More than 100 Fairfax County, Vienna, Herndon Officers Honored for Bravery
Annual celebration of public safety officers who protect county residents
By Bobbi Bowman
March 22, 2012
http://chantilly.patch.com/articles/valor-awards-dea1faac

The suicidal woman jumped into the black, churning waters of the Potomac River in one of the most treacherous stretches near Great Falls about 1 am last July.

Fairfax County Police officer Ali Sepehri, of the McLean District station, couldn't see her but he immediately followed her into the water. "She pushed me under the water once. I thought this was not good. I literally thought I was going to die."

Fairfax County Police Officer Federick Yap, of the Reston District station, also jumped into the white water tumbling over very large rocks. "One mistake and you are gone," he said.

Struggling together they pulled the woman and themselves to safety. After she was taken away, they returned to their stations, changed uniforms and continued their overnight shifts.

"For their remarkable acts of courage and commitment," they were among 103 Fairfax County police and fire and rescue officers, Vienna and Herndon police officers and county Sheriff's deputies honored for their selfless service yesterday at the 34th annual Valor Awards.

Nearly 700 public service officers, their wives, children, businessmen and elected officials filled the grand ballroom of the McLean Hilton in Tysons Corner to honor the men and women who protect county residents. The Valor Awards are given by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce which also gives scholarships to the children of public safety officers.

Leon Harris, WJLA-TV's popular anchor read "remarkable stories of heroism" as the first responders, who usually work in anonymity, stepped forward in dress uniforms to receive awards for putting their lives in danger on behalf of county residents.

Thirty-five, including Sepehri and Yap, were honored for acts involving "great personal risk which were above and beyond the call of duty." Harris read one heart-stopping citation after another:

•Capt. Ronald Novak, Lt. Kevin Barrington and officers Jessica Kane and Nathan Sloan worked together to pull an unconscious woman from a burning car on Lee Jackson Highway about 2 am. April 15. "The heat and flames were intense, making it difficult for the officers to breathe and see through the thick, black toxic smoke. ... They managed to free the victim from the burning car and carry her 200 feet just as the engine compartment exploded."

•Lt. Thomas Flint and Tech. Robert Pickel of Fairfax Fire and Rescue saved two mothers and their infant children from a flooded apartment building. The rushing waters swept the mothers away and the fire officers, clinging to a traffic sign, caught them and pulled them to safety.

•Private Naftali Jacob, an EMT, was vacationing in New York when he saw a man shot. Jacob rushed to the man who was covered in blood and glass and "without protective gloves applied pressure to the victim's femoral artery." The victim lost consciousness but Jacob roused him.

•Master Police Officer Peter Norris confronted a woman standing in a medical building who had soaked herself in gasoline and was trying to strike a match to set herself on fire. He ran at her, knocking the matches from her hands and pinned her to the floor.

Yap spoke for many of his fellow officers when he said, "I'm proud and happy," of the award. "Being a religious person I know this is a calling from God. When I did this, I didn't even think about it ... We just did it instantly because we have the passion to serve the public."

Sepehri said: "I'm just happy we could be in the situation to save someone's life."

At this year’s ceremony, 48 Lifesaving Awards, 25 Certificates of Valor, 27 Bronze Medals of Valor and eight Silver Medals of Valor were presented. Many of the awards stem from heroic actions taken during the severe flooding Northern Virginia experienced Sept. 8.

A copy of all the citations accompanies this story.

Fairfax County Police Chief David Rohrer said of the ceremony: "I'm so proud of the men and women who serve ... We are so blessed to have many supporters and an engaged community. This (ceremony) is indicative of that support."

L. Burwell Gunn, of First Virginia Community Bank and a trustee of the Valor Scholarship Fund, said: "Any day the business community can reach out and thank public safety personnel for all the wonderful things they do that most people don't even know ... we can't say thank you enough."

John Speicher, a McLean resident and one of 14 judges who selected the winners, said: "It was my distinct privilege to serve on the small awards committee that evaluated and approved these awards earlier this year. As Leon Harris read their names, I vividly recalled the individual nominations and extraordinary circumstances that we had read about."
Attachments:

Congrats to all of the Police and Fire who were given adwards and thank you to all of the FCPD and FCFD for all they do everyday!!!!!

Im really glad that we celebrate these guys doing there fucking jobs ! Fags, just cash your paychecks and shut the fuck up. Who gives a shit ?

They sighned up for that job who cares

100? wouldn't it be more prestigious if only 2 or3 got awards? This is more like kids soccer where everybody gets a trophy.

