MUSCATINE, Iowa – A fifth Muscatine Police Officer was recognized for his life saving efforts during the Thursday (October 1) City Council meeting. Officer Casey Jensen was presented the Life Saving Award by Mayor Diana Broderson, and is now the fifth Muscatine Police Department (MPD) officer to be honored in 2020.
Four officers who were previously recognized while the City Council meet in virtual session were in Council Chambers Thursday to receive their awards from Mayor Broderson. Officer Jolisa Coleman was presented the Medal of Valor while Officer Whitney Pena, Officer Mark Schollmeyer, and Corporal Matt Fowler received the Life Saving Award.
Officer Jensen was dispatched to the riverfront regarding a female that was having a mental health crisis on August 25, 2020,. The female was in the mud at the water line and refused to come to the shore. She walked into the Mississippi River trying to end her life saying she wanted to die. Officer Jensen entered the river, grabbed ahold of her and brought her back to shore. The woman’s life was saved due to the quick actions of the officer.
Officer Colman was recognized during the May 7, 2020, City Council virtual meeting and was presented with the Medal of Valor for saving a woman who was attempting to jump from the High Bridge into the Mississippi River on February 20, 2020. Colman’s action to save someone else’s life while putting her own life in danger warranted the presentation of the Medal of Valor, just the third Medal of Valor presented in the history of the Muscatine Police Department.
Officer Colman was on patrol February 20, 2020, when she responded to the High Bridge for a report of a female attempting to jump from the bridge. Once on scene, Officer Colman attempted to talk with the female who was sitting on the side of the bridge with her feet dangling over the ledge.
As Officer Colman approached, the female pushed herself over the ledge saying she was going to jump. Officer Colman got to the ledge in time to grab the females arm and jacket sleeve preventing the female from falling into the river. She held on to the female while on the ledge of the bridge trying to pull the female up. The female landed on the beams of the bridge, just under the ledge.
Officer Colman continued to talk with the female while she was on the beams below the ledge. The female eventually climbed her way back to the bridge, over the railing, and into safety.
Officer Pena was recognized during the May 7, 2020, City Council virtual meeting and presented with the Lifesaving Award for saving a child's life on February 29, 2020, while attending a birthday party in the pool area of Americ Inn.
Officer Pena was off duty attending a birthday party in the pool area at the Americ Inn on February 29, 2020, when she noticed another female pulling a child from the water in the shallow end of the pool. Officer Pena ran over to where the adult and child were.
Officer Pena noticed the child was purple, blue in the face, and was not breathing. She immediately began CPR on the child with the help of two other adults. Officer Pena performed CPR on the child for approximately four minutes. The seven-year-old boy spit out a large amount of water and began to breathe on his own.
Paramedics arrived shortly after the child began to breathe and transported the child to the Emergency Room. Officer Pena, with all her CPR training through the Police Department, saved this boy's life by performing CPR.
Officer Mark Schollmeyer and Corporal Matt Fowler were recognized with the Lifesaving Award during the August 6, 2020, City Council virtual meeting for saving a woman's life on July 7, 2020.
Corporal Fowler and Officer Schollmeyer, a rookie with the department, were on patrol in the south end of Muscatine when they noticed heavy smoke rising into the air. The two officers began a search and discovered the front of the home at 512 Liberty engulfed in flames.
After calling in the fire, the two officers tried to enter the structure through the front door but were turned back by the intense heat and fire. Moving around to the back of the house, the officers saw an 80-year-old female lying on the floor approximately three feet inside the rear entrance. The officers broke open the back door, pulled the woman to safety, and administered aid until Muscatine Fire Department (MFD) Paramedic’s arrived.
The Medal of Valor is awarded to an officer who "intelligently and in the line of duty, conscious of the danger and at great risk of imminent personal harm or hazard, distinguishes him or herself by the performance of an act of gallantry and valor above and beyond the call of duty". The Life Saving Medal is awarded to an officer who, while acting within their scope of duties, saves the life of another person.
