Alex Carson
Roger Caron
Roger Caron is a retired police officer. He retired over 30 years ago, but he still lives to make sure that other people are safe. This is why he works as a safety and security officer in the Pascack Hills High School. The kids in the school know him well, and they like him. The students know that if they have a problem, they can go to Roger.
Roger’s Job
Roger’s job at the school is very important. With the issues with bullying these days, many schools have hired people like Roger to keep the students safe and to make them feel safe. He is also there to prevent fights from occurring. Roger takes pride in making sure that nothing at the school ever gets out of hand.
Suspicious Behavior
In April 2018, Roger was at the school working. While keeping everyone safe, Roger saw a girl come into the school. She caught his attention because she was walking in a strange manner. His gut told him that something was very wrong. Roger spoke with CBS New York about the incident, and he said, “She was stumbling a little, moving very quickly. The closer I got to her, I realized there was a problem.” School officer makes eye contact then grabs teen before it’s too late.
The Girl In Question
The girl who was behaving strangely was a 17-year-old girl named Sarah. Sarah was rushing to class trying to finish eating when she got a french fry stuck in her throat. She tried to get it out, but nothing was working. She couldn’t breathe, she was choking, and she didn’t know what to do. Sarah says that each time she took a step, she got weaker and weaker. After a couple of seconds, she says that she found herself fading out.
A Hero
Fortunately, officer Caron was able to see that Sarah was in trouble and he went over to see her. By the time he got there, her face had turned blue. He could tell just by looking at her that she needed help immediately. As a former officer, she was trained in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver. He quickly turned Sarah around and began to perform the Heimlich maneuver on her. It took a couple of seconds and finally, the fry came up, and Sarah was able to breathe. Everyone who witnessed the incident cheered. Officer Roger Caron was a hero.
Honored By the Mayor.
After word of Roger’s heroism got out, the Montvale Mayor, Mike Ghassali described the incident as “an excellent job by hero Special Law Enforcement Officer II Roger Caron.” When Roger was honored, he was proud, but he wasn’t sure why. He says that he was only doing his job, but it is a wonderful feeling to know that you can help someone. He says that it is what he took away from the whole experience.
Sarah’s Hero
Sarah says that helping her may have been officer Caron’s job, but he will always be her hero. She says that since he saved her life, she has a special bond with him that will never change.
Sarah’s Dream
As a child, Sarah says that she has always dreamed of becoming a police officer. Over the years, she started to wonder if it would be the best job for her. After officer Caron saved her life, her desire to work in law enforcement grew. She decided that she was going to pursue a career in with the police force, and plans to study criminal justice when she graduates from high school. Sarah says that thanks to Officer Caron, she would actually have a chance to graduate. She says if Roger weren’t there if he didn’t notice that something was off, if he didn’t act fast, or if he didn’t know what to do, she may have died in the middle of the hallway that day. She says that she will never forget Roger or how he saved her life.
Something To Be Proud Of
The school, like many, has video surveillance cameras in the hallways. The cameras were able to pick up the entire incident. Shortly after it happened, the school shared the video with CBS 2, and Roger got the praise that he deserved.
Today
Today, Roger is still working at the school. He says that he is glad that some of the hype died down, because he just wants to do his job and protect the students in any way that is necessary. Roger says that the students that he has been hired to look out for mean everything to him and he would risk his life for any of them.
