Officer

California Highway Patrol

1/2/2005

Special Act Award (Gold)

California Highway Patrol Officer Julian Irigoyen, on January 2, 2005 performed an act of heroism at risk to his personal safety by rescuing two females from drowning in a swift moving canal. Officer Irigoyen of the Bakersfield Area was riding his Departmental-issue motorcycle when he was summoned by an unidentified citizen who reported two females drowning in a nearby canal. Thereafter, Officer Irigoyen proceeded down the canal bank towards the victims. As he reached their location, he observed a second citizen, lying on his stomach, stretched across a foot bridge and holding onto the arms of two females, one adult, one child. Both were in the water and struggling to stay afloat. The adult victim was exhausted and struggling to hold onto the citizen. Knowing they had very little time to perform the rescue, Officer Irigoyen slid down the adjacent embankment to a small concrete ledge. The ledge was approximately five inches in width, and positioned four feet above the water line. The depth of the water in the canal at the time of the incident was approximately ten feet. The sides of the canal were slippery and covered with moss, prohibiting adequate footing or support to attempt a rescue from the canal bank. This position placed Officer Irigoyen in extreme risk of falling into the swift water of the canal. The citizen on the footbridge handed off the child to Officer Irigoyen. Officer Irigoyen subsequently pulled her to safety. Exhausted and finding it difficult to balance himself on the narrow ledge, Officer Irgoyen held onto the adult woman victim until the citizen could reposition himself and assist with pulling her to safety. The adult woman and her daughter had been in the water for approximately five minutes. Both were exhausted and suffering from hypothermia.