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Above and Beyond honors two lifesavers By
Ann Ball
The gulf Coast Region Chapter of ASSIST honored two Houston security officers as lifesavers at the April meeting. Through the Above and Beyond Program, the officers were presented with trophies and certificates commemorating their quick thought and action.
Officer John Hawkins of Armadillo security was relieved on post by a fellow officer who immediately sat down in a chair and appeared to fall asleep. Realizing something was wrong, Hawkins phoned the man�s family who informed him the man was diabetic and might be going into diabetic shock. Hawkins phoned 911 for paramedics and then gave the man some food to raise his blood sugar. Hawkins� prompt action saved the man�s life.
Officer Dollie Daugherty of TOS Security was on duty on a boat docked at Lake Conroe when she noticed a lady step onto a narrow walkway dividing her post from the next berth. The woman tripped on a rope and fell into the water. Officer Daugherty raced over and, noticing the woman was not coming back up, was able to reach into the water and grab her by the arm and pull her head above water. Reinforcements arrived and helped Officer Daugherty pull the woman to safety.
These officers exemplify the modern professional security officer and their companies and ASSIST are justly proud of them. The Above and Beyond program was established in the Gulf Coast Region to acknowledge and honor security officers for their performance in a number of categories.
Officer Pete Arselmo of Armadillo Security was also presented a Quick Thought and Action award. Pete recently broke up a theft ring, employee pilferage, at a client�s account.
Four Officers of IPC International also earned Quick Thought and Action awards. Martin Torres noticed a can which appeared to be having mechanical problems with smoke coming from it. He instructed the driver to get out of the car, notified the fire department, and radioed for a mobile unit with a fire extinguisher. His quick action prevented a potentially larger problem with surrounding vehicles. Mobile patrol Officer Steven Cantu was approached by a man who claimed he had been robbed at gunpoint. Officer Cantu observed the suspect in a vehicle, noted the license number, and notified police who were able to arrest the suspect and return the victim�s property. Officer Jesus Delgado responded to a call regarding 3 suspicious individuals in the parking lot. On his arrival, the complainant pointed out the suspects and officer Delgado called for police to meet with him. The individuals were found to have items stolen from vehicles in the lot and were arrested. Officer Edgar Williams was on interior patrol of a retail area when he noticed a person in a tenant space whom he did not recognize. When Williams went to question the man, the suspect leapt over a counter and fled. Officer Williams kept him in site as he called for police and was able to identify him to the officer responding. Burglary of the tenant�s property was averted.
Fred Rattler of En Garde Protection was honored with an Excellence in Daily Performance award for his management skills, writing an officer training manual for the client�s new CCTV system, and training officers on post.
Chris Martinez of Blue Moon earned his four star award in the program.
A number of officers were presented certificates for attendance at LEAPS. The LEAPS program is a cooperative effort between the Houston Police Department and ASSIST. Any security officer throughout the city is eligible to attend and there is no cost. This is a wonderful learning opportunity for the officers who earn star bars for attendance at four seminars. Recent programs have emphasized identity theft protection, self defense tactics, the use of Tasers, gang activity detection, and other items of particular interest to security.
Houston LEAPS meets the last Thursday of every other month; May 31st is the next meeting.
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