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 Clark County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office received numerous 911 emergency calls reporting a house fire. Deputies Jolene Irons and Larry Alexander were only minutes from the address and responded to investigate. Upon arrival, the deputies saw thick black smoke coming from the rear of the house and discovered a large amount of fire venting through several windows. When they approached the house to search for occupants, they observed through the smoke an elderly woman, unconscious and slumped in a chair. Despite the extreme danger to themselves, Deputies Irons and Alexander entered the flaming structure to retrieve the occupant, who was not breathing and was completely covered in soot. The deputies brought the woman outside and, after several moments of attempting to revive her, enabled her to resume breathing. Her care was continued by emergency medical personnel, and the deputies were checked for smoke inhalation at the scene.

Deputies Jolene Irons and Larry Alexander of the Clark County, Ohio Sheriff’s Office rescued and revived an elderly woman overcome by smoke in a house fire. Irons was a Bulletin Notes recipient in December 2011.

  Deputy Irons

Deputies Jolene Irons and Larry Alexander of the Clark County, Ohio Sheriff’s Office rescued and revived an elderly woman overcome by smoke in a house fire. Alexander was a Bulletin Notes recipient in December 2011.

  Deputy Alexander


Sergeant Leonard Rogutski of the Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania Police Department rescued a young man who had capsized his kayak as he was heading towards a dangerous waterfall. Rogutski was Bulletin Notes recipient in December 2011.

  Sergeant Rogutski

Sergeant Leonard Rogutski of the Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Police Department responded to a 911 call at a local creek where a young man attempted to traverse a nearby weir and capsized his kayak. The strong current and undertow was pulling the man back toward a waterfall where one person died 3 weeks earlier. Upon arriving at the scene, Sergeant Rogutski deployed a rescue rope to the trapped boater and pulled the man to the shore where he was treated by emergency medical personnel.


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 mailed to the Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA 22135 or e-mailed to leb@fbiacademy.edu.