LTC 207-2021 Dade Chiefs Officer of the YearMIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 207-2021 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM:
Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
Alina T. Hudak, City Manag�
May 12, 2021 lJfi'' \ DATE:
SUBJECT: Dade Chiefs Officer of the Year
This letter to Commission is to advise that Miami Beach Police Officer Lavaniel Hicks has been selectedas the Dade Chiefs Officer of the Year. The events that led to his nomination and ultimate award are
as follows:
On Wednesday, March 4, 2020, at approximately 11 :00 pm, while off-duty and traveling in his
personal vehicle with his family, Ofc. Lavaniel Hicks heard what sounded like a loud crash. As they arrived at the entrance to their gated community, they observed a white vehicle, that appeared to have rolled over, in the middle of the shopping plaza parking lot, smoking heavily. Officer Hicks could have called 911 and returned to the safety of his home with his family at this point, but because of his commitment to serving his community, he immediately drove to
the area to assist.
As he and his family got closer to the smoking vehicle, he noticed that the vehicle was on fire and occupied by multiple passengers. Officer Hicks immediately rushed to the burning vehicle to assist in any way that he could. As he approached the vehicle, he observed a young man attempting to extract a female from the vehicle. Officer Hicks assisted in the extrication and
successfully got the female out of the burning car to safety.
Ofc. Hicks went back to the vehicle checking for any other victims that may be still inside, and observed a young male still trapped. The damage to the vehicle made it impossible to quickly extricate the trapped male and the growing flames and smoke also hampered the effort.
Officer Hicks assumed a leadership role, organized several other good samaritans that had
stopped to assist and decided together that they would try to lift the vehicle to free the trapped
passenger. Officer Hicks and his team spread out and he quickly yelled for them to lift the vehicle. The collective efforts of his makeshift team to lift the vehicle were successful, allowing another good samaritan to pull the young man from the clutches of an assured and painful death.
Upon safely removing the trapped passenger, a member of Officer Hicks' team noticed another
badly trapped passenger pinned inside the burning vehicle. Officer Hicks and the others rushed
back to the vehicle to save this person. They quickly discovered that the victim was too severely
trapped for them to extract due to the damage and the vehicle nearly fully engulfed with flames.
As they quickly contemplated their next decision, Ofc Hicks realized the horrible possibility this
helpless victim may burn to death if they failed to get him out. At this point, several others ran
up with fire extinguishers and attempted to extinguish the flames, but they had little to no effect
on the fire.
As the fire began spreading to the passenger compartment of the vehicle, inching ever closer
to the trapped victim, another good samaritan showed up with an extinguisher that was filled
with water. Officer Hicks quickly instructed this person to use the water-filled extinguisher to
douse the trapped passenger to keep the flames from reaching him until fire rescue arrived.
As the agonizing seconds ticked away, the flames grew closer to the helplessly trapped victim,
who was being kept from enduring a painful death by a thin stream of water from the
extinguisher. After what seemed like an eternity, Fire rescue arrived took over the scene and
extinguished the fire. Fire rescue then had to use the jaws of life to cut the door off the vehicle
to extract the trapped passenger.
As a direct result of Officer Hicks' actions and the assistance of community members, three
people were saved from death's door. This coupled with the fact that Officer Hicks was off duty
and with his family when he made the valiant decision to place himself in harm's way, is truly
remakable. Ofc. Hicks risked the possiblility of death or great bodily injury to himself, to save
others during his personal time and in the direct presence of his family. Officer Hicks' actions
in this incident epitomize the meaning of the terms "courage" and "bravery" and serve as
examples of self-sacrifice in furtherance of the safety and protection of others. Officer Hicks
did what every police officer and public servant should try to aspire to do in an extreme
emergency, when their life and the lives of others hang in the balance. Officer Hicks maintained
his composure, took a leadership role, directed the collective efforts of well-intentioned
strangers and succeeded in saving these victims from certain death.
ATHIRMC/rh u