By Derrill Holly, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A pair of federal police officers were honored Tuesday for their willingness to face a grenade wielding man.
Amtrak Police Officer Rodney Chambers and U.S. Capitol Police Officer Michael DeCarlo were praised for their efforts to disarm and detain the homeless man after he pulled the pin out of a hand grenade last summer outside Union Station.
“These two faced their moment and they did so heroically,” said Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta during a brief awards ceremony inside the busy terminal which handles Amtrak, VRE and MARC commuter trains and the Metrorail subway.
Mineta presented each officer with the DOT’s Award for Heroism, an honor bestowed on just 28 individuals since it was created in 1975.
Chambers and DeCarlo confronted Juann R. Tubbs outside historic Union Station on June 9 following a failed robbery attempt.
Tubbs, 38, approached a clerk in a store in the terminal’s concourse and demanded $20. Although he brandished a silver hand grenade, the clerk refused to give him any money. Tubbs left the building, and outside he encountered DeCarlo. During that confrontation, Tubbs pulled the pin on the grenade.
At that point, Chambers moved in and grabbed Tubbs’ hand, preventing the grenade’s trigger mechanism from disengaging. Chambers was ultimately able to wrest control of the grenade from Tubbs and carry it a safe distance from the crowded station entrance.
Neither officer was aware the grenade was a practice model incapable of exploding. It is most frequently used for training purposes. Chambers held the weapon until he could turn it over to a U.S. Capitol Police bomb disposal unit 15 minutes later. Upon close examination, experts discovered it contained a detergent-like substance.
“I wouldn’t change a thing that I did,” said Chambers, 33, of Alexandria, Va., who joined the Amtrak Police force three years ago.
“In situations like that you don’t have time to think. Your training just takes over and you just react,” said DeCarlo, 31, of Baltimore. DeCarlo is a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Capitol Police Department which has jurisdiction over federal property extending just north of Union Station.
Tubbs pleaded guilty in August to a charge making a false threat. A final resolution of his case was delayed pending the outcome of a pre-sentence investigation.