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 Stephen Romanik of the Chautauqua County, New York, Sheriff’s Office responded to an early morning single-vehicle accident on Route 83 in the town of Villenova. Arriving at the scene, he saw the front of the vehicle in flames and a citizen trying to aid the driver, a 28-year-old female, pinned in her seat. Deputy Romanik attempted to put out the fire with his patrol vehicle’s fire extinguisher; however, the fire spread quickly, filling the inside of the vehicle with smoke. Disregarding their own personal safety, Deputy Romanik and the citizen smashed the vehicle’s windows with the extinguisher to gain access to the driver. They extracted her from the rear of the vehicle seconds before it became fully engulfed.
Deputy Romanik
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 e-mailed to leb@ic.fbi.gov or mailed to Editor, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA 22135.