LIVINGSTON COUNTY — A Livingston County Sheriff Deputy received the 2018 New York State American Legion Correction Officer of the Year Award and other local recognitions for her lifesaving efforts on an inmate.
According to a press release from Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty, Deputy Brenda Clark-Pierson received an award for the American Legion Correction Officer of the Year for the 7th District and subsequently nominated and won the American Legion Correction Officer of the Year for New York State.
“I am very proud of Deputy Clark-Pierson for the awards she received in recognition of this life-saving incident,” said Sheriff Dougherty. “It is great to see a member of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office receiving a statewide award. Often the members of the Jail Division do not get the Recognition they deserve for the very difficult job they perform.”
Deputy Clark-Pierson received these awards from an incident occurring on May 26, 201. She was stationed at the female wing rover covering an afternoon shift after already working her assigned day shift. As she was in the process of serving the evening meal she entered F block and requested that cell F2 be opened. She called for the inmate residing in that cell to come out and there was no response. Upon going further in Deputy Clark-Pierson saw the inmate unresponsive on her bunk. After calling for assistance over the radio, Deputy Clark-Pierson examined and found no signs of life from the inmate. After beginning resuscitative efforts, Deputy Clark-Pierson was able to bring the inmate back to life and cared for the inmate until EMS arrived.
Deputy Clark-Pierson is a 10 year veteran of the Correctional Services Bureau of the Sheriff’s Office. She serves as the unit commander of the fire brigade and is responsible for many of the safety features of the facility as well as training of the fire brigade members and all jail deputies.