Life Saving Heroics Recognized
Sonora, CA — Tuolumne County Sheriff Bill Pooley awarded his office’s Life-Saving Medal to his Corporal Andrew Long and Calaveras County Deputy Jason Markovitz.
They helped rescue a man who was suicidal on the Parrotts Ferry bridge back on Monday, February 8. The special recognition was given because the heroic actions directly helped save a life.
It was presented at today’s Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors meeting. Deputy Markovitz could not be in attendance because he was called to a court case, so Calaveras Sheriff Rick Dibasilio accepted it on his behalf.
Sheriff Dibasilio stated the two counties work incredibly well together and are staffed with wonderful men and women.
Dibasilio added, “These guys and gals do this every day. This is what they signed on for and they enjoy doing it. In law enforcement, we have taken a bad rap (nationally) for quite a while recently, and this just shows the dedication that these men and women have in our communities.”
It was noted that a picture taken of the brave rescue has been shared across the country.
Corporal Long was in attendance, and stated, “Everything we do in law enforcement, and first responders, is a team effort. So, there is no way I could have done this by myself. We had some great people that day. Jason did an amazing job helping me out, search and rescue did an amazing job, and in my opinion I got some help from above, and thankfully he’s (man rescued) here today and got the help he needed.”
The individual board of supervisors each offered high praise for the heroics and approved a proclamation recognizing the two law enforcement officers.
