Thanks to some quick-thinking inmates, one deputy was helped during a medical emergency.

Before Deputy Warren Hobbs had a full-on cardiac emergency, inmates noticed that something was wrong with him while he was escorting them to their cells.

“He was breathing heavily. He wasn’t moving the way he normally moves. And their biggest indicator was that they say he took off his hat,” explained Deputy Shannon Vokodav. “Deputy cops always wear a hat. And he took his hat off. He was really sweating, and he was fanning himself with his hat. So, the inmates already had an idea that Deputy Hobbs wasn’t feeling well.”

Then one of the inmates in a downstairs cell saw the deputy lose consciousness.

“He was the only one who could see what was happening to Deputy Hobbs initially. He saw Deputy Hobbs at the desk, and he saw him fall and hit the floor,” shares Deputy Vokodav. “So, he was banging on his door. He was the one who really sounded the alarm. Eventually the whole unit was banging on their doors. They were all banging, calling the deputy’s name repeatedly. And Deputy Hobbs later told me that he didn’t realize that he had passed out. He had no idea he had suffered an emergency.”

After the inmates kept calling out to Deputy Hobbs, he was able to wake up to a point where he was semi-conscious. That’s when he looked up and saw the inmates in cell 617 looking down at him. He pushed the button to pop their door open and the inmates rushed to his aid.

“We didn’t do anything for Deputy Hobbs that he would not have done for us. There’s not a doubt in my mind,” said Terry Loveless, one of the inmates who called for medical help once he got down to Deputy Hobbs. “He’s a wonderful man, a good officer, and we’re thankful for him. And we can’t wait for him to get back to work.”

What a beautiful story that shows such compassion and kindness.

“It also was a great reminder that it’s not the uniform that makes the hero, it’s the person wearing the uniform,” says Deputy Vokodav. “These three inmates have very beautifully illustrated that anyone can be a hero, and we’re deeply appreciative of that.”