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County Recognizes SCV Deputies For Saving Lives

Los Angeles County honored several Santa Clarita Valley deputies for life-saving measures Thursday, for several rescues.


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We are very proud of the men and women of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department who were presented the Lifesaving Award,” said Capt. Roosevelt Johnson of Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “Our deputies are out in the field saving lives as part of their day-to-day duties, not looking for any sort of recognition. But, it is great when we can formally recognize them for saving a life that otherwise would have been lost if they had not taken certain actions.”

Sheriff Jim McDonnell recognized a total of 31 personnel with the Lifesaving Award, several from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, officials said.

“Baby not breathing” call

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Deputies Matthew Burnett, Christine Shaffer and Charles Weathers all responded to a “baby not breathing call” on Aug. 1, 2015, in a mobile-home park.

Their immediate response to a 2-year-old child “unconscious and very pale in color,” according an LASD statement. The child had reportedly been face down in the community pool for approximately 10 minutes.

Shaffer began checking the child’s vital signs and airway, while Weathers and Burnett, who were working with the nearby Parks Bureau station — Weathers applying a big-valve mask to assist in breathing by forcing air into the child’s lungs, as Burnett connected an oxygen tank to the mask — which were actions directly credited with saving the infant’s life.

Fire Department officials were on scene within about three minutes of the deputies, and assisted the personnel on scene. Within about two minutes, after their efforts, the child began to show signs of breathing and crying. Burnett wrapped a blanket around the child to prevent shock, and the child was air-lifted to a local hospital.

Christmas-time rescue

Deputy David A. Nissenoff, another SCV deputy honored for life-saving work last week, was recognized for deeds that took place on Christmas Eve 2012. He was also called to a person-not-breathing call, this time with an adult.

Deputies on scene later learned that a husband went to the store to get medicine for his wife, who was at home with pneumonia. His wife had become unresponsive, and their 9-year-old son called 911.

When Nissenoff arrived on scene, he began assisting the husband, who was performing CPR, by giving chest compressions. When Fire Department officials arrived on scene, the woman was transported to a local hospital.

Due to oxygen deprivation, the victim was given a 5 percent survival chance and the potential for a vegetative state upon recovery.

“After an extended stay in the hospital, the victim made a full physical and mental recovery with the exception of the loss of her fingertips due to oxygen deprivation,” according to a Sheriff’s Department news release.

Life-saving CPR

Deputy Cesar Ochoa was stationed with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station when he responded to a call from someone who reported a man had fallen and was bleeding from his head.

 

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Ochoa arrived on scene and found the man laying on the ground, and after checking his vital signs, could not detect a pulse, according to Sheriff’s officials.

Ochoa began to perform CPR, assisted by Fire Department officials who arrived on scene, and ultimately, saved the individual’s life.

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County Recognizes SCV Deputies For Saving Lives

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.