June 1, 2011

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. 

Deputy Roger Schreader of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office in Lockport, New York pulled to safety the drivers of two cars that had been in an accident and were on fire. Schreader was a Bulletin Notes recipient in June 2011.

Deputy Schreader

Deputy Roger Schreader of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office in Lockport, New York, responded to an emergency call for a traffic accident. While en route to the scene, Deputy Schreader received news that the vehicle had caught fire while a victim remained inside. When he arrived at the accident, the deputy observed a female trapped in the locked vehicle. The deputy used a fire extinguisher to break the car windows and partially extinguish the flames. Then, he cut the driver’s seatbelt and pulled her to safety. When the fire soon intensified and spread to the second vehicle, Deputy Schreader rescued the driver of that vehicle as well. The victims recovered fully at a nearby hospital. 

On his first day as the commander of a mountain substation, Sergeant William Walton of the Placer County, California, Sheriff’s Department drove over a local bridge that has served as the site of many suicides since its construction. As he passed across the span, Sergeant Walton noticed a woman acting suspiciously. Sensing something was not right, he turned around. As he approached her, she climbed over and hung onto the outside of the bridge’s railing. Immediately, Sergeant Walton went to her and, accompanied through most of the ordeal by Deputies Michael Bennett and Paul Long, spoke with her, trying to convince her to return to safety. After four hours, the woman climbed over voluntarily and was transported for psychiatric care.


Sergeant William Walton and Deputies Michael Bennett and Paul Long of the Placer County, California Sheriff’s Department talked a woman out of committing suicide on a bridge. Walton was a Bulletin Notes recipient in June 2011.

Sergeant Walton

Sergeant William Walton and Deputies Michael Bennett and Paul Long of the Placer County, California Sheriff’s Department talked a woman out of committing suicide on a bridge. Bennett was a Bulletin Notes recipient in June 2011.

Deputy Bennett

Sergeant William Walton and Deputies Michael Bennett and Paul Long of the Placer County, California Sheriff’s Department talked a woman out of committing suicide on a bridge. Long was a Bulletin Notes recipient in June 2011.

Deputy Long

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 should be sent to the Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA 22135.