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Community Corner

County Sheriff Honors Local Heroes

Twelve area residents became first responders during emergencies.

Some people are thrust into the role of hero quite unexpectedly. Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek on Tuesday honored a dozen local residents who responded to emergencies in the county.

“I am blessed to live in a community and a county that cares as much as these do,” said Stanek, who is a North Minneapolis native but currently lives in Maple Grove.

“These brave people became first responders when they were faced with a situation. Some were trained, some weren’t. Some of the incidents had a happy ending, some did not,” Stanek said.

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Those receiving the Citizens Commendation award were:

  • Plymouth residents Philip and Jennifer Geertsema were cooking dinner on Aug. 11 in the Lancaster Village Apartments when they heard screams from the pool area.

“The noise didn’t sound like children playing. We heard a girl calling ‘Help my sister’ so we knew there was trouble,” Jennifer said.

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The apartment manager was already at the pool but couldn’t swim so Philip jumped in and pulled both victims from the deep end of the pool. Mortres Kewta Dougba, 9, of Pennsylvania, and Moses Geely Sneh Jr., 26, of Plymouth, who had jumped in to save her, were later pronounced dead at the hospital.

“I lost a brother a few years ago, so it was really hard to be part of something like this. It would be easier to be called a hero if the outcome had been different,” Jennifer said.

“The whole sad situation has made us realize how precious life is and that it can be gone in an instant. It’s given us a good perspective on life,” Philip said.

She pulled the 6-year-old boy out of the pool and started CPR. A bystander who was a nurse encouraged her through the ordeal, which Ulbrich said helped her stay focused.

“It felt like a movie with everything around us spinning in fast motion but being able to stay focused on what needed to be done. I’ve received good training, so that just took over,” she said.

Ulbrich was happy to report that the boy survived and recently returned to the pool.

The following people also received Citizen Commendation awards. The descriptions were provided by Lisa Kiava, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.

  • Julie Todora of South St. Paul, who works for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, assisted the driver of an SUV who reportedly suffered a heart attack on Highway 169 near Cedar Lake Road in St. Louis Park. Julie used an automated external defibrillator.  Andy Huston of Shakopee also stopped to help and performed CPR on the victim. The victim survived and a few weeks later was able to walk his daughter down the aisle of her wedding.
  • Twelve-year-old MaryAnn Wanju and her cousin Samwel Ngatia pulled a 6-year-old from the swimming pool at Crystal Village Apartments in Crystal. The child survived.

“MaryAnn’s quick thinking helped to save a life that day,” said Sheriff Stanek, “I am grateful to MaryAnn and all of the people who received awards—because each one of them witnessed an emergency and their instinct was to help.”

  • In February, Jesse Thomas pulled a student from the Minneapolis Olson Middle School pool during swimming lessons while Jesse’s class looked on. The student survived. Thomas has been a swim instructor for many years. This is the second time in his career that he has saved the life of a child.
  • Srikanth Chinnagollareddy and Swetha Maddala, both of Minnetonka, pulled a 1-year-old from a pool at a Minnetonka apartment building in August. The child survived.
  • In July, a 19-year old man from Winnipeg was rescued thanks to four people who responded to call for help at a hotel swimming pool in Bloomington. Dawn Allen Samuels, of Bloomington, and Jon Tomter, of Onalaska, WI, brought the victim to the side of the pool. Julie and another citizen lifted the victim out of the pool. Another man performed chest compressions on the victim. All citizens received awards and the victim survived.
  • Hanover resident Benjamin Martin was driving along a roadway when he saw smoke coming from the back of a house in Hassan in May. Benjamin used a shovel and broke a window; he used a wheelbarrow and climbed on top of it – in an effort to save a young man trapped inside. The victim perished in the fire. The victim’s mother recovered from injuries.
  • Tony Spector and John Derus were given the Sheriff’s Award of Merit for their service to the community and their work with law enforcement.

Spector helped create the Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation and served as the first Chair of the Board. He is a former police officer for the Minneapolis Park Police and now practices law.

Derus, a Minneapolis resident, is the Chairman of the Minnesota 100 Club, an organization devoted to supporting families of public servants who are killed or injured in the line of duty. He is a former Hennepin County Commissioner and one of the original members of the Sheriff’s Community Advisory Board.

All recipients of the Citizens Commendation Award received a plaque and were photographed with Stanek.

The event at the  included a blessing by Bishop Richard Howell of Shiloh Temple International Ministries and a presentation about the Citizens Law Enforcement Academy by Eliza Stevens. During the academy, residents attend a one-hour session one night a week for 11 weeks.

The academy is offered in the fall and the spring. Residents can register on the Sheriff’s Office website. To receive an email alert for registration, go to www.Nixle.com and select Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, then opt-in for the Community messages.

“It gives an excellent hands-on feel for what law enforcement is really like,” said Stevens, an alumna of the program.

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