Police officers are typically known for their important law-enforcement functions, but two in the last month have hit news reports for saving lives.

Most recently, Officer William Bradshaw has been nominated for a Suffolk Police Department Life Saving Award after responding to a call on Jan. 4 on Hamer Road. He found a woman who had fallen to the ground and stopped breathing during an argument with family members.

After sweeping the woman’s mouth and starting rescue breathing, Officer Bradshaw swept her mouth again and found several large pieces of chewing gum that had blocked the woman’s airway. She began breathing on her own and was later taken to the hospital for treatment of symptoms stemming from the incident, which were not considered life-threatening.

Back in December, Officer Marc Drouillard also put his training to work when he kicked in the front door of a burning house on Lee Street, located a woman on the second floor and led her out of the building after hearing the call about the fire on his radio. He also was nominated for a Life Saving Award.

Drouillard took his own life in his hands when he went into the burning building. Bradshaw’s safety was also at risk when he walked into the middle of a domestic confrontation. But they went into the situations knowing it was their duty to save lives.

These two are only the most recent in many, many lives that have been saved over the years by Suffolk police officers. Even when it’s not as obvious as in these cases, police officers are saving lives every time they arrest a drunk driver, stop an aggressive speeder, take a drug dealer off the streets or seize a weapon from the hands of a criminal.

The entire community owes its thanks to these officers and all of their comrades.