Sgt. Sheila Lambie is Officer of the Year, and two others in the St. Paul Police Department earned state awards.
It was a cold, windy day last November when a suicidal woman climbed to the arch of the Robert Street bridge in St. Paul and threatened to fling herself into the river.
Sgt. Sheila Lambie harnessed herself into a fire bucket and was lifted about 300 feet, where she handed the woman a blanket.
"If you want to sit here and talk, we can sit here and talk," Lambie told the woman, who had traveled from Minneapolis to jump off the bridge.
After 10 minutes of talking, Lambie, a member of the department's crisis negotiator team, reached out her hand. The woman took it and stepped into the bucket.
Lambie will be recognized Wednesday as Officer of the Year at the 50th annual Minnesota Association of Women Police conference for work as a crisis negotiator, work with students at Metro State University and general excellence.
"It's a huge honor," said Lambie, an 18-year veteran of the department who joined the homicide unit this year.
The woman is alive today because of Lambie's actions, Commander Kevin Casper said in his letter nominating her.
"One wrong step for her and she could've tragically fallen into the river," Lambie said.
Two other St. Paul officers will also be recognized at the conference in Alexandria, Minn.
Commander Mary Nash will receive the Leadership Award for her work with the department's 2011 training academy. The class had the highest completion rate in the past five years.
"It's humbling and an honor," said Nash, only the 33rd woman on the force when hired in 1989. "When I pursued [police work], I never knew a female who was in this business."
Nash, commander of the training unit and a member of the crisis negotiator team, also led the department in the changeover to new firearms and subsequent training last year. More than 20 sessions held over three months were required to train officers.
A native of the East Side, Nash said a woman officer who spoke to her junior high class was an inspiration. Now, she, Lambie and others are nurturing tomorrow's women officers.
The department has 105 women officers in a force of 585, about 18 percent. The number of women peaked at about 125 some years ago, but Lambie and Nash said they only see progress and growth in opportunities for women.
Officer Tanya Tamm will receive the Melissa Schmidt Community Service Award for her work on the Wills for Heroes program. Tamm set up 10 clinics for more than 500 first responders in St. Paul, Duluth and other outstate agencies.