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.
The chaotic event killed officer Jake Wallin, 23, and wounded officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes; the only officer left standing, Zach Robinson, stopped the heavily armed shooter without hesitation
A retired officer’s tale of sisterly love
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott accepts award on behalf of the men and women of the Richland County (S.C.) Sheriff’s Department
Officer Derek Stebbins and a good Samaritan helped pull a man from the vehicle seconds before it went up in flames
Gonzalo Carrasco was on patrol when a homeowner approached him stating that an unknown man was on their property
Chief: “They immediately switched gears ... they went from trying to find this guy to trying to save his life. They didn’t care that he was a felon. He was just a human being”
Officer Clarence “CJ” Williams and another deputy were running after a suspect when he collapsed
The officer broke a window and removed the man from a scorched sedan after he crashed into the center median and his car went up in flames
“They went out in the eye of the worst part of the storm to save people, putting their own safety aside,” said Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia
“Thank God for neighbors who were inquisitive and said: ‘That screaming is not right,’” Sheriff Grady Judd said
Officers quickly worked to remove the man from the cruiser’s broken front window as a train’s horn is heard in the distance and rapidly approaching
The Folds of Honor scholarships are awarded yearly to the spouse and/or dependents of a responder who has fallen or been catastrophically wounded
Upton police, fire and EMS members and mutual aid partners carried the man out of a wooded area and transported him to a hospital
The officer took the girl in his arms and performed back thrusts to clear her airway, eventually removing the obstruction
The trooper delivered the cat to the Toledo Humane Society, where the cat was given the name “Trooper” and eventually adopted
Bystanders helped the officer by putting a tourniquet on his leg and maintaining a perimeter while medics rushed to the scene
Deputy Darnell Calhoun, 30, leaves behind two young children and a widow pregnant with their third child
Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora were killed on Jan. 21, 2022, while responding to a call about an argument between a woman and her adult son
The doctor was traveling to the airport when he noticed the wounded trooper on the side of the road after he’d been shot during a traffic stop
Bodycam footage shows police locating the vehicle and providing the lethargic girl with a cold compress and water to help cool her down
The officer hurriedly threw the leash over a fence into the canal and pulled the man out of the water
The widow of one of the deputies said the ballistic shields could have saved her husband last year
The slain LEO and a team of officers were pursuing a trio that robbed a Fort Worth bar in 2018 when one of the men opened fire
After suffering a broken back from being pinned himself, the man managed to crawl out of his truck and pull a trapped trooper from his cruiser
Deputy Darnell Calhoun, 30, is the second Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty in the past 16 days
Mark Johnson was one of two 50-year-old men who graduated Mobile’s police academy in 2003
Hundreds of officers packed inside the church while hundreds of others watched from overflow spaces
The immediate CPR response from bystanders was vital to the man’s survival, the deputy said
“We saw you coming and I was scared,” the girl says after a trooper asks if she’s hurt
In 2022, 64 officers were shot and killed in firearms-related incidents, according to NLEOMF’s report
“My assessment of how members of the LE community are feeling after this tragedy is that they are very sad ... and very pissed that it happened,” a chief said
The deputy was shot in the leg last year after a suspect put a stranglehold around her neck and her weapon went off
Kraig Conger, 51, was known in the department as a “gentle giant,” while others remembered him as a kind soul with an uncanny recall for names and faces
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