Police Heroes
Police heroes come in many forms. On the Police Heroes topic page, we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the mission to protect their communities.
In a heartfelt tribute, the Chicago Police Department honored fallen officers Aréanah Preston and Andrés Vásquez-Lasso
Frank Ray, a retired New Mexico police officer and country music recording artist, sang the national anthem and performed poignant musical tributes
During National Police Week, Ray paid his respects to Sgt. James Stanwood Noyes, an officer whose story is marked by bravery and tragic loss
Officer R.J. McPartland, a certified EMT, was stationed nearby when he responded to the incident. He arrived within minutes and restored the man’s pulse
Officer Charco was able to get his patrol car in front of the driver and slow his car until there was contact between the two vehicles, stopping the runaway car
“The proactive observations made by our patrol and aviation units prevented a potentially dangerous situation from escalating further,” Sheriff Chronister said
The two Tooele Police Department officers shot out the car’s back window and successfully pulled the 12-year-old girl to shore
A Bellingham police officer tackled the 17-year-old as he was reaching for a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol tucked in his waistband
In the last 30 minutes of her shift, Officer Wallace conducted a traffic stop that led her to arresting a wanted suspect in a shooting
The man who killed Det. Benedetti had 14 reports of interactions with police and armed himself with 6 guns, none of which were legally registered to him
I don’t think I have ever met anyone else so internally motivated by the call to serve others
“I can’t be more thankful to them,” the mother said, before hugging the deputies and presenting them with a card and bouquet of flowers
Two young girls lost all of their personal belongings; Det. Bragole reached out to her colleagues and the response to donate items was overwhelming
Deputy Rizer pulled the child free and handed her to a bystander. He then looked for a boy who was unaccounted for and “unresponsive” somewhere in the vehicle
The suspect’s first shot hit and killed Det. Benedetti. The suspect took Benedetti’s department-issued rifle and fired additional shots, striking another officer
Bill named after slain Texas deputy becomes law, increasing penalties for catalytic converter thefts
The bill was named in honor of Deputy Darren Almendarez who was killed while trying to stop three men attempting to steal his vehicle’s catalytic converter
A man charged with killing Officer Breann Leath will be allowed to seek insanity as a defense as he tries to avoid the death penalty
Three civilians jumped in as the suspect put up a fight during an arrest. He “continued to scream, yell, kick and spit at other responding officers”
“Cpl. Shawn Kelly was a great public servant, a great father, grandfather, husband and just a great human being,” the Denham Springs police chief said
State police Sgt. Cory Maynard was killed as officers responded to a complaint of a shooting
Body-worn camera shows the protective doe watching as the officer cuts the net to free the fawn
“He consistently went above and beyond in his service while demonstrating an unwavering sense of integrity and loyalty”
Because of K-9 Hudson’s bravery, he “isolated the suspect so no other citizens or officers were hurt in the encounter,” Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain said
“Myles and his friends were very excited to see the police cars, fire trucks, ambulance and obviously K-9 Tucker!” the department said
Officer Randy Tyler, who died after he was shot twice in the chest with a rifle, had worked for the Madison Police Department for seven years
Deputy Marcus Zeigler was with the sheriff’s office for nine months; he is survived by his wife and children
The man charged with killing Officer Breann Leath is seeking an insanity defense as he tries to avoid the death penalty
“Officer Nickolas Wilt has shown remarkable progress in his recovery,” the update said; he’s also responding more consistently to “yes” and “no” questions
Officer Christopher Eric Ewing was remembered as ‘the voice you wanted to hear when you needed help’
A Kane County Sheriff’s Office K-9 was killed after he was deployed when deputies saw the suspect had a handgun
“I just ran toward the officer and I punched the (suspect) in the ribs, but it seemed like he didn’t even feel it”
Deputy Caleb Conley served with the Scott County Sheriff’s Office for four years and served with the U.S. Army for eight years. He left behind a wife and small children
Sgt. Michael Kunovich was attempting to arrest a suspect for nearly seven minutes; he later collapsed once the suspect was disarmed and arrested
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