Two Rochester HIlls Women Recognized as Citizen Heroes

A standing room only crowd wedged itself into the Oakland County Sheriff’s headquarters in Pontiac on Wednesday to recognize citizen heroes.

The annual awards ceremony honored 26 Michigan residents who helped prevent a crime or apprehend a criminal.

Caryn Pelley and Michelle Tebbe, both of Rochester Hills, received awards for two separate incidents.

Pelley was part of a six-person citizen crew that helped apprehend a purse snatcher in April 2010. Pelley saw the suspect run into a local Verizon Wireless store and helped relay that information to sheriff's deputies, who then contacted the store, where employees helped detain the suspected purse snatcher until deputies arrived.

Tebbe, a waitress at in Rochester Hills, noticed a customer was choking in December; he wasn't able to speak. Tebbe performed the Heimlich maneuver on him and dislodged the obstruction. He was then able to breathe and speak again.

Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett was on hand to help honor the citizens' actions.

“I’m really pleased that the sheriff does this and takes the time to recognize folks who wouldn’t otherwise get any recognition,” Barnett said.

The program is designed to encourage citizens to act — and to honor them properly when they do. 

“We give awards to citizens who really step up and either get involved by passive action, where they record a license plate or call in when they notice something,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “We can’t be everywhere all of the time, especially with our diminishing resources.”

Before the presentations, Bouchard pointed out that his department is "down 143 people in the sheriff’s office, so there’s less of us, and meanwhile our requests for service is up 30 percent. So we’re doing a whole lot more with a whole lot less.”

Every action taken by citizens is important in helping police the communities within Oakland County, he said.

“It makes a huge difference,” Bouchard said. “It helps us solve crimes and helps us save lives.”

Also recognized Wednesday:

• Three citizens who helped apprehend a suspected purse snatcher at in November. Two employees of the grocery store — Douglas Sturtz and David Welch — and an employee of nearby , Blake Beaubien, caught the suspect hiding in the Papa Joe's bathroom.
• William Collie of Roseville was acknowledged for reporting the license plate number of a vehicle involved in a robbery of in August.