FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE ????????????????????????? AG
???????????????? ?????????????????????????????? (202)
514-2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV????
??????????????????????????????????????????????? TDD
(202) 514-1888???
? ????????? ??????
ATTORNEY
GENERAL PRESENTS THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER MEDAL OF VALOR AWARD
???????????????????????????????????????????????
????? Washington, D.C. - Attorney General John
Ashcroft, joined by Vice President Cheney,
today
recognized the extraordinary achievements of ten individuals who received the
Public
Safety
Officer Medal of Valor in a ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office
Building.?
The
event marked the first presentation of the Medal, which is the highest national
award
for
valor by a public safety officer.? The
awards are in honor of outstanding heroic deeds
these
officers performed above and beyond the call of duty.????????????
????? "With the presentation of this Medal,
our nation recognizes the sacrifices and dedicated
service of our public safety officers," said Attorney General
Ashcroft.? "They truly are our
national
heroes, and it is my privilege to recognize their tremendous courage,
dedication to
duty,
and selfless commitment to their fellow citizens."
????? The recipients of the 2002 Public Safety
Officer Medal of Valor are:? Keith N.
Borders
of Las
Vegas, NV; Robert Borer, Jeremy Hosek, Guy Jones, Ron Kennett, Rick Klein, and
Mike
Wright,
all of Lincoln, NE;? Robert Giorgio of
Cherry Hill, NJ;? Eric Svihovec of
Miller Place,
NY;
and? Sean VanAtter of Tampa, FL.?? A synopsis of the acts of valor is
attached.
????? The Medal, authorized by the Public Safety
Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001, is awarded
to
public safety officers cited by the Attorney General.? Public safety officers are nominated
by the
chiefs or directors of their employing agencies and recommended by the
bipartisan Medal
of
Valor Review Board.? More information
about the Board members can be found on www.ojp.usdoj.gov.
<https://ojp.gov.>
????? Additional information about the award,
including the design and image of the Medal of
Valor
and the application form can be found at
<https://ojp.gov/medalofvalor/presmedalofvalorc.htm.>?
<https://ojp.gov/medalofvalor.>?????????????
Public
Safety Officer Medal of Valor
Synopses
of Acts of Valor
Robert Giorgio, Fire Chief, Cherry Hill, New Jersey.? Chief Giorgio arrived upon a scene where
a vehicle had crashed from a highway overpass onto State Highway
295.? The car, with its engine
on fire, was suspended some five feet above ground, held in place
by a small tree.? Chief Giorgio
placed himself beneath the suspended vehicle and worked to free
the woman trapped inside.? At any
point, a shift in the car's position would have likely dislodged
it from the tree, bringing the
burning car down on top of Chief Giorgio.? Even as the fire spread in the car, and
parts of the car
?began to melt, Chief
Giorgio risked his life to safely free the woman.
?? Keith Borders, Las Vegas Metropolitan
Police Department.? Officer Borders
responded to a 911 call
in
reference to a domestic disturbance.
Officer Border successfully removed an endangered woman from
the
house and placed her safely behind his police cruiser.? The suspect, armed with a .38 caliber
revolver,
a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and a .12 gauge pump-action shotgun, emerged from
the house
and
opened fire on Borders and the victim.
Officer Borders suffered a head wound and significant blood
loss.? Maintaining his composure, Officer Borders
shielded the woman from harm and returned fire, killing
the
suspect.
?? Eric Svihovec, Volunteer Firefighter,
Miller Place Fire Department, New York.
Eric Svihovec was in
a shop
when he saw the taillights of a car disappear off a boat ramp into the water
during a storm.?
Winds
were in excess of 30 miles per hour and heavy downpour had reduced visibility
to almost nothing.
Eric
jumped into Mount Sinai Harbor, and found a young mother and her 2?-month-old
daughter in the car.
With
the car already partially submerged, Svihovec rescued the mother and got her
safely to the ramp.?
Svihovec
returned to the car, which was still sinking.
Diving underwater, and after three attempts,
Eric
Svihovec freed the baby from her car seat and brought her safely to the
surface.
?? Sean VanAtter, Firefighter, Hillsborough
County, Florida Fire Rescue.
Firefighter VanAtter was
returning
to the fire station in a taxi after having just driven an ambulance to a
hospital.? On his
return,
VanAtter came upon an accident involving a tanker truck and a car.? The car had slammed into
a
concrete barrier and was on fire with a family of five trapped inside.? VanAtter had the taxi stop
so he
could rush to the aid of the victims, knowing that additional help would not
arrive on time.
VanAtter
forced his way into the burning car and was able to pull the family out safely.
?? Ron Kennett, Rick Klein, Robert Borer, Mike
Wright, Guy Jones, and Jeremy Hosek, Firefighters,
Lincoln,
Nebraska, Fire and Rescue.? Workers were
raising a digital telecommunications cable to the
top of
a 1,524-foot television communications tower - 67 feet taller than the Sears
Tower - when a
worker
was accidentally struck by the cable.
The worker was alive, but injured critically and hanging
almost
1200 feet off the ground in his harness.
Several other fire departments, the State Patrol and
the
National Guard all responded by stating that a rescue of this type was beyond
their capabilities.
Lincoln
Fire and Rescue personnel Kennett, Klein, Borer, Wright, Jones, and Hosek received
permission
from
the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, the Mayor, and the Governor to
attempt the rescue.? The
team
arrived on the scene and began the more than two hour ascent of the tower.? Tragically, the worker
died
before the rescuers could reach him - but these brave individuals persisted in
their climb, and
successfully
brought the victim to the ground.?
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