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.
The Mesquite, Texas, Police Department received a call early one morning concerning a crashed sport-utility vehicle. Witnesses driving behind the vehicle indicated that it had lost control and collided with a steel post supporting a highway sign. Officers Ryan Nielsen and Autumn Soto headed to the accident scene upon hearing the call dispatched to officers further from the location. Upon arriving they found the vehicle in flames with its unconscious driver still inside—portions of his clothing also were on fire. Without hesitation the officers ran to the vehicle, which was filling with thick, toxic smoke, and pried open the driver’s side door. Officer Nielsen pulled the driver from the vehicle as Officer Soto extinguished the flames on his clothing and attempted to immobilize his broken leg. The driver later was taken to a hospital for treatment of his burns and broken bones.
Officer Nielsen
Officer Soto
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.