel arrived, Fuller advised them that the roof of Lt. Rivera’s vehicle was crushed, impeding operation of the door.  He further advised that his leg was pinned, entrapping him within the vehicle and necessitating prompt use of the “Jaws of Life” device to safely extract Lt. Rivera from the wreckage so that he could expeditiously be loaded on board the helicopter.  Prior to departure of the helicopter from the scene, Fuller provided a statement and confirmed that Lt. Rivera was being airlifted to UMC hospital. He then provide a thorough and complete synopsis to High Desert State Prison Shift Command to inform them of the situation and initiate the required notifications.  From there, he began searching for and collecting personal belongings which had been ejected from the vehicle and strewn about the desert along the interstate.  He continued to serve above and beyond by approaching traffic which had been stopped, unable to proceed along the highway, to advise them of the need for alternate routing to get around the crash site.  Throughout this entire hectic incident while awaiting rescue, Fuller remained with Lt. Rivera, keeping him alert and speaking, providing him with invaluable life-saving support.  Moreover, as first responder, he calmly and confidently secured the scene and took command of the situation amidst a turmoil of stress, by initiating critical communications and directing the proper and necessary level of response.  His actions were vital to the successful aeromedical evacuation of the critically injured Lt. Rivera, as well as the other unknown motorist, and subsequently proved crucial to the life-saving measures which enabled this event to miraculously conclude with zero loss of life.  Lt. Rivera survived this collision in enormous part to the heroic and decisive actions of Fuller that morning.  CERT Officer Fuller epitomizes what it means to be an emergency response expert, a teammate, a servant of the community, and a sworn Peace Officer of the State of Nevada.  There is no more deserving of this award for heroic actions than he is. 

4TH  QTR                                                                                                                                                          

 PAUL  LUNKWITZ

 Nominated by a member,  our President Paul, due to him being always available at any time of the day, whenever anyone has a question by phone or email.. God bless our FOP brothers.  For his work with the local news stations updating them on our issues. And being the go between for officers and upper management.