MTS employee honored for helping unconscious El Cajon police officer

EL CAJON (KUSI) — A Metropolitan Transit System employee was honored Tuesday for helping an El Cajon police officer who was beaten unconscious by a suspect last month.

The El Cajon City Council on Tuesday officially commended Iesha Booker for grabbing the incapacitated officer’s radio and calling for help.

"Iesha Booker had the courage, quick-thinking and willingness to get involved without hesitation or regard for her own safety,” El Cajon police spokeswoman Monica Zech said while reading a proclamation to the city council. "We commend Iesha Booker for her selfless act of kindness, quick thinking and service to the community.”

Booker received a standing ovation from those in attendance at the crowded council meeting.

On July 17, Booker was at the KFC restaurant on Fletcher Parkway across from the Parkway Plaza mall when robbery suspect Daniel Moses Cook, 42, allegedly assaulted an El Cajon patrol officer, beating him severely and leaving him unconscious on the ground.

That’s when Booker stepped in, grabbing the officer’s radio and calling dispatchers for help.

"The actions you displayed that day demonstrated a tremendous amount of courage,” El Cajon police Chief Jeff Davis said Tuesday. "You’ll always have the admiration of myself and every member of the police department.”

The single-mother of seven children said she felt honored that the city would commend her, but she didn’t do it for recognition.

"I did it just because that’s the person I am … I didn’t try to do it to be a hero,” Booker told reporters after the meeting. "All I wanted to make sure was he was OK, and he was just laying there helpless, so I just wanted to be the one to comfort him.”

Booker said she hasn’t seen the officer since the incident, but she’d like to meet him once he’s fully recovered.

"There is no proclamation we can give you that can tell you how thankful we are for what you’ve done,” Mayor Bill Wells told Booker. "God bless you, and thank you for everything.”

Cook, the man accused of attacking the officer, is charged with a slew of felonies, including second-degree robbery and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. He’s next due in court Oct. 2.