Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Four HPD officers receive Valor Awards
Four Herndon Police officers were awarded Certificates of Valor last month at the the annual Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce Valor Awards ceremony in McLean.The awards were presented at the McLean Hilton, where many public safety officials and elected leaders gathered for the event.
Herndon officers who received Valor Awards were Sgt. Stephen Thompson, Senior Police Officer James J. Passmore, Officer Adil Aftab and Officer Michael R. Croson.
The four men were involved in a domestic dispute last April that became potentially dangerous but, thanks to the officers' actions, had a positive outcome.
When Passmore and Aftab responded to a report of loud yelling from within a residence, they found a “highly agitated man” holding a baby. The man refused to relinquish the infant, whose lip was bleeding.
“He had just assaulted his girlfriend and would not release the baby,” Passmore told The Times. “The baby apparently had become injured in the exchange, and the man had grabbed it and would not put it down.”
Passmore, a Taser instructor with the police department, said he discussed with Sgt. Thompson using a Taser on the man. By that time, Thompson and Croson had arrived on the scene as backup.
Passmore said he and Thompson agreed that using a Taser would be a reasonable course of action in this situation. “The man said that if we tried to take the baby, that he was going to fight us,” Passmore said.
So, while Passmore engaged the man in a terse conversation, Aftab fired the Taser at the man from behind and Passmore jumped up to subdue him. Thompson and Croson caught the baby, which was unharmed in the incident.
“Using the Taser was a last resort, and we tried everything else we could before using it,” Passmore said. “We also made sure that the man was on some grass, just in case the baby fell. ... It was quite a scene, but it worked out for the best."
The bestowing of Valor Awards has been a Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce tradition since 1979, in order to pay tribute to members of Fairfax County’s Sheriff and Fire & Rescue and Police departments who have gone “above and beyond” the call of duty.
You must be logged in to post a comment.