Three Lancaster sheriff’s deputies were among 18 department members honored recently for heroic deeds at the annual Lifesaving Awards ceremony in Monterey Park. Deputies Jared J. Fletcher, Michael A. Gelardo and Estevan Perez were honored with medals for service “above and beyond” the call of duty.
In October 2013, while off-duty, Fletcher came upon a vehicle which had crashed into a telephone pole and caught fire. He stopped to render aid but the interior was filled with smoke. Unable to see the occupants, Fletcher opened the driver’s door and found a woman pinned against the steering wheel, awake but unresponsive. He removed her from the burning vehicle and, with the assistance of another motorist, the two pulled to safety a male passenger trapped beneath the dashboard.
One month earlier, Galardo and Perez were on patrol when they responded to a “person down” call. When they arrived at the scene, they found a female juvenile performing CPR on a nonresponsive person whom they learned had overdosed on drugs. Perez began chest compressions while Galardo monitored the victim’s airway. The two continued their rescue efforts until the person suddenly gasped for air. They remained on the scene until Los Angeles County Fire arrived and transported the victim alive but in critical condition.
“The Lifesaving Award is presented to employees or reserve members of the department whose actions result in the saving or preservation of a human life that otherwise would have expired without the employee’s direct involvement,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff John Scott.
