Three St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office law enforcement officers were recently honored with American Legion Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Awards during a ceremony on Wednesday, July 28.
The awards, given to Det. Isaac Genova, Deputy Timbrel Lewis and Sgt. Steven Mahan by the St. Rose American Legion Post, were given in honor for a specific call all three officers responded admirably to on July 27, 2022. The call came in that day with shots fired on Ash Street in Hahnville, which led to the officers discovering multiple shooting victims on site when each arrived on the scene.
“It was pretty chaotic,” Mahan said of first arriving at Ash Street after receiving the call, where a neighborhood crowd had gathered, further complicating matters. “It’s not a normal day for us to deal with four people that have been shot at one time.”
Mahan and fellow officers Lewis and Genova immediately put their extensive training in action, making sure the shooting threat had left the area, began securing the scene and aiding those that needed help.
“We immediately start assessing everything, make sure the scene is safe, and start rendering aid – just doing our best, doing what we have to do,” Lewis, 26, said of her actions on that day.
Mahan, 47, began directing Sheriff’s Office assets and incoming units, while Genova located a gunshot victim, triaged him and properly applied a tourniquet. Lewis identified a second gunshot victim bleeding heavily from the leg, and applied a tourniquet, and when the bleeding did not stop, she applied a second tourniquet which finally controlled the victim’s bleeding.
“Triage is super important,” Mahan said. “You have to find the people that are hurt the most and are the most critical and make sure that’s treated – first and foremost.”
It was also key, Genova said, for the three officers to “effectively keep those crowds back to preserve the crime scene as well as showing some type of empathy for those crowds in order to calm those individuals down…because not only are the victims mad, but residents in the area may be angry about the shooting or any shootings that do occur, and it’s being able to effectively communicate with them in order to calm them down, and let them know that you’re there to help.”
Given the nature of their wounds, St. Charles EMS Director and ER physicians later said Lewis and Genova’s proper tourniquet applications saved the lives of two of the gunshot victims.
Each of the three officers credited in part the training they received over the course of their careers for their performance on the Ashland Street call that day.
“I believe that training is paramount in that situation,” Genova said. “I believe that a person leans on their training in order to be able to assess those situations and be able to effectively respond to those situations.”
Lewis said she was both surprised and grateful for being honored with the American Legion’s award, initially believing only seasoned officers who had been on the force 10 or 20 years were honored in this way.
“I honestly thought with me being so young and new into this career, there was no way I could receive something like that,” Lewis, who first began her law enforcement career in 2017 in New Orleans, said.
Sheriff Greg Champagne presented the three officers with additional Sheriff’s Office Distinguished Service Awards during a staff meeting on March 23 for their actions.
“I thank the American Legion Post 366 for recognizing Detective Genova, Deputy Lewis and Sergeant S. Mahan for their dedication to the citizens of St. Charles Parish,” Champagne said after the trio were given their awards.
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