Paulding Deputies Awarded Medal of Merit

(Paulding County, GA) At the regularly scheduled meeting of the Paulding County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, two Paulding County Deputies were awarded the second highest honor that can be bestowed upon a Deputy. Corporal Jamie Winkles and Deputy Joshua Bishop were presented with the Medal of Merit by Sheriff Gary Gulledge at the beginning of the meeting for the heroic acts they performed during a call on June 24, 2022.
Corporal Winkles and Deputy Bishop, while assigned to the Uniform Patrol Division, selflessly risked their own personal safety when they voluntarily entered a burning home to locate several injured children along with an armed female suspect who had stabbed multiple children. When they were overcome with smoke, they exited the home and appropriated two oxygen tanks and masks from firefighters who were already on the scene.
The Deputies then went back inside the burning home to search for the injured children and the female suspect. Even when their breathing apparatus’ was nearly out of the air, they continued looking for the children. Corporal Winkles and Deputy Bishop went into that burning home with full knowledge of the risk that it posed to their personal safety due to the fact that they were not wearing any protective fire equipment.
Their heroic efforts ultimately helped remove several of the children from the home during this incident. Sheriff Gary Gulledge noted, “What Corporal Winkles and Deputy Bishop did was exemplary. They went above and beyond the call of duty to try and save the children who were trapped inside the home. I am grateful to have them as Deputies helping keep our county safe.” The singularly distinctive actions of Corporal Winkles and Deputy Bishop reflect great credit upon themselves and the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. We are extremely proud of them.