LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday honored two sheriff's deputies who saved a man from a September suicide attempt.
Newly sworn in Sheriff Brian Martin was on hand – along with numerous other deputies and Lakeport Police officers – for the council's tribute to Sgt. Andy Davidson and Deputy Jake Steely.
The two men are credited with saving the life of a man who attempted to hang himself at the Natural High School property on N. Main Street on Sept. 1.
Davidson and Steely were dispatched to assist Lakeport Police officers with the report of a man hanging from a tree at Clear Lake High School, according to the proclamations read Tuesday night by Mayor Martin Scheel.
However, on the way, Davidson and Steely were informed by Central Dispatch that the man actually was located at the lakeside Natural High property.
When they got to the scene, the person who had reported the incident showed them where the man was hanging from a tree on the shoreline.
As they tried to get to the man, his girlfriend attempted to stop them; she was clutching her boyfriend's body and telling the men to stay away. As Steely made an attempt to cut the man down, the woman physically tried to prevent him from doing so.
Steely then took hold of her and handed her off to Davidson, who restrained her while Steely returned to the man, whose face was blue and his body limp.
“Deputy Steely supported the man’s body under his armpit and quickly cut him down from the tree. Once on the ground, Deputy Steely checked for a pulse and found none. He straightened the subject’s body, opened his airway and began chest compressions. He continued performing chest compressions for several minutes until paramedics from the Lakeport Fire Department arrived on scene. The paramedics credited Deputy Steely’s actions for resuscitating the man,” the proclamation said.
The man was then transported to the hospital.
Sheriff Martin led the audience and the council in offering his two deputies a standing ovation.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen thanked Davidson and Steely on behalf of his department and staff, and also thanked the sheriff's office for its past assistance.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the sheriff's office under the administration of Brian Martin,” Rasmussen said.
The Board of Supervisors honored the two deputies for their actions in November.
Davidson also was honored by the Board of Supervisors in October 2011, along with two fellow deputies, for his response to a shooting the previous month and his successful efforts to help a wounded man.
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