Fast fact For years Nevada had the highest suicide rate in the nation.

This series of day-in-the-life stories provides a candid look behind the scenes of the Boulder City police officers who protect and serve Boulder City.

New Year’s Eve in Boulder City, finally the ending to what can only be called “the year of COVID.” There will be no mass celebrations this year, the Strip in Las Vegas will be dark for the first time in many years. But rest assured, our Boulder City Police Department officers will still be out ensuring everyone’s safety, seeing that restricted celebratory send-offs to 2020 go smoothly throughout the city and that all residents are keeping in accordance with Gov. Steve Sisolak’s request for all Nevadans to stay at home.

Our police department officers have answered countless calls for help and service throughout 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, working countless hours serving all of us in the community. It hasn’t been easy, pleasant or without COVID-19 touching many of our lives and households, including those of our officers.

Regardless of that fact, the men and women who protect and serve our city have remained loyal peacekeepers and have demonstrated this above and beyond the lights and call of duty, showing professionalism and compassion in every part of their sometimes difficult and unbearable job duties.

They’ve handled a multitude of attempt suicide calls during the past nine months, without any significant change since the onset of the pandemic. Recently, officers working the graveyard shift were dispatched out on one of these attempted suicide calls and had it not been for the officers who responded to this call for help, the outcome may have been a very sad one for a local family. Here’s a glimpse inside this very real near-tragic event.

Dispatch receives a “911” call from a female caller who is stating, “that they’re at their sister’s residence, a mother with children currently in the home, who is in the kitchen holding a knife, threatening to end her own life. The mom in crisis has become overwhelmingly despondent over a recent breakup with her spouse and the announcement of the spouse’s intent to start the divorce process.” The caller is begging dispatch to send officers to help and send them fast.

While the call taker is collecting information, simultaneously their partner is dispatching units to the residence of the woman in crisis. The call of a suicide attempt hit the radio air within seconds of the call being received by dispatch and patrol units respond to the scene equally as fast. A veteran officer assigned to the Charlie-1 unit arrives first on scene and immediately turns on his protect and save mindset, entering the residence upon the arrival of additional backup units.

The officer of Charlie-1 unit is a unique individual and public servant, as well as a Medal of Valor recipient. You wouldn’t think it at first glance or encounter with this officer, because he always appears to be overly quiet, well-reserved, maybe even gentle and always with a warm smile to greet you. Don’t let that appearance fool you. Be certain he is highly trained, skilled and experienced, yielding great compassion, having the heart of a warrior when needed and a situation warrants. He is definitely the person wearing a badge that you would want to answer your call for help on any given day.

Officers make entry to the residence and within a few short minutes, the officer of Charlie-1 has brought calm to the mom in crisis and has brought a sense of safeness back to her children. He used his training and experience to help this mom realize that help is available to get her through this overwhelming time in her life and that of her children. The officer’s compassion emanated and resonated when de-escalating the situation and the mom became receptive to the offer of help.

Mom allowed Charlie-1 officer Todd Huff and his fellow officers to take charge, bringing about a positive ending to her bad day. Charlie-1 transported this mom to the hospital for medical care and she is all the better thanks to the outstanding crisis intervention actions of Boulder City Police Department.

Thanks again, for a job well done, above and beyond the lights, Boulder City Police Department.

Aly Rashaad is a dispatcher in Southern Nevada. She served as the director of fundraising and marketing for the LASD Road Racing Association for Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which provided the NASCAR and positive leadership experience to at-risk inner-city youth. She can be reached at Alys.View@ymail.com.