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.

One evening, Indiana State Trooper Jacob Bill saw an officer with the Winona Lake Police Department (WLPD) drive through an intersection with his lights and siren on. Although off duty, Trooper Bill was in his police car, so he went to see if he could assist.

Trooper Bill and the responding Winona Lake officer stopped just past the intersection and ran to a retention pond, where several adults were yelling, “Over here.” A child was about 25 yards out in the water and had fallen through the thin ice.

Quickly, Trooper Bill ran into the water, swam out to the child, grabbed him by the collar, and tried to get him to shore. As he got closer to shore, he was caught up in the broken ice. WLPD Officer Dave Swain entered the water to help Trooper Bill and the child, and Sergeant Joe Bumbaugh assisted from shore to get all three out of the water.

The child, an 11-year-old boy, was taken to Sergeant Bumbaugh’s truck to warm up. Then he was transferred by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was treated and released.

Trooper Jacob Bill

Trooper Jacob Bill

Sergeant Joseph Bumbaugh

Sergeant Joe Bumbaugh

Officer Dave Swain

Officer Dave Swain

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 e-mailed to leb@fbi.gov or mailed to Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA 22135.