Deputy Suttles Recognized For Life-Saving Measures in August Rollover Accident by FOP

By Benjamin Cox on September 26, 2019 at 11:41am

Left to right: Morgan County Chief Deputy Jamie Jackson; Morgan County Sheriff Mike Carmody; Chelsea Suttles, with the Suttles children; Deputy Derek Suttles; FOP Awards Committee Chair Jerry Lieb; and FOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood. The awards presentation took place during the FOP State Lodge board meeting held September 26 in Springfield. Photo courtesy FOP.

A Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy has been recognized by the Fraternal Order of Police for saving a woman’s life in the line of duty. Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Suttles has received an award from the Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge for his on-duty life-saving actions.

The Fraternal Order of Police’s Life Saving Award is given for outstanding efforts in performing actions or applying techniques that result in saving or sustaining a human life. Suttles received the award for his response to an August 22nd auto accident along Interstate 72 just outside of Jacksonville where a White SUV had hydroplaned off the road and caught fire. Suttles immediately kept the fire contained and then assisted the Jacksonville Fire Department in removing 39 year old Melissa K. Dahl from the vehicle. Dahl would have been seriously burned or killed if it weren’t for Suttles’ actions. Instead, Dahl was discharged from the hospital later that afternoon with only minor injuries.

The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, chartered in 1963, is the second largest State Lodge, proudly representing more than 34,000 active duty and retired police officers – more than 10 percent of all FOP members nationwide.