Six Deputies Awarded for Saving Teen at Southeast High School

Six Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies received the agency's Deputy of the Month award for May 2026 after preventing a suicidal juvenile from jumping off Southeast High School's roof.

Deputies Dylan Leppek, Kevin Spearman, Ashley Olivares, Tyler Wudyka, Mark Liable, and Jesse Wynn responded after a court-ordered patient fled Palm Shores Behavioral Health Center and ran toward the school. The school locked down as students remained for athletic activities.

Leppek and Spearman reached the roof and attempted to calm the juvenile. When she tried to jump, both deputies grabbed her. As she slipped from their grasp, Olivares, Wudyka, Liable, and Wynn positioned below caught her, preventing serious injury or death.

The deputies provided medical attention and food to the juvenile, who had not eaten or drunk anything all day. She was taken into protective custody and transported for mental health treatment.