Burien Police honors four Officers at Monday night's City Council meeting

At Monday night’s City Council meeting (Feb. 1), the Burien Police Department honored four officers for heroism and dedicated service to the city: [caption id="attachment_95979" align="aligncenter" width="490"] Left to right: Burien Police Officers Evan Buetow, Alexander Hawley, Scott Mandella and Police Chief Scott Kimerer. Not pictured is Pete Copeland.[/caption]

Life Saver Award:

• Master Police Officer Pete Copeland (in absentia)
• Officer Evan Buetow
• Officer Alex Hawley

On Dec. 31, three officers responded to a report of a man trapped underneath his car after an attempted auto theft in which the suspect ran him over twice and then fled the scene on foot (read our previous coverage here). Two nearby residents heard the incident and ran to assist the man. While one of them called 911 and calmly reassured the trapped man, the other used a jack to partially lift the car from the man’s chest allowing him to breathe. He was still pinned underneath the car with life threatening injuries when the officers arrived. The officers quickly assessed the situation and learned the jack could not be extended any further to free the victim. The three of them then physically lifted the car off the victim so he could be pulled free. They immediately began providing medical assistance until EMS arrived and began piecing together a chaotic crime scene. The actions of these three officers coupled with two hero Burien residents surely resulted in saving this man’s life.  Therefore, the Life Saver Award is given to each officer in recognition of their heroic act. Officer of the Year:

• Officer Scott Mandella

Officer Mandella was hired by the King County Sheriff’s Office since September 2007 and has served in the City of Burien since 2009. Officer Mandella serves as a training officer, training new police recruits who have just graduated from the police academy. Officer Mandella serves on the departments Hostage Negotiations Team and is also an Emergency Vehicle Operations instructor. Having survived a critical incident himself, he is a member of the department’s Peer Support Team which provides emotional support to officers involved in critical incidents. He is also a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) instructor for our department as well as the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center and provides training on traumatic brain injuries to first responders around the State. While doing all this, Scott is also a dedicated husband and father to two daughters. His father Mike was a career firefighter and retired as Fire Chief from the Port of Seattle Fire Department. Scott’s brother Mark is also a firefighter with the Seattle Fire Department. Officer Mandella is described by his district partners as an excellent cop who is patient and caring with everyone he contacts. Officer Mandella was nominated and received the Precinct 4 2015 Officer of the Year distinction.