THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602080133
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JO-ANN CLEGG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
FOR THE 14TH YEAR in a row, American Legion Princess Anne Post 113 honored representatives of the Virginia Beach Police, Fire and Sheriff's departments at its annual Law and Order Day Oyster Roast.
Scheduled for 1 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday at the home of Post Commander Jim Pilley, the affair was billed as a pig-scarfing, cake-eating, football-watching - but, most importantly - an officer-honoring event.
This year's honorees included a police officer who pulled a man from a burning building, a master firefighter who does double duty as the volunteer captain of a rescue squad and a sheriff's deputy who has been responsible for the safety of everyone from defendants to judges, witnesses and spectators in the Virginia Beach court complex.
B.D. Knight, a K-9 officer with seven years of service in the Police Department, was on patrol with his dog, Charley, on the evening of Dec. 10 when he was one of a group of officers called to the scene of a domestic violence situation.
When the officers arrived, they discovered that a male resident of the home had poured gasoline over the entire living room and was threatening to set fire to it.
While Knight and another officer were standing in a doorway trying to reason with the man, he set fire to the gasoline can, setting the entire living room on fire.
When firefighters who were on the scene rushed in, Knight went with them, grabbed the man who was partially on fire and pulled him to safety. Miraculously, the man escaped with minor injuries.
``It was a gut reaction,'' Knight, an Army veteran, said modestly. ``I guess I was just doing God's work.''
Master Firefighter Robert Helfant's real job is with Fire Company 3 in the Lynnhaven Industrial Park. He's a member of the local FEMA Team, which distinguished itself in Oklahoma City last April, as well as the Dive Team supervisor and a member of the Hazardous Material Team.
In his off time, the 12-year Fire Department veteran serves as the Volunteer Rescue Captain for Rescue Squad 5 at the Courthouse.
His volunteer work predates his paid work with the department by about six years.
``I've been volunteering with the Rescue Squad for 18 years now,'' said Helfant, who lives in Chimney Hill with his wife, Deborah, and 9-year-old daughter, Holly.
``I consider it a real honor that I was selected by the department for the award,'' he added.
In a year of high profile cases involving particularly violent offenses and offenders, Lt. Shaun Rategan, commanding officer of the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office Court Security Unit, has earned high marks for implementing new safety measures in and around the courts.
He routinely deals with such security issues as bomb threats, court evacuations and the high volume of people on the docket for all the city's courts.
``We're always looking for new ways to improve security,'' Rategan said. ``We know that it's an inconvenience. Setting up a situation where people walk away from security with a smile is always a challenge.''
The Connecticut native and his wife, D.J., are the parents of a 4 1/2-year-old son, Ryan. Rategan served four years in the Marine Corps, where he was engaged in similar work with NATO before joining the Sheriff's Department nine years ago.
``In the Marine Corps, it was called dignitary protection. Here it's judicial protection, but it's the same kind of thing,'' he explained.
``Complicating this assignment,'' Sheriff Frank Drew wrote in his nomination of Rategan, ``is the fact that people going to court have become more and more violent.''
Among those who honored the three men at the American Legion ceremony were Congressman Owen Pickett and Mayor Meyera Oberndorf. Awards were presented by Past Post and Department Commander Clyde Siler. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Past Post and Department Commander Clyde Siler, left, presents an
award to Master Firefighter Robert Helfant, who is also a FEMA Team
member and volunteer rescue captain.
B.D. Knight, a K-9 officer, rescued a man from a fire.
Lt. Shaun Rategan brought renewed safety to courts.
by CNB