Cops, Firefighters Get Medal Of Valor For Sikh Temple, Boston Bombing Response

[N30S1NGH]

In my views he is true hero- khalsa in its own right (from saving lives aspect). He got a call off duty to save innocent lives, he did it selflessly without any pre-condition bias or notion. Pure perception and judgement regardless whoever it is. He didn't saw religious garb, labels, outlook, he show innocent human life in danger, defended them from oppressor period end of story. Thats why pure perception trumps all- keeps it real and truthful, rest is all egoic conditioned mind (based on fear, insecurity, five vices) baggage which clouds our pure perception and judgement.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-medal-of-valor-sikh-temple-boston-20150211-story.html

Police officers and firefighters who helped save lives in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings and the shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin were honored with the Medal of Valor in a White House ceremony Wednesday.

Vice President Joe Biden draped the purple- and yellow-striped ribbons around the necks of 20 public safety officers, and presented medals to the families of two officers killed while responding to armed robberies. The two were off-duty at the time.

3,000 honor 6 slain at temple

"You're a rare breed," Biden said. "You're all crazy. We love you for it. We need you. You are the best thing we have going for us."

Two people were dead on the ground outside the Sikh Temple in August 2012 when Lt. Brian Murphy and Officer Savan Lenda of the Oak Creek Police Department arrived on the scene.

The suspected gunman was fleeing. Murphy pulled his gun, but the suspect fired first, hitting Murphy in his throat, legs and hand. When Lenda arrived on the scene and shot the suspect, the shooter crawled out of view and killed himself.

lRelated BREAKING NEWS Families marking anniversary of Sikh temple shootings SEE ALL RELATED

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Lenda sent fellow officers to help Murphy, but the lieutenant waved them away and insisted they help those still inside the temple. The White House said the two officers' actions helped save the lives of many.

Boston and the surrounding area were in a state of panic in April 2013 because the suspects in the marathon bombings remained at large. The fateful night when Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly carjacked a vehicle before a dramatic confrontation with police is well-known.

Less well-known were the contributions of seven officers and firefighters from Watertown, Mass., who received the medal from Biden.

cComments

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  Hey Tribune. That's Lt. Brian Murphy getting the Medal in the picture...not Sevan Lenda.
  
  
  RESPONDCODE3
  
  
  AT 7:59 PM FEBRUARY 11, 2015
  
  
  

Despite heavy gunfire and reports the brothers were throwing explosives, officers and firefighters who responded helped protect the lives of those in uniform, the White House said. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died as a result of the incident; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was apprehended 20 hours later.

Attorney General Eric Holder said this year's medals were particularly poignant, given that the country is struggling with "deep challenges" in the relationship between law enforcement agencies and their communities.

"Beyond these honors, America owes you a debt that must be repaid not just with words but with actions," Holder said.

The Medal of Valor is the nation's highest honor for public safety officers who risk their own safety to save or protect others. This year's ceremony honored individuals who committed acts of valor between 2011 and 2013. A total of 95 medals have been handed out since Congress created the award in 2001.

Also receiving the medal:

• Five special agents from the FBI's Alabama-based hostage rescue team, who rescued a 5-year-old abducted from a school bus in 2013.

• Sgt. Daniel Hutchinson, Weber County, Utah, who was shot three times but still rescued two fellow sheriff's deputies in a shooting.

• Officer Michael Keith, Knoxville, Ten.n, who used his shirt to beat back flames from a car, then pulled a state trooper to safety just before the vehicle exploded.

• Former fire Chief John Curly, Bellmore, N.Y., who broke a burning building's window with his bare hands to rescue an unconscious woman inside.

• Special Agent John Francis Capano, New York, who was killed while confronting a suspect during an attempted robbery attempt.

• Sgt. Bradley Alan Wick, Duluth, Minn., Police Department, who shot and killed a convicted felon after an armed robbery and car chase.

• Clifton P. Lewis, Chicago, who was off-duty when he was shot four times and killed while confronting two masked gunmen at a grocery store.

• Sgt. Michael Darrell Brown, Brevard County, Fla., who helped save a woman whose estranged boyfriend was attempting to stab her to death.

• Deputy Jenna Underwood-Nunez, Los Angeles, who was five months pregnant and off-duty when she rescued a teenager from drowning at the bottom of a muddy lake.

Twitter @joshledermanAP

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[SheikhYoBooty]

Ofc. Sