Palatine honors three officers with lifesaving awards for separate rescues

Palatine Mayor Schwandt and Chief Stoekel recognized three Palatine Police Department officers on May 7 for separate lifesaving actions.

Chief Stoekel presented Officer Lucas Sopcich with the department's lifesaving award for an Nov. 15, 2017, response to a report of a distraught 20-year-old woman on the top level of the Gateway commuter parking garage. According to Stoekel, Sopcich “quickly reached out, grabbed the woman by the leg, holding on to her until he could pull her off and away from the ledge,” a move the chief said likely prevented a tragic outcome. Officer Sopcich introduced family members at the meeting and thanked the council.

The second award honored Sergeant Bruce Morris for a March 8, 2018, cardiac-arrest call at the Palatine Park District (250 E. Wood St.). Sergeant Morris, who was nearby though not initially assigned, took command on arrival, administered CPR until fire and EMS arrived, and the chief reported the victim is recovering at home. “Sergeant Morris is to be commended for his dedication to the public he serves,” Stoekel said.

The third award went to Officer Christopher Stearns for a March 14, 2018, incident at Winston Campus School where Stearns, serving as a school resource officer, performed abdominal thrusts to dislodge a blockage and stabilized a nonverbal student until EMS transported the child to the hospital. Chief Stoekel said Stearns’s rapid, calm response “resulted in him saving the student's life.”

The mayor thanked the officers and their families for their service; all three awards were presented during the council meeting before the committee-of-the-whole recessed to committee business.