Four Katy ISD Police Officers Awarded for Saving District Visitor’s Life

KATY MAGAZINE NEWS

December 10, 2024

By Natalie Cook Clark

Last night at the Katy ISD Board of Trustee meeting, four Katy ISD police officers received the district’s Meritorious Service Award for their service. Last month they saved a visitor’s life who went into cardiac arrest.

Photo courtesy of Katy ISD

 Katy ISD police officers Lt. Glenn Cloud, Sgt. Jeffrey Martinez, and Officers Matthew Graham and Jason Ryan received the district’s Meritorious Service Award for their service above and beyond the call of duty for saving a visitor’s life.

Last month, the officers saved the life of a patron at Legacy Stadium, the host venue for the US Band’s Southeastern Texas Championship. The event featured top bands from across the region and attracted thousands of families and supporters. That night, as the bands began packing for the day, Rene Leyva, a parent with the Klein Collins High School band, suffered a cardiac arrest, and thanks to the quick actions of officers with the Katy ISD Police Department, he is alive and well today.

“This is what we train for – to keep our students, staff, and visitors safe,” says Chief Henry Gaw, of the Katy ISD Police Department. “I could not be prouder of these officers for their service to Mr. Leyva and his family. They represent our very best.”

Using their training and equipment, these officers, alongside parent volunteer, Jason Hedrick were able to aid Leyva, who is expected to make a full recovery after his recent bypass surgery.

Jason Hedrick, a Klein Collins parent volunteer assisted in performing CPR on Leyva before Officer Ryan arrived with an AED (automated external defibrillator). Together, they successfully restarted Leyva’s heart and detected a pulse.

First responders from the Katy Fire Department were quick to the scene to provided life-saving care, and transported him to Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital.

In an email to the district, Hedrick expressed his gratitude for the quick action of the officers, sharing, “On behalf of the Leyva family, myself, and our Klein Collins Band family, I would like to extend our most heartfelt thanks to your officers for their actions.”

“I’m grateful for their quick assistance for reviving me, and for everything they did,” said Leyva. “I cannot express enough gratitude to these gentlemen for what they did.”

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