Public servants honored in Pittsburgh for extraordinary responses

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Public servants honored in Pittsburgh for extraordinary responses

Margaret Harding | Saturday, October 25, 2014 4:01 a.m.

Stephanie Strasburg | Trib Total Media

Port Authority of Allegheny County Police Detective Kevin Atkins (far left) stands next to Officer Dominic Ravotti as they wait to receive the 'To Protect and Serve' Award at the Amen Corner 14th Annual Senator John Heinz Law Enforcement Awards Day at the Sheraton Hotel on the South Shore on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. The pair were honored for giving first aid to a woman who was badly injured when she was hit by a bus in Downtown.

The Port Authority bus mangled the woman when it hit her, nearly taking one of her legs.

“There were bystanders trying to control the blood flow, but it was much greater than they could control,” Port Authority police Officer Dominic Ravotti recalled Friday.

One of the first responders, Ravotti tried to stabilize Joan Grove, 60, while Port Authority police Detective Kevin Atkins applied a department-issued tourniquet.

“I tried to reassure her that she wasn't going to die,” said Ravotti, who worked on an ambulance crew at age 16 and was an emergency medical technician before becoming an officer. “With doing it for so long, you just get there, go into the zone and do your job.”

Ravotti and Atkins, a paramedic for nearly three decades, received the “To Protect and Serve” award, one of seven awards given at the Amen Corner Senator John Heinz Law Enforcement Luncheon on Friday.

“After you've done it for a while, you're able to do whatever it is you need to do,” Atkins said. “I don't want to say you're on autopilot, but you know what needs to be done.”

Grove, 60, reached at home, said an attorney advised her not to comment.

Port Authority police Chief Stephen McCauley said Grove was walking quickly during rush hour on June 6 and stepped onto Sixth Avenue to try to pass slower-moving people on the sidewalk. The bus hit her from behind.

“It was really a heinous injury,” McCauley said. He said doctors amputated her leg.

Three months later, on Sept. 27, Ravotti was first on a scene again.

He used two tourniquets to stop bleeding from the leg of a man who tried to jump between two light-rail trolleys at the First Avenue station. One trolley hit and dragged the man. Pittsburgh paramedics told Port Authority police that Ravotti may have saved the man's life.

“It's nice to be recognized, but I don't go to work every day hoping to be recognized,” Ravotti said. “I go because I love doing the job.”

Ravotti stopped mid-interview, said “Fire!” and rushed away.

He'd noticed a tipped candle that sparked a small fire on a table. He and others quickly doused it with a glass of water. Then Ravotti, who also worked as a firefighter, returned to talking about the importance of medical training for police officers.

He and Atkins train officers in emergency medical techniques.

“It's a good thing we carry the tourniquets; they've saved two lives,” Ravotti said.

Margaret Harding is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-380-8519 or mharding@tribweb.com.

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Honoring heroes

The annual Amen Corner Senator John Heinz Law Enforcement Luncheon awards, in its 14th year, recognized 14 officers from Allegheny County and inducted slain Pittsburgh police K-9 Rocco into the Amen Corner K-9 Law Enforcement Hall of Fame.

A suspect fatally stabbed the police dog in Lawrenceville in January.

Other award recipients:

• Pittsburgh police Officers Santino Achille, Michael Coleman and Gary Messer, who patrol the North Side in the 3199 car, which focuses on proactive policing to curtail violent crimes. They received the "Not on My Watch" award.

"We know the area very well and we try to use that to our advantage," Achille said. "We protect people that can't protect themselves."

• "Humanitarian" award went to the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office non-support warrant squad members Sgt. Michael Scherbanic and Detectives James Klingensmith, Vincent Longo, Jay Stegena, and Mark Zimmerman. They are helping a veteran who fell behind on child support by overseeing home repairs, buying clothing and household supplies, and giving him money.

• "Ever Vigilant" award went to Allegheny County Police Detective Brett Whittenberger, who works full-time on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. He helped to coordinate the investigation and arrest of a teen believed to be plotting an attack on a Pittsburgh school. The case was adjudicated in juvenile court.

• "In Disregard for His Own Personal Safety" award went to Monroeville Officer Matthew White, who confronted an armed gunman threatening to kill a woman. White shot him, wounding him, before the man fatally shot himself in the head.

• "Courageous Act" award went to Penn Hills police Sgt. Ronald Como. A man threatened a woman and then Como with a rifle, and Como shot the man.

• "911 Quick Response" award went to Pittsburgh Officer Lucas Coyne for performing CPR on a 3-month-old who stopped breathing in a Hill District apartment in July.

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