The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office hosted its annual awards ceremony Thursday to recognize its deputies and honor one special new member of the department.
Dane Kauhn Heckman, 10, was sworn in as the first-ever honorary deputy sheriff for his uplifting spirit, making him the star of the show.
Dane has muscular dystrophy and despite everything he’s been through, the sheriff says he “embodies the law enforcement spirit” by maintaining a positive outlook and caring for his community.
Dane said it is an “honor to be a correctional officer” for the community.
“I help leading people on rules, being nice. I do all the standard stuff a kid would do usually, even though I’m in a wheelchair,” he said.
Also recognized at the ceremony was Stephan Glunz, who received a Citizen Recognition Award for rescuing a woman who collapsed with no pulse in a vineyard during a rainstorm.
The sheriff’s office awarded a Life-Saving Medal to Deputy Matthew Holton, and several other San Luis Obispo County deputies were recognized at the ceremony for assisting first responders with the Hill Fire in Ventura County and the Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
