Bulletin Notes

Law enforcement officers are challenged daily in the performance of their duties; they face each challenge freely and unselfishly while answering the call to duty. In certain instances, their actions warrant special attention from their respective departments. The Bulletin also wants to recognize those situations that transcend the normal rigors of the law enforcement profession.

Troopers James Hearne and Ruben Benavidez of the New Jersey State Police were driving on a highway while on patrol one afternoon when they were waved down by the parents of a boy with special needs who was choking on food and not breathing. Trooper Hearne proceeded to perform the Heimlich maneuver on the 13-year-old boy, holding him up because he could not stand on his own. Trooper Benavidez—with just 2 weeks experience on patrol—handled traffic control, communicated with dispatch, and calmed down the frantic parents in their native Spanish. After several attempts to dislodge the food, Trooper Hearne cleared the obstruction from the boy’s airway. Following several minutes of observation, the boy was placed in his wheelchair, and no further medical attention was required.

Troopers James Hearne and Ruben Benavidez of the New Jersey State Police performed the Heimlich maneuver on a 13-year-old boy with special needs who was choking and not breathing, clearing the obstruction from the boy’s airway.

  Trooper Hearne

Troopers James Hearne and Ruben Benavidez of the New Jersey State Police performed the Heimlich maneuver on a 13-year-old boy with special needs who was choking and not breathing, clearing the obstruction from the boy’s airway.

  Trooper Benavidez


Nominations for the Bulletin Notes should be based on either the rescue of one or more citizens or arrest(s) made at unusual risk to an officer’s safety. Submissions should include a short write-up (maximum of 250 words), a separate photograph of each nominee, and a letter from the department’s ranking officer endorsing the nomination. Submissions can be e-mailed to leb@ic.fbi.gov or mailed to Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA 22135.