Bulletin Notes
Law enforcement officers are challenged daily in the performance of their duties; they face each encounter 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.
Officer Wesley Washburn
Officer Caleb Boyer
Officer Nicholas Appell
One afternoon, Officers Wesley Washburn, Caleb Boyer, and Nicholas Appell of the Pekin, Illinois, Police Department were dispatched to a partially frozen lake for multiple reports of a 4-year-old boy walking on thin ice. While en route, the officers were advised the child had fallen through the ice and was underwater.
Upon arrival, Officer Washburn jumped into the frigid waters and swam toward the child, who was now lifelessly floating face-down in the water. The officer punched through the ice for more than 30 feet to reach the boy and fought through hypothermia and tightening muscles while trying to get him to safety. Officers Boyer and Appell also jumped into the water and, using a ski rope, helped pull Officer Washburn and the boy back to shore. Deputy Chief Tony Rendleman and Captain Ron Hawkins of the Pekin Fire Department immediately began CPR on the child, who regained consciousness and made a full recovery.
Nominations for the Bulletin Notes should be based on either the rescue of one or more citizens or an arrest(s) made at unusual risk to an officer’s safety. Submissions should include a short write-up, a separate photograph of each nominee, and a letter from the department’s ranking officer endorsing the nomination. Submissions can be emailed to leb@fbi.gov.