Three Dixon police officers were honored Monday for the March 17 rescue of a person who was found unconscious in a closed garage with a vehicle running.

Lifesaving awards were presented at Monday’s Dixon City Council meeting to Sgt. Ed Deets and police officers Breanna DeHaan and Justin White. Deputy Chief Christopher Scott said the awards stemmed from the officers’ response to a call for a welfare check and rescue efforts that led to the person making a full recovery.

“Welfare checks are a common call for service and can often become routine with outcomes that are typically uneventful. However, your response to this call was immediate and deliberate,” Scott said.

On March 17, DeHaan and White were dispatched to the residence and, after arriving, noticed the garage lights were on and heard a vehicle running inside. Deets arrived shortly after and broke the garage windows to ventilate the area, Scott said.

They then forced their way into the residence, got into the garage and found an unresponsive person inside the running vehicle, Scott said.

DeHaan and White got the individual out of the vehicle, moved them outside to get fresh air and determined the person did not have a pulse. They began chest compressions and, after several of them, the person regained a pulse, Scott said.

“Each of you acted quickly, decisively and with a clear sense of purpose,” Scott said.

The Dixon City Fire Department transported the person to an area hospital and they fully recovered after several days, Scott said.

“There is no doubt that your actions were instrumental” in achieving that outcome, Scott said. “This incident serves as a powerful reminder of the work that you do every day and the impact you have on the lives of others.”

“I always tell our officers that the details matter and we take care of our citizens like their family,” Dixon Police Chief Ryan Bivins said. “Our officers do really awesome things all the time. I know people say it’s part of the job, but it’s important to recognize those that go above and beyond.”

“That is so much more than just a job description,” Council member Mary Oros said. “I’m humbled to live in a community where our first responders answer the call to that on a daily basis and think ‘it’s part of our day. It’s what we do.’”

Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss pointed out that since Bivins became chief in June 2025 he’s recognized several officers with this award for their responses to different situations.

“The way that he is shining a bright light on heroic lifesaving efforts, recognizing the officers and the team involved, making our community know how they’re being served by our department, is truly next-level leadership,” Langloss said.