Thursday, January 13, 2000

What most people consider heroic actions are seen by Caddo Parish Sheriff’s deputies as being "all in a day’s work," things that are mentioned in passing, perhaps, at home in dinner-table conversation.

That character trait, Caddo Parish Sheriff Don Hathaway explained in a brief ceremony at the Caddo Correctional Center today, is why he was presenting the agency’s Certificate of Meritorious Service to Deputy Donald W. Webb nearly four years after the incident for which he was being recognized.

"Don Webb used the Heimlich maneuver to save the life of Sgt. Danny Wilburn in April 1996," Sheriff Hathaway explained. "Sgt. Wilburn expressed his gratitude to Don and the incident was left to rest. When we presented a Certificate of Meritorious Service to another deputy in November for a similar heroic action, Don’s family wrote me a letter outlining the incident in which their husband and father saved Sgt. Wilburn’s life."

The Sheriff went on to describe the incident as it was related to him by Webb’s family and as recalled by Wilburn. "Sometime in April 1996," the Sheriff said, "Sgt. Wilburn was eating lunch in his office here at the Caddo Correctional Center when a piece of food lodged in his throat, leaving him incapable of breathing. Another deputy was in the office at the time but was physically unable to help Sgt. Wilburn."

That deputy radioed a distress call, which was heard by Webb in the facility’s staff dining room. "Deputy Webb recognized the other deputy’s voice and knew where the call was coming from," Sheriff Hathaway continued. "He ran to the transportation office where he found Sgt. Wilburn in obvious life-threatening distress. Taking swift and decisive action, Deputy Webb performed the Heimlich maneuver twice before the food dislodged, allowing life-sustaining air to flow again into Sgt. Wilburn’s lungs."

With Wilburn, members of Webb’s family and other Sheriff’s Office employees looking on, the Sheriff presented the deputy with a mounted Certificate of Meritorious Service and a green uniform ribbon.

The Certificate of Meritorious Service is one of five major awards outlined in the Sheriff’s Office Superior Performance Awards and Recognition Program. Sheriff Hathaway said 30 awards have been presented since the program was initiated in 1988. "Not one of those awards was presented because the incident was called to our attention by the award recipient," the Sheriff continued. "Heroism is not something a person seeks and is generally not recognized by the hero at the time. That is especially true of Sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officers because they see many more life-threatening situations than the average citizen and view their own heroic actions as being just part of the job."

"I’m sure there have been many more incidents like this one that have gone unrecognized because no one has reported them to us," Sheriff Hathaway said. "I urge citizens who witness heroic actions by our deputies or other citizens to let us know about them. A telephone call to my office is enough to trigger the process that results in awards such as this one being presented."

The five major awards in the Sheriff’s Office Superior Performance Program are the Medal of Valor, Purple Heart, Medal of Merit, Distinguished Citizen Medal and Certificate of Meritorious Service. The Medals of Valor and Merit and the Purple Heart are given only to Sheriff’s deputies, while the Certificate of Meritorious may be given to deputies and private citizens. In addition to heroic actions, the Medal of Merit and Distinguished Citizen Medal may be presented for outstanding service over an extended period that obviously and significantly advances law enforcement in Caddo Parish.