Deputies and civilians honored for heroism

By Scott Gutierrez

King County Sheriff Sue Rahr recently honored six deputies and four for heroism, including an off-duty officer who was forced to fatally shoot a suspect during a street robbery last year.

The recipients were awarded Friday during a ceremony at the Criminal Justice Training Commission Center in Burien.

Sgt. James Laing was award the “Medal of Valor” for interrupting a robbery behind the Pike Place Market on Jan. 26, 2007. Laing was off duty when he saw a gunman robbing someone on his way to a restaurant and drew his weapon. The gunman turned on Laing and the officer fired, killing the gunman.The sheriff also recognized five officers with the “Lifesaver Award,” including:

Sgt. Sydney Jackson and deputies Mark Rockwood and Tim Shook for their work on the sheriff’s helicopter in finding a lost hiker in the Cascade Mountains in November 2006 and piloting the aircraft only six feet about the Pratt River so Jackson could jump onto a large boulder and wade through the icy water to get supplies to the hiker until a Navy rescue helicopter could arrive.

Sgt. Bryan Howard for pulling an unconscious man from a burning vehicle after a traffic collision on April 13, 2007. Deputy Todd Miller also was recognized for rescuing a man from a rollover collision just before the vehicle caught fire on Jan. 25, 2007.Four civilians, Alicia McCaslin, Rick Scharbau, Scott Davis and Thomas Blanding, were honored with the “Meritorious Service Award” for stopping a March 9, 2006 robbery at a Woodinville Subway and pinning down the armed suspect so police could arrest him. McCaslin, an employee, stalled the robber. Customer Scott Davis tackled him and two more customers, Rick Scharbau and Thomas Blanding, pounced and helped hold the suspect down. The suspect later confessed to 11 robberies in north King County and Seattle, the Sheriff’s Office reported.