Three Rutherford County Sheriff’s officers who saved four lives earned Hero Awards Saturday from the Murfreesboro branch of the NAACP.

School Resource Officer Jeff DeGennaro, Patrol Deputy Joey Vann and Civil Warrants Deputy Michael Moody received the Jerry Anderson Hero Award during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast at MTSU.

Anderson died May 27, 1989, saving two young boys from drowning in the Stones River in Murfreesboro. On the same day five years earlier, he rescued trapped motorists from floodwaters in Tulsa, Okla.

He was a star football player at Central High School, the University of Oklahoma and the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh commended the officers for their life-saving efforts.

“These officers risked their own lives to save two young sisters, a mentally ill man and an unresponsive driver,” Fitzhugh said. “We are grateful they saved four people’s lives.”

DeGennaro was off duty with his children July 17 at a subdivision swimming pool.

He saw two young sisters about ages 3 and 5 paddling on an inflatable raft in the deep end. The older sister seemed to give up, jumped in the water and struggled to swim to the edge. 

The younger sister jumped in, started to sink and latched onto the older child. They struggled and they sank to the bottom of the pool.

DeGennaro jumped in, fully clothed, and rescued the two sisters from the bottom of the pool.

Vann was on duty and driving when he saw a man climbing onto the rail on the bridge over Stones River and the Stones River Greenway Aug. 29 on Old Fort Parkway.

The man was armed with a cutting instrument and a pointed club. Vann learned the mentally ill man intended to take his own life and threatened anyone who interfered.

Vann talked with the man, trying to prevent him from either intentionally or accidentally falling off the bridge. Vann kept negotiating with the man who became distracted by other officers under the bridge. 

He risked harm to himself, but grabbed the subject, pulling him to safety in the roadway where he was disarmed and secured.

His actions resulted in saving the life of this mentally ill man and getting him needed medical care.

Moody rescued an unresponsive man from a burning car Nov. 8 on Interstate 24.

Moody was traveling on I-24 when he heard the call about the driver. He observed the vehicle stopped and pinned against the guardrail. The driver appeared to have a medical issue and was not responsive.

He broke the driver’s side window. While attempting to break the window, the car caught on fire. Moody rescued the driver from the burning car.