Officer

California Highway Patrol

12/20/1999

Special Act Award (Gold)

On December 20, 1999, Mr. Lawrence P. Stock was at home in Truckee, California with off-duty Officer Lawrence S. Bousquet performing maintenance on Officer Bousquet's personal vehicle. At approximately 4:15 p.m., Mr. Stock heard someone screaming and calling for help. Both men ran in the direction of the screaming and saw across the pond that two children had fallen through the ice five to ten feet from the edge of the pond. The children were struggling to maintain their positions along the broken edges of the ice. As Officer Bousquet and his wife got in their vehicle and sped to the other side of the pond, Mr. Stock ran and told his wife to call 911. He then ran to get an extension ladder and drove his vehicle to the other side of the pond. Upon his arrival, he saw one child being wrapped in a blanket by other people who had gathered at the scene. When he saw that Officer Bousquet was standing waist deep in the water attempting to reach the other victim, he ran to the water with the ladder, extending the ladder. The girl was holding on to the ice and trembling uncontrollably. She was unable to hold on to an electrical extension cord, which had been thrown to her. Mr. Stock slid the extended ladder past Officer Bousquet to the girl. When it became apparent that the girl was too weak to hold on to the ladder, Mr. Stock told Officer Bousquet, "Forget this, I am not going to let this girl drown." He began to break through the ice and wade into the deeper water. Using the ladder for support, he worked his way to the girl and grabbed her with his left hand. He then worked his way back toward Officer Bousquet who then pulled both to shore. The rescued children were transported by ambulance to Tahoe Forest Hospital and treated for pre-hypothermia. All suffered from cold water exposure.