Rare Acts of Courage

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Ventura County is lucky to have one as young as 10-year-old Brittany DeMattia of Oxnard.

She was the youngest of 17 area residents recently awarded the Medal of Merit by the Peace Officers Assn. of Ventura County. The group has representatives from all law enforcement agencies in the county. The ceremony honored civilians as well as law enforcement officers for bravery or exemplary service beyond the call of duty.

Brittany, daughter of Ventura County sheriff’s detective Debbie DeMattia and California Highway Patrol Officer Brian DeMattia, received the medal for saving the life of her cousin, 2-year-old Marisa Mann of Ventura. During a Fourth of July party last summer, the toddler wandered away from the adults, jumped into a pool where Brittany was swimming and sank to the bottom.

With no one else around, Brittany pulled the girl to the shallow end, pushed her halfway out of the water and called for help. The adults came running. Marisa was coughing and crying but OK. She has since taken swimming lessons.

Others honored by the Peace Officers Assn. include Ventura County civilians Gloria Bender, Mike Malloy, Mark McCormack, Brittany Nelson, Joana Raney and Daniel Weist. Law enforcement winners of the Medal of Merit are John Samarin and John Morton of the Simi Valley Police Department, Lt. Larry Hawkins of the Navy police, Nelson Latimer and Joe Tinoco of the Oxnard Police Department, Gary Aviesse and Randy Downard of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Mark Cleavenger of the Ventura Police Department and Kevin Craig and Christina Roughton of the CHP.

“It shouldn’t get so much attention,” Brittany, a fourth-grader at Sacred Heart School in Ventura, told The Times. “Well, maybe a little bit.”

We think it should get a lot of attention. Quick thinking and the courage to do what needs to be done when a life is at stake are all too rare. We add our thanks and appreciation.