Two stabbing victims. Three Good Samaritans. And two heroes from the Las Vegas mass shooting. The 28th Annual Citizens of Courage Awards brought together nine individuals who were recognized for their extraordinary courage in the face of violent crime. Watch more in this video. [TWEET THIS]
Watch each individual story of this year’s Citizens of Courage honorees in the links below:
Taylor Winston and Dr. Shiva Ghaed are two local San Diegans who were at the Route 91 Country Music Festival in Las Vegas.
Taylor is an Iraq War veteran who acted quickly locating a pick-up truck, loading it with victims of the shooting and driving them to the hospital. Dr. Ghaed is a psychologist with multiple doctorate degrees and specializes in combat trauma therapy with active military members.
Dr. Ghaed has started a support group here in San Diego to counsel local survivors of the mass shooting and even has traveled to Las Vegas to help survivors there create a support group. Taylor has helped Dr. Ghaed spread the word about this support group.
They all have invisible scars and are trying to help everyone with group therapy through the guidance and expertise of Dr. Ghaed.
Watch each individual story of this year’s Citizens of Courage honorees in the links below:
Maria Figueroa is someone who put her own life in danger to help her neighbor who was stabbed by her daughter’s boyfriend.
Maria heard the cries for help and came out of her house to help her neighbor, but did not know that the suspect would come back and stab her.
Maria survived her injuries, unfortunately her neighbor did not. However, thanks to Maria being a primary witness, she was able to help send the attacker to prison.
Watch each individual story of this year’s Citizens of Courage honorees in the links below:
Dr. Matthew Bruhin is not a victim of crime— he happened to be the right person to be at the right place and at the right time when a young military veteran was about to end his life on the Coronado Bay Bridge.
Dr. Bruhin and his wife, Elizabeth, were on their way back home when they spotted the young man walking alone along the bridge.
Dr. Bruhin, who is a licensed mental health clinician, knew he had to help and stopped his car to talk to him. He ultimately convinced him to step off the ledge and go into his car.
Not only did Dr. Bruhin save this man’s life, but he helped turn his life around by offering his services at no cost, including shelter at a rehab facility as long as it take for him to get back at his feet.
Watch each individual story of this year’s Citizens of Courage honorees in the links below:
Financial elder and dependent abuse is often under reported and when it is reported, it often times already caused a great financial burden on the victim.
Our next recipient helped prevent a financial crime before it happened to a wheelchair-bound man.
Marlene Ruiz is a personal banker who intervened when she noticed a con artist was trying to take advantage of her client by making him extract thousands of dollars from his bank account.
Watch each individual story of this year’s Citizens of Courage honorees in the links below:
Cynthia Doucette is a survivor of a horrifying and random attack.
It was just the beginning of another day at work for Cynthia Doucette, who is a case manager at County Mental Health, until she was attacked by a stranger as she was getting out of her car.
He stabbed her more than 15 times but she fought back and was able to pull out her cell phone to dial 911.
She survived and was able to quickly identify her attacker and helped send him to prison.
Watch each individual story of this year’s Citizens of Courage honorees in the links below:
William Stamm, William Stout and Bala Carter are three good Samaritans who intervened and stopped a man who was beating a woman with a tire iron no the side of a busy street in plain daylight.
These three men – a football coach, a construction worker and a student – did not know each other or the victim in this case, but all three stopped their cars and took action to stop the attack.
They each risked serious harm when they helped stop the defendant from killing his girlfriend, and restrained him until police arrived then testified against him at trial to help bring justice to the victim.
Watch each individual story of this year’s Citizens of Courage honorees in the links below:
This week, District Attorney Summer Stephan joined the mother of murder victim Krystal Mitchell in asking for the public’s help to locate and capture a killer. Watch the video to see where authorities believe he is hiding. More details and information, here.
In San Diego County, almost 23 percent of the population is projected to be over age 65 by the year 2050, which is a 10 percent increase from 2015. With the older population increasing, elder abuse is also on the rise. Adult Protective Services has continued to receive an increased number of referrals from fiscal years 2014 to 2017. Financial abuse was the most common form of abuse seen in their confirmed cases, followed by mental suffering and physical abuse. In this video, victims of elder abuse recount their stories, including financial and physical elder abuse.
[READ MORE ABOUT THE FIRST COUNTY BLUEPRINT TO HELP COMBAT ELDER ABUSE]
Married men, medical professionals, and a cyclist in the middle of his workout were part of a group arrested during an undercover operation targeting men buying sex. See more in this video.