Each year the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa honors an outstanding police officer and firefighter from Santa Rosa. This year, the exemplary contributions of Santa Rosa Police Department’s Officer Irfaan Jaleel and Santa Rosa Fire Department’s Captain Mark Jackson were honored at a recent Rotary event.

Officer Irfaan Jaleel:
On Aug. 20, 2022, the Santa Rosa Police were dispatched to help a 6-year-old who was not breathing. Under the attentive eyes of family, the child was playing in a neighborhood pool but didn’t come back up to the surface of the pool. The child was quickly pulled out of the pool, 9-1-1 was called, and CPR was initiated. 

Ofc. Jaleel was nearby responding to a separate call for service was redirected and was the first public safety personnel to arrive. Ofc. Jaleel quickly began life-saving measures and was able to revive the child, who was transported to the hospital with the mother.

Ofc. Jaleel is to be commended for his swift, decisive action that helped save a child’s life. 

Fire Captain Mark Jackson:
Last year, Captain Mark Jackson worked tirelessly to write several grants for a Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) to be added to the Santa Rosa Fire Department’s fleet and operations. He successfully received grant funding, completed all the research and specifications for the UTV, took delivery, and completed the custom build-out of this new unit. This unit will primarily provide rapid and effective responses into Annadel State Park from Fire Station 7 in east Satna Rosa (Oakmont) and throughout the City, as needed. Mark worked with State Parks on access and approval and has developed the training program and operational guidelines for a new innovative response tool.

Capt. Jackson deserves this award and exemplifies the type of firefighter who leads by example without expecting anything in return. The City of Santa Rosa and the Fire Department are proud to have him as one of our supervisors and leaders.