At the Lincoln City City Council Meeting on August 12th, Chief Jerry Palmer recognized Austin DePaolis and Zachary Bickerdyke for their selfless act of bravery in coming to the aid of an LCPD officer during a fight. On July 16th, LCPD Officers were dispatched to a fight in-progress involving multiple people at D River Wayside. DePaolis observed the fight and was calling 911 when he saw Officer Jim Hoydic arrive on scene. As Officer Hoydic exited his vehicle, one of the males involved in the fight attacked him and landed a tremendous blow to his head and face.
Although Officer Hoydic deployed his baton and landed several strikes on his attacker, they had no effect on his momentum, and when DePaolis observed the attacker continue to wrestle with Officer Hoydic, he ran to his aid by jumping on the attacker’s back and placing him in a neck hold. As Officer KC Claunts and Officer Summer Danneker arrived on scene to assist with controlling the subject, Bickerdyke observed the melee and jumped in to help without hesitation. Bickerdyke gained control of the attacker’s legs, while Officer Claunts, Officer Hoydic, and Officer Danneker controlled his arms and managed to finally apply handcuffs.
The attacker continued to fight, which led to the application of leg restraints before he could finally be placed into custody, transported to SNLH for evaluation, and transported and lodged in the Lincoln County Jail. Officer Hoydic was treated for head, shoulder, and knee injuries, and was off for several days to recover from his injuries. It is the belief of all the officers on scene that Officer Hoydic, and perhaps others, would have been more seriously injured had DePaolis and Bickerdyke not had the bravery to intervene. It is with great admiration and deepest appreciation that LCPD would like to publicly thank these two local heroes!
Information and photo provided by LCPD
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