Aurora to honor Police Officer of the Year

The Exchange Club of Aurora will name its Police Officer of the Year during a luncheon Tuesday, May 12, to honor three officers nominated for performing acts of heroism.

The event begins at 11:30 a.m. at Gaslite Manor, 2485 Church Road, Aurora.

Three police officers who displayed outstanding efforts in late 2013 and during 2014 have been nominated for the annual award.

Officer Sam Aguirre was nominated for his heroic attempts to give aid to 39-year-old tollway worker Vincent Petrella, who died Jan. 27, 2014, following a crash on I-88 at Eola Road.

Petrella and Illinois State Trooper Douglas Balder were assisting the driver of a truck that had become disabled when a second truck plowed into their vehicles causing a massive fire.

Both Aguirre and fellow officer Dave Brian tried to get Petrella out of his burning truck. As Brian was trying to open the passenger side door, Aguirre climbed onto the hood of the vehicle and removed the windshield with his bare hands. He then attempted to comfort Petrella by holding his hands, encouraging him to hang on, and assuring him that help was present.

Aguirre stayed close to Petrella despite the heavy smoke and flames until Petrella was removed from the vehicle. Trooper Balder was critically injured in the crash.

According to Brian, the smoke was so thick at times that he could barely breathe and he had no idea how Aguirre could have stayed with Petrella under those conditions.

Officer Jim Brown was nominated for his off-duty heroics that saved the lives of an elderly Wisconsin couple on June 15, 2014. Brown was camping with his friend, Aurora resident Kris Melvin, in a remote wilderness area in Ontario, Canada. During that afternoon and evening, a severe thunderstorm with heavy rain and high winds rolled through the region.

About 9 p.m., Brown and Melvin spotted a sport fishing boat approaching their campsite that was occupied by the couple, who got caught up in the storm and became disoriented after searching five hours for the lodge at which they were staying. The pair were shaking uncontrollably and hypothermia was quickly setting in.

Since attempts at starting a fire would be futile due to the high wind and rain, Brown and Melvin decided their only course of action would be to use the couple's motorboat and try and take them back to their lodge about 20 miles across the lake.

Shortly into the journey, Brown and Melvin noticed the boat could reach a speed of only about five miles per hour and was slow to maneuver. The couple then told them that when they were lost, they hit several large rocks, which may have damaged the propeller. The boat was taking on 3- to 4-foot waves over its bow and on several occasions the entire bow was submerged.

While the bilge pump was working, it was not keeping up with the volume of water. Brown and Melvin knew that if the boat continued to be pounded, it would eventually sink. With the air and water temperature both at 45 degrees, the group would have perished in less than 30 minutes.

Thanks to Brown's boating skill, and his ability to calmly assess and appropriately react to a potentially life-threatening situation, he began maneuvering the boat in a manner that allowed the bilge pump to optimally perform. Unfortunately, it slowed their progress and blew the boat off course. After 90 minutes on the water, the group was still more than 10 miles from the destination lodge.

As they continued to creep across the open water, a search party with two boats from the lodge where the couple were staying located the group on the lake. The couple was transferred to one of the boats and immediately taken back to the lodge. It was about midnight before all three boats were safely docked.

The third nominee, officer Doug Rashkow, was sent to investigate an unknown disturbance at a residence on Aurora's near east side on Dec. 13, 2013, and learned a woman had been battered and her prescription medicine forcibly taken by her boyfriend, who intended to sell it. The man, who had his three children with him during the commission of the crime, then ran off with the kids in 19-degree weather.

To expedite locating the man and his children, Rashkow called the suspect's mother and convinced her to check on their welfare and also asked her to have the man call Rashkow. Within two minutes, the suspect called Rashkow and told him he had ingested a large quantity of the pills he stole. Rashkow was able to persuade the offender to meet him and seek medical attention prior to his arrest. Rashkow then secured care for the man's children with their grandmother.

After learning from their grandmother that she had no money to buy the children Christmas presents, Rashkow paid for gifts out of his own pocket and secured a $250 check for the children's care through a local veterans organization. He then delivered the presents to the family when he was off duty.

The keynote speaker at this year's luncheon is William "Bill" Powell, who served as Aurora's chief of police from 2005 to 2008. Powell worked his way through the ranks of the Aurora Police Department after having been appointed as a police officer in 1977.