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.
Early one morning, Officer Edwardo Hernandez of The Colony, Texas, Police Department, along with several other officers, including Lieutenant Brian Baker and Officers Marcus Maxie, Chris Bell, and Neal Bakker, responded to a major collision on a local boulevard. Upon arrival, the officers located an electric vehicle that had crashed between two barricades on the overpass. The vehicle was on fire, and the officers immediately attempted to quench the flames with fire extinguishers. However, each time the fire was extinguished, it immediately reignited.
Officer Hernandez realized the driver was still inside and retrieved his department-issued breaching tools, including a sledgehammer and Halligan bar, from his patrol vehicle. As the other officers continued to combat the flames, Officer Hernandez shattered the driver’s side window, cut the vehicle’s side airbag, and pulled the disoriented driver to safety. Immediately after removal of the driver, the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames.
Several officers were treated for smoke inhalation but were soon back to duty. The driver was transported to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
Officer Edwardo Hernandez
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.