Two Lady Lake Police officers were honored for heroic duty during Monday night’s town commission meeting.
Police Chief Robert Tempesta praised two of the department’s sergeants, Charles Gehrsitz and Tom Sarakinis. He said both had gone above and beyond the call of duty and wanted commissioners to know of their outstanding service.
Tempesta said Gehrsitz responded to a vehicle fire in Water Oak on Oct. 11 and when he arrived, he found the driver passed out in a vehicle that quickly was being consumed by flames. Tempesta said Gehrsitz broke out a window in the vehicle and was able to get the motorist out and to safety before flames swept through the passenger compartment.
“The unconscious driver was flown to Orlando Regional Hospital, where he sent Sgt. Gehrsitz an email from the hospital thanking him for saving his life,” Tempesta said. “The driver indicated that he is recovering nicely thanks to the selfless actions of Sgt. Gehrsitz.”
On Oct. 4, Tempesta said officers were called to a home to check on a resident. When they were unable to make contact with the person and didn’t have enough information to justify forced entry into the home, Tempesta said Sarakinis had a feeling something was wrong and was relentless in locating and contacting family members, who then had a locksmith respond and open the door to the residence.
“The individual was located inside and in need of medical attention,” Tempesta said. “Sgt. Sarakinis’ insistence that something was not right and his relentless follow-up undoubtedly saved the woman’s life.”
After the meeting, Tempesta said it was nice to be able to recognize the officers in front of the commission.
“This is a way to show our appreciation for the job that these officers do out there risking their lives day in and day out,” he said. “It’s nice for them to receive those accolades, but at the same time, they’re here to do their job and this is what they would do, regardless of the accolades.”
