MIDDLETON - Two sergeants from the Essex County Sheriff's Department were honored Friday at the annual Correctional Employee of the Year awards ceremony.
During the ceremony - presented by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, and hosted at the Massachusetts State House - Sgt. Jonathan Credit received the Medal of Honor and Sgt. Dennis Laubner received a Letter of Commendation, for their "outstanding acts of bravery and heroism in the line of duty," according to a press release from the Essex County Sheriff's department.
Credit's "quick action and professionalism in the face of danger" earned him the Medal of Honor - the highest award given to an officer. On Saturday, Feb. 21, Credit was working a Massachusetts State Police snow removal detail in Gloucester when he spotted a shooting suspect driving on the road. He pursued the suspect, accused of shooting a Minglewood Tavern bouncer, while requesting backup from Gloucester Police. Credit stopped the suspect's vehicle on Essex Avenue, Route 133, and ordered him to surrender.
Laubner received his Letter of Commendation for his response to a heroin overdose. On Monday, May 18, while traveling with his inmate work crew in Lawrence, he passed a woman whose boyfriend had overdosed on heroin and was unconscious in the passenger seat of her car. Laubner instructed his crew to pull the man out of the car, and subsequently performed CPR on the side of the road. His efforts revived the man.
The incident was personal for Laubner, as he lost a son to a heroin overdose last June.
"We are exceptionally proud of both sergeants for their incredible acts of heroism," said Essex County Sheriff Frank G. Cousins Jr. "They will serve as example not only in Essex County, but also for correctional employees throughout the Commonwealth."
The ceremony recognized correctional employees from seven counties throughout the Commonwealth: Barnstable, Middlesex, Bristol, Norfolk, Plymouth, Essex and Suffolk. Officers from the Department of Correction were also honored.
Staff writer Amanda Ostuni can be reached at 978-338-2660 or aostuni@gloucestertimes.com.
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/news...cle_cbb1ce6f-299d-5311-b8d8-6698731c34ae.html
During the ceremony - presented by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, and hosted at the Massachusetts State House - Sgt. Jonathan Credit received the Medal of Honor and Sgt. Dennis Laubner received a Letter of Commendation, for their "outstanding acts of bravery and heroism in the line of duty," according to a press release from the Essex County Sheriff's department.
Credit's "quick action and professionalism in the face of danger" earned him the Medal of Honor - the highest award given to an officer. On Saturday, Feb. 21, Credit was working a Massachusetts State Police snow removal detail in Gloucester when he spotted a shooting suspect driving on the road. He pursued the suspect, accused of shooting a Minglewood Tavern bouncer, while requesting backup from Gloucester Police. Credit stopped the suspect's vehicle on Essex Avenue, Route 133, and ordered him to surrender.
Laubner received his Letter of Commendation for his response to a heroin overdose. On Monday, May 18, while traveling with his inmate work crew in Lawrence, he passed a woman whose boyfriend had overdosed on heroin and was unconscious in the passenger seat of her car. Laubner instructed his crew to pull the man out of the car, and subsequently performed CPR on the side of the road. His efforts revived the man.
The incident was personal for Laubner, as he lost a son to a heroin overdose last June.
"We are exceptionally proud of both sergeants for their incredible acts of heroism," said Essex County Sheriff Frank G. Cousins Jr. "They will serve as example not only in Essex County, but also for correctional employees throughout the Commonwealth."
The ceremony recognized correctional employees from seven counties throughout the Commonwealth: Barnstable, Middlesex, Bristol, Norfolk, Plymouth, Essex and Suffolk. Officers from the Department of Correction were also honored.
Staff writer Amanda Ostuni can be reached at 978-338-2660 or aostuni@gloucestertimes.com.
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/news...cle_cbb1ce6f-299d-5311-b8d8-6698731c34ae.html