Bradenton police officer to receive Medal of Merit

Officer Dean Buttitta

A hero's save has earned a Bradenton police officer one of the department's top citations, according to a city news release:

Officer Dean Buttitta will receive the Medal of Merit, the Bradenton Police Department announced today.

The Medal of Merit is the police department’s third highest honor.

Officer Buttitta is credited with saving the life of an infant. While patrolling 14th Street West on Dec. 5, a motorist alerted him that that her small infant was not breathing and was gasping for air. Officer Buttitta quickly got to the child and, seeing that the infant was gasping for air, called for EMS.

He then repositioned the infant and conducted a finger sweep inside the infant’s mouth. This caused the infant to vomit a large amount of white liquid. EMS arrived and a short time later transported the infant to Manatee Memorial Hospital where she was treated and stabilized.

Officer Buttitta's quick action prevented a possible life threatening incident, according to several commanding officers as the department’s Officer of the Month for January.

Officer Buttitta has served with the Bradenton Police Department since 2005. He is currently assigned to Patrol Operations.