County Executive McMahon Thanks & Honors Probation Employees Who Saved Lives, Gave Back to Community
Probation officers recognized for their heroic efforts
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – County Executive J. Ryan McMahon, II thanked and honored several probation employees today. Two of the individuals saved a family from a burning house, another probation officer used NARCAN to save the life of an individual who had overdosed and another group of employees went out on Earth Day for the third year in a row to help clean up trash on the West side of the City of Syracuse.
County Executive McMahon said, “Onondaga County has an amazing workforce that go above and beyond every day to make our community a better place. It is an honor to take some time and recognize the heroic and generous actions of the folks on our probation team.” McMahon continued, “Thank you to the entire team for not only saving lives and making our community a more beautiful place, but for the work you do every day.”
On April 16th, 2019, Probation Officer Kristen Williams and Probation Supervisor, Scott Snyder were conducting home visits on Syracuse’s north side, when they noticed heavy smoke coming from the rear of a house, located on Park St. P.O Williams called 911 to report the fire and Supervisor Snyder began banging on the front door and windows of the residence. Although he was able to see that the house was occupied, no one would come to the door. Based on the fact there were flames and heavy smoke coming from the rear of the residence, Snyder forced the door open. Upon entering the house, he encountered a young girl and instructed her to go outside. After searching the rest of the house, three more individuals were located throughout the house and escorted outside. Once the house was clear, Snyder left the residence and encountered the Syracuse Fire Department pulling up to the house.
On May 3rd, 2019, Probation Officer Kristen Jackson conducted a home visit on one of her probationer’s and was granted entry by his parents. After calling for the probationer without success, Jackson and his parents located the probationer unresponsive in his bedroom.
According to Officer Jackson, the probationer had vomited, was turning blue and had blood coming from his nose and was not breathing. Based on the probationer’s history of opioid use and her training, Officer Jackson immediately administered NARCAN and called 911. After a second dose of NARCAN, the probationer started breathing and regained consciousness. The Sheriff’s Department and Emergency Technicians arrived and quickly took over the scene. They made it very clear that this probationer would have died had Officer Jackson not acted quickly and without hesitation.
On April 27th, 2019, Probation employees Michelle Hirsch, Jessica Ellithorpe, Katie Dixon, Matt Deno, Mark Briggs, Denis Hickey, Stephanie Spillane and Commissioner Sicherman went out for the Department of Probation’s annual Earth Day Cleanup. The Probation team braved the elements, cleaning up parts of the Westside of Syracuse.