2000 plus officers and additional support staff, 100 isn't a big #

LOL so much hate on Fairfax County Police. All these internet tough guys wouldn't say a goddam thing to these cops in public. Thanks for the hard work guys.

VA Phins Fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> LOL so much hate on Fairfax County Police. All
> these internet tough guys wouldn't say a goddam
> thing to these cops in public. Thanks for the
> hard work guys.


That's because a cop would happily arrest us for little to no real reason other than to harass/intimidate.
(Not all cops, but most FFC ones. we could use some real crime to remind them that there are more serious things out there than DUI's and high school parties)

boblawblaw Wrote:
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> That's because a cop would happily arrest us for
> little to no real reason other than to
> harass/intimidate.
> (Not all cops, but most FFC ones. we could use
> some real crime to remind them that there are more
> serious things out there than DUI's and high
> school parties)

So the hundreds killed each year in VA alone by DUIs arent real deaths then? Got it

boblawblaw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> VA Phins Fan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > LOL so much hate on Fairfax County Police. All
> > these internet tough guys wouldn't say a goddam
> > thing to these cops in public. Thanks for the
> > hard work guys.
>
>
> That's because a cop would happily arrest us for
> little to no real reason other than to
> harass/intimidate.
> (Not all cops, but most FFC ones. we could use
> some real crime to remind them that there are more
> serious things out there than DUI's and high
> school parties)


2011- over 10,000 fatalities from drunk driving in the U.S. Tell us again what the real crimes are that the police should be trying to prevent?

Its amazing the lack of respect folks have here. Have I run into a police officer who's an asshole? Yep. However, I wouldn't lump him into the rest of the bunch, and with what he might have been dealing with that day, while not an excuse, let's give credit to the brave men and women in blue, grey, and a host of uniforms that bust their asses every single day.

They have very limited resources, yet pound the pavement doing their very best, often working 12-16 hour days, or even longer, to keep us as safe as possible. Often, they do it for not a lot of money, because while the salaries were posted here, a lot of these folks could be in other industries. Look this up, its a fact, some of the people with highest IQ's are in public safety/police work. That's right, just under doctors. Yes, there are also a few that fall out of this, but for the most part, they are very smart, industrious, and talented, and the vast majority of them do work outside of their job in the community, whether its church or volunteer projects. I am still thankful for the police officers who were involved in my youth athletic events, and Boy Scout service projects.

I know they are not the most popular of people, their job is difficult, but if you don't do the crime, you won't do the time. Its pretty simple actually. My hats off to these folks who won these awards, and to all who wear the uniform.You are very much appreciated by me, and members of my family, and some of my friends. Some of them do not appreciate what you do, and that's fine, I respect them too. But I very much respect what you do each day. God bless.

FUck these guys. Dont beleive anything you read. The truth is you have to go off of your experiences with FCPD. They are bullies and assholes. They get no love

radioguy Wrote:
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> FUck these guys. Dont beleive anything you read.
> The truth is you have to go off of your
> experiences with FCPD. They are bullies and
> assholes. They get no love


All of my experiences with them have been fine. The key is I haven't broken the law. I did see a couple of dicks in Arlington, but don't hold it against the entire department.

It's a tough job and who else will do it?

No one goes to more lengths to honor themselves than these guys.Also on this site the news that they are starting a museum of police equipment ,stored in the Massey bldg.-public property.Why don't we all start self-aggrandizing organizations to tell the world how great we are? Police worship is/was really big in all totalitarian states. When my kids started acting too rowdy, I cut them off from violent TV shows. Its hard to raise 25+ year old children but really, how many of us have been actually "saved " by police. The usual course of events is that the crime is already perpetrated and then much made for TV drama to justify ever higher law enforcement budgets.Helicopters used for minor infractions exempify this retarded trend. Get active in the political process to curtail this trend. The endless wars to police the world are the greatest waste this process has generated. Many older and mature policemen see this comedy for what it is and perform an important public service. As to who else will do it? There are an overabundance of ego-deficient individuals applying to all police forces who believe that a car, a uniform and a sidearm will allow them to fill the void inside and finally "be someone". It's no surprise that police personnell display much higher rate of alcoholism , divorce,suicide etc. Even ,as recently ,when some idiot cop got drunk and killed himself running his car off the road, his fellow workers felt it necessary to "honor " his service. Wake up, life is not a TV show.

So you want a museum and self- aggrandizing organization ( is that even a real word?) for Safeway shelf stockers, you do flatter yourself. Perhaps if you ever participated in a job in which you have have to put others before self such as fire ,police and military, you might understand the linage, pride and sacrifice involved for those type of people.Those who have to it explained to them dont, and never will get it.