‘A life of service’: Dozens of Las Vegas officers honored for life-saving work
As a father of six daughters, Metropolitan Police Department officer Jason Rich is well aware of what it looks like when a child is choking.
Which is precisely why Rich knew he had to spring into immediate action last June, when he saw a mother screaming frantically while holding her young daughter in the road while he was on patrol near Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin.
Rich was among the 35 officers and two civilians recognized by Metro Wednesday for going above and beyond, and in come cases, saving lives.
Reflecting on the moment with reporters, Rich recalled seeing the mother’s car stopped in the middle of Pavilion Center Drive and the sight of blood coming from the baby girl’s mouth.
“The baby isn’t crying, the baby isn’t blue, but what’s going on?” Rich remembered from the June 14 incident.
Rich took the girl from the woman, whom he said spoke little English, and noticed she had trouble breathing while sitting up. After several minutes of Rich patting the girl on the back, the girl’s mom noticed a beret missing from her daughter’s hair. Moments later, the girl coughed up the clip.
“All of a sudden, she pops up, and besides the blood on her face, she’s just kind of looking around and looking for mom,” Rich said, adding the girl was subsequently taken to the hospital for monitoring and that’s the last he’s seen of her or her mother. “It was one of those things you didn’t realize it happened until you took a minute to calm down. I realized that could have been one of my kids.”
Rich never learned the girl or the mother’s name, but his quick actions that day likely prevented the girl from entering cardiac arrest and ultimately dying, officials said Wednesday.
‘A life of service’
Those who were honored included a team of detectives and investigators who Metro said discovered an alleged murder-for-hire plot that stemmed from a federal loan fraud scheme, as well as officers who intervened in downtown Las Vegas to stop an armed robbery, and a group of four officers that worked with two Delta Airlines employees to save a suicidal woman who jumped from the parking garage at Harry Reid International Airport.
One officer was honored for coordinating community events, and others were recognized for their work to build a memorial dedicated to a pair of Metro officers who were killed in the line of duty.
Rich was the only officer made available to interview following Wednesday’s award ceremony, which took place at Metro’s headquarters. But each of Wednesday’s recipients were thanked by agency leaders who commended the courage of officers and others for stepping up in a time of need.
“This truly is a career and a life of service that is beyond compare,” said Undersheriff Andrew Walsh, who presented the officers with their awards. “The sacrifices we ask you to make, the sacrifices you make on behalf of strangers at the expense of your own loved ones and families does not go unnoticed by us.”
If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.