When he deflected the butcher knife wielded by the drugged
woman, Morgan Hill police Cpl. Bill Norman was acting on instinct
honed by years of experience.
Gilroy – When he deflected the butcher knife wielded by the drugged woman, Morgan Hill police Cpl. Bill Norman was acting on instinct honed by years of experience.
And experience is one of the most valuable assets Morgan Hill police reserve officer Ken DeLuna brings to the department.
Gilroy’s Exchange Club gave Norman, DeLuna and eight other officers Blue and Gold awards Wednesday during a ceremony at the Portuguese Hall in Gilroy. The awards recognize police, firefighters, patrolmen and remarkable South County citizens.
Norman was honored for the “heroics he displayed,” according to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing, as he averted a potentially fatal stabbing.
The incident took place April 4 when Norman responded to a call about a possible domestic violence situation.
Swing said officers at the scene determined suspect Lexie McClain, 42, needed to undergo a mental-health evaluation and called an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance, McClain, who was sitting in a recliner, called out for her mother, who was in another room. When her mother came into the room where McClain was sitting, Swing said, McClain allegedly jumped up from the chair, grabbing a butcher knife concealed in the cushions of the recliner, and attacked her mother.
Norman reacted quickly, striking McClain’s right hand as she brought the knife down towards her mother. The butcher knife was deflected, and it gashed the victim’s arm. Norman tackled McClain, taking her down to the floor and wrestling the knife from her hand.
McClain’s mother was treated by paramedics at the scene, but the laceration on her arm required stitches, so she was later treated and released from the hospital.
“We are grateful as a department, as a community, that the only injury she sustained was to her arm,” Swing said. “It could have been far more serious, could have been deadly, to anyone there at that time. It isn’t just the person intended for the stabbing; Cpl. Norman could have been seriously injured.”
Swing said DeLuna served the city through the Morgan Hill Police Department long before the city began paying reserve officers a nominal fee for their time.
“He was recognized for his selfless service to the community that he has provided for nearly two decades now,” he said. “He not only works for the city in the capacity of building inspector, he also works for the city as a reserved police officer … He’s out there (on duty) most Friday and Saturday nights, usually until 2 or 3am. One of the benefits of having him out there is that if there’s a case with code enforcement issues, we have his insight and expertise. He’s a great resource for the department.”
