Las Vegas police honor 50 of their own with commendations

They saved lives and changed lives. And with their dedicated day-in, day-out service have made Las Vegas and Southern Nevada a safer, better place to live.

That’s how Sheriff Doug Gillespie summed up the work of 50 of his force’s few thousand officers who were recognized Thursday in a commendation ceremony for community service, exemplary service, meritorious service and lifesaving.

“They are people who displayed great character and strength under personal hardships and life-changing moments,” Gillespie said.

“When someone comes to work at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department I can promise two things: Each day will be different, and some days you will make all the difference,” the sheriff told the uniformed officers and their families at police headquarters.

“They are everyday heroes that sometimes go unnoticed by the community they serve,” he said.

Half of those who received awards for their service in the past two years were from a unit that endured an intense training program aimed at handling union strikes. Eight were from a team that responded to a deadly shooting inside a house and saved the life of a 4-year-old girl while safely confronting and apprehending the shotgun-wielding suspect.

One off-duty officer played a key role in capturing three armed bank robbery suspects who thought they had gotten away with their crime. Others stopped a crime spree by a cop impersonator. And two chased down an inmate and saved his life by pulling him away from a railing from where he was poised to jump.

Two officers were recognized for their individual efforts.

Officer Nathan Bradford saved an elderly woman who was pinned inside her car that was sinking in the Muddy River.

He shed his heavy gear, jumped in the river and managed to open the car’s doors to rescue the woman while chest-deep in the river’s quicksand-like mud.

After he handed her off to a citizen and another officer who brought her to safety, he “went under the water and came back actually this time with the woman’s dog and her purse,” public information director Carla Alston said.

The Community Service award was presented to officer Marla Stevens, not for what she did on duty but for how she handled a personal dilemma at home.

Four years ago, her newborn daughter, Bailey, nearly died from a bacterial infection in her intestines. She needed emergency surgery, and doctors doubted she would survive.

“Marla and her husband were told to kiss their daughter goodbye,” Alston said.

Instead, Bailey survived that night and spent the first four months of her life in an intensive care unit at Spring Valley Hospital, where the staff’s tender loving care got her through the ordeal.

“Bailey finished the last of her surgeries two years ago, but Marla and her husband felt compelled to give back to the place that saved their baby’s life,” Alston said.

So they organized a horseback barrel racing event at South Point’s equestrian center that in three years has raised more than $22,000 for educational opportunities for the neonatal care unit staff.

“We just kept our faith that she was going to be just fine,” Stevens said.

“It was horrific. When somebody comes and tells you your child isn’t going to survive. It’s the worst moment of your life.”

Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2.