Tuscaloosa Police Officers Awarded The Medal Of Valor
I love reporting stories like this one.
Police officers have thousands and thousands of interactions each day across Tuscaloosa and the USA.
So often, these men and women do something great for us citizens. Most of the time, these great stories are never reported.
Instead, the only thing we see are the tragic moments.
In this case, thanks to the Tuscaloosa Police Department Facebook, we hear about Officers Berch, Michaels and Prewitt.
Earlier this year, they arrived at a dangerous scene at The Links.
Officers Berch and Michaels were on the scene first. Several residents had called and reported a man with a gun walking around the area.
The officers located the man on the golf course. That's when things took a dangerous turn.
The police officers told him to stop and give up the gun. He refused to do so.
The suspect continued to ignore commands from the officers to surrender. That's when he began firing several shots toward the responding officers.
Officer Berch was struck by one of the bullets, while wearing a bulletproof vest. Officer Michaels was on the radio asking for assistance.
She fell and was injured, and was treated at DCH. Officer Prewitt arrived and provided cover for the other officers to get to safety.
The gunman apparently hid for over an hour.
He was a known gang member, according to the Tuscaloosa Police Department.
He had previously made threats in Mississippi to shoot any law enforcement officers who would try to take him into custody.
He later made statements that he wanted officers to kill him. All three of these officers were awarded the medal as an acknowledgement of the courage shown during this incident.
Bravery is something that police officers must display day in and day out. More information on the TPD Facebook.