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SBSO DEPUTIES RECEIVE KIWANIS LIFESAVER AWARDS
Two St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office deputies received the Kiwanis Club of St. Bernard-Arabi Sammie Catalanotto LifeSaver Award at a banquet hosted by Kiwanis this evening (Jan. 11) at Rocky and Carlo’s Restaurant in Chalmette, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.
Recipients are Dep. Christopher Acosta and Dep. Stephen Oalmann, both of the Field Operations Bureau’s Patrol Division’s 3rd Platoon.
Col. Chad Clark, chief of detectives and commander of the Criminal Investigations Bureau, spoke at the meeting.
Dep. Acosta and Dep. Oalmann were awarded this honor for saving the life of a baby girl born prematurely between 26-28 weeks gestation to a teen mother in February.
On Feb. 27, 2023, around 9:30 p.m., Sheriff Pohlmann said, the 9-1-1 Center received a call for service in reference to a 15-year-old female giving birth to a baby at her residence in the in Violet.
Dep. Oalmann was the first to arrive on the scene and he found the female juvenile holding her baby wrapped in a towel.
The baby wasn’t breathing so Dep. Oalmann’s training immediately kicked in and he began rendering aid to the infant by clearing its airway and beginning cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Soon after, Dep. Acosta arrived on the scene and relieved Dep. Oalmann by continuing CPR until emergency medical technicians with Acadian Ambulance arrived on the scene.
The baby girl was transported to an area hospital for treatment, and, thanks to the quick actions taken by Deputies Oalmann and Acosta, she is almost five months old now and doing well according to her family.
Dep. Stephen Oalmann began his career with the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office in 2016, and he graduated from the Police Officers Standards in Training or P.O.S.T. police academy in 2019.
Prior to joining Patrol, Dep. Oalmann worked in the Corrections Division at the parish jail for four years.
Dep. Oalmann said he enjoys being a police officer because it allows him to give back to his community.
“I love that I get to help people on their worst days,” he said, “but it is hard sometimes because you can’t always save everyone.”
Dep. Oalmann said he realized he needed to act swiftly when he was the first to arrive on the scene or the baby wouldn’t make it.
“I knew I needed to do whatever I could to give the baby a chance at living,” he said. “When I arrived on the scene the baby was unresponsive.”
Dep. Oalmann said he is honored to receive the Kiwanis LifeSaver Award.
“It’s a great reminder for me that I am making a difference by doing this job,” he said.
Dep. Christopher Acosta joined the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office in 2019, and graduated from the P.O.S.T. police academy in 2020.
In 2014, prior to joining SBSO, Dep. Acosta served as a member of the Interim LSU Hospital Police Department and also at the Jefferson Parish 1st District Constables Office.
Dep. Acosta said he always knew he would have some sort of career in public service.
“It’s all about the sense of service to the community and the ability to be there for someone in what might be the darkest moments they will experience,” he said. “I also take pride in having the ability to bring criminals to justice for the crimes they’ve committed.”
Dep. Acosta said he knew the situation was dire for the baby when he arrived on the scene.
“It’s always mentally challenging to have to perform life-saving measures on anyone, let alone a newborn,” he said. “Thankfully, in the moments while enroute to the scene I had a pretty good idea of what I would be walking into and was able to mentally prepare.”
Dep. Acosta said as soon as he cleared the scene he called his wife, Arkady, who happens to be a paramedic.
“I remember feeling like I was on Cloud 9 and telling her I had just coded a newborn and achieved ROSC (return to spontaneous circulation),” he said. “After talking to her from a medical professional standpoint I had an even better understanding of how rare that is to accomplish on a baby.”
Receiving the Lifesaver Award is truly an honor for Dep. Acosta.
“This award is a great reminder that what we do matters and there are people out there who appreciate our efforts,” he said.
