By Megan Guza
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
PITTSBURGH — Five years and one week after Janine Triolo fought through near-unconsciousness to take down an armed robbery suspect who tried to kill her, she received one of the Pittsburgh Police Bureau’s top honors.
Triolo was one of three officers to receive the bureau’s Purple Heart in a ceremony Tuesday that recognized more than 150 officers.
“This is not about a ribbon to pin on a dress uniform,” said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. “This is about the character of the officers behind the ribbon.”
The bureau’s Purple Heart recognizes officers seriously injured in the course of making an arrest.
On Feb. 17, 2010, Triolo was in Shadyside attempting to handcuff 20-year-old Ryan Davis, a robbery suspect, when he turned and pushed her to the ground and struck her repeatedly in the face.
“You don’t have time to think,” Triolo said. “What’s going through your head is just your next action.”
Davis pulled a gun, put it to Triolo’s head and pulled the trigger. It jammed. She was able to pull her own gun and shoot Davis, who died of a gunshot in the chest.
“I had some pretty powerful guardian angels,” she said.
Nicole Nolla, who received the bureau’s highest civilian honor, played the role of a guardian angel Oct. 9.
Nolla, a registered nurse, was on her way home from work when she saw a crash involving a motorcycle and a car.
The motorcyclist was on the ground, screaming, his leg nearly severed. She applied a tourniquet and talked to the man until paramedics arrived. Medics credited Nolla with saving the man’s life.
“I didn’t feel like I did that much,” she said. “Nothing more than anyone else would do, anyway.”
Nolla received the bureau’s Citation of Honor, presented to civilians who perform a life-saving act. The previous bureau awards ceremony was in 2012. Chief Cameron McLay said he was surprised it had been so long.
“This community needs to know the quality of the people they have on the streets,” he said.
A total of 167 awards were part of the ceremony, including three Medal of Valor awards, three Purple Hearts, 10 bureau citations, 19 officer-of-the-month awards and 68 letters of recognition.
McLay said it’s humbling to hear stories about Triolo and others such as Officer Morgan Jenkins, who was shot by a suspect in 2013. Jenkins was partially paralyzed and uses a wheelchair. Jenkins received a Purple Heart and Medal of Valor -- the highest honor the bureau gives to recognize bravery in the face of life-threatening circumstances.
Other Medal of Valor recipients were Christopher Kertis, who was shot four times but returned fire during a pursuit in 2013, and Andrew Baker, whose protective vest stopped a shot to the chest and allowed him to take the shooter into custody.
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