Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
After a two-year hiatus, the Public Safety Officers Medal of Valor ceremony returned to the White House last week as President Joe Biden bestowed the honor upon 15 men, nine police officers and six firefighters, who showed unusual bravery in the line of duty.
As explained in a White House release, the Medal of Valor is awarded to firemen, police, and EMT officers “who have exhibited exceptional courage, regardless of personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect others from harm.”
“There is an incredible group of 15 heroes,” Biden said during his remarks at the ceremony. “I know you don’t do this work for recognition, but you reflect the best part of who we are as Americans. These medals reflect the profound gratitude of our nation. It’s the highest medal that can be honored.
“So, God bless you all. May God protect our firefighters and law enforcement officers and their families everywhere.”
Two of the 15 honorees, Officer Jason Shuping and 2nd Lt. Jared Lloyd, received their medals posthumously.
Shuping, who was an officer in Concord, North Carolina, died while working with three other officers – Kyle Baker, Paul Stackenwalt, and Kaleb Robinson, each of whom was also awarded a Medal of Valor – to stop a man who had taken a hostage and opened fire in a crowded retail area.
“The officers fired at the suspect to turn attention away from their colleagues and shielding each other with their own bodies – until they ended the threat,” a brief bio on the four reads.
Lloyd, a firefighter from Spring Valley, New York, died while saving elderly patients from a burning nursing home.
“On behalf of the American people, my wife Jill and I want to extend our love,” Biden said to the families of Shuping and Lloyd. “We know from personal but different experience that these events are really bittersweet. It brings everything back as if you just got the news. You’re proud, but it’s hard.”
The other honorees were as follows:
- Assistant Chief Ryan Sprunger of the East Wayne, Ohio, Fire District, dove into the freezing water to rescue a grandfather and his two grandchildren after all three had fallen into an icy pond.
- Officers Ryan Smith, Vincent Mendoza, and Robert Paul III of the California Highway Patrol were recognized for the heroism they showed when they were forced to engage in a gunfight with a violent criminal who had already shot and killed one of their fellow officers. Both Smith and Paul were shot in the leg during the encounter.
- Firefighter Abraham Miller of the New York City Fire Department rappelled down a burning building to rescue a 5-year-old girl who was being held out of a window by her grandmother.
- Deputy Sheriff Dalton Rushing of the Perry County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office rescued a person who had fallen through the ice of a frozen lake. When the victim was unable to reach Rushing, the officer jumped into the water alongside the victim, secured the victim with a rope, and waited until both could be rescued.
- Firefighters John Colandro, Michael Rosero, and Chad Titus of the Stamford, Connecticut, Fire Department braved freezing water to rescue a pair of trapped motorists from a truck that was sinking into freezing water during a blizzard.
- Officer Anthony Giorgio of the Pensacola, Florida, Police Department, saved multiple lives while on vacation at the beach. Giorgio swam more than 300 yards through a dangerous rip current to rescue swimmers who were unable to return to shore because of rough surf.
The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor was first awarded in 2001. While the award’s creation coincided with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and subsequent heroism shown by hundreds of public safety officers, the timing was a coincidence.
Then-President Bill Clinton had created the award via executive order in 2000, and the officers who were killed while responding to the Sept. 11 attacks were eventually given the equally prestigious 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor.