Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office Marine Deputy Paul Fournier and Oregon State Police Trooper Aaron Miller were recent recipients of a life-saving award from the Oregon State Marine Board during the annual post-season Marine Conference in Redmond, Oregon on October 15, 2018. The award stems from action taken by Deputy Fournier and Trooper Miller during a routine marine patrol in the Crab Harbor section of Tillamook Bay on January 22, 2018.
According to Lt. Jim Horton, Criminal Division Commander at the Sheriff’s Office, “Deputy Fournier and Trooper Miller encountered a commercial clamming operation and found one of the divers to be in distress, the diver was pulled from the water but was unconscious and non-responsive.”
Once recovered from the water Trooper Miller began to perform CPR while Deputy Fournier transported them to awaiting emergency medical personnel at the Garibaldi commercial docks. The life-saving measures by Deputy Fournier and Trooper Miller were successful in reviving the victim during the transport to the dock. The victim was subsequently transported to the Tillamook Regional Medical Center by ambulance for additional treatment.
According to Lt. Horton, “The actions by Deputy Fournier and Trooper Miller saved the life of this individual who would have surely perished if the officers had not been in the area during their routine joint patrol.”
“This is a testament to the excellent working relationship between the Oregon State Police and the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office,” said Lt. Horton. “Our agencies work together on a daily basis and because of this teamwork and partnership, we were able to avert a tragedy in this situation”.
The Oregon State Marine Board provides direct funding to the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office for the operation of the Marine Division that is responsible for patrolling local waterways, streams, bays and areas of the Pacific Ocean adjacent to Tillamook County.