Three members of Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office receive Medal of Honor

Three Bonneville County Sheriff’s Deputies were awarded the Idaho Medal of Honor for their life saving efforts. Last Fall, they pulled a man out of a car that had flipped upside down into a canal.

In the middle of the night, the three men responded to the crash on East Lincoln road in Bonneville County. The car was upside down in a canal full of water. They jumped into the freezing water. The water pressure challenging them as they worked to rescue the man inside the car. They used the neighbor’s tractor and other tools, which allowed them to get into the car and cut the man out.

“Here was someone trapped in a car, we could hear him screaming in the car,” said Deputy Korey Payne. “That instinct kicks in and we want to do whatever we can to help someone and save their life.”

“Part of me kind of feels like, ‘We got an award today , but law enforcement helping people isn’t anything new. It happens every day,'” said Deputy Chris Rix.

The awards were presented by Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

“I don’t know how we got picked for it, but its very much an honor from the Sheriff and our colleagues and the Idaho Attorney General that we were the ones chosen,” said Payne.

This week is National Police Week, and a tribute was paid to officers killed in the line of duty.

“Its no mystery to us that we might see danger and we might see harm,” said Rix. “We get into the job knowing that, it’s something you just accept. It’s being at events like that and seeing the families that are left behind. That’s the most painful part.”