By Glenroy Sinclair,
Staff Reporter
THREE MONTHS after they risked their lives to heroically save a 14-year-old Merl Grove High student, Detective Sergeants Paro Campbell and Elwig Cameron were honoured Monday night by the Kiwanis Club of St. Andrew.
"We think it was a fitting way to recognise these two policemen for their bravery. The circumstances under which they saved the little girl touched all of us," said Phillipa Beckford, president-elect of the Kiwanis Club of St. Andrew.
On December 4, last year, Tameka Osbourne was on her way from school, when she fell in a gutter at the intersection of Eastwood Park and Red Hills roads and was in danger of drowning. The two policemen jumped into the water and rescued her.
Since then, the policemen have gone one step further by opening an account to aid her schooling at the Bank of Nova Scotia in Half-Way Tree, naming it the Tameka Osbourne Educational Fund.
Chairman of the Police Federation, Inspector Merrick Watson, told The Gleaner yesterday that many heroic acts done by policemen have gone unnoticed. He explained that one of the responsibilities of the police was to protect the lives of every citizen, and in doing so, some lawmen have to gone to the extreme, ignoring their own safety.
According to Inspector Watson, both sergeants were commended by the federation through the weekly Police Force Orders.
Monday night's award was the second of its kind for the policemen, who were recognised for their bravery by Merl Grove High School on January 11. Prior to that, young Tameka had said thank you in a very special way to the two officers by presenting them with bouquets of flowers and two postcards with words of appreciation.
A prominent crime-fighter from the 1970s, Sergeant Campbell who received over 59 commendations from the police force, said he believed that he was prodded by God to take action on the afternoon when he and his colleague rescued Tameka.
He also lauded the Kiwanis Club of St. Andrew, and stressed that he was happy that there are still individuals and organisations willing to commend the police for a job well done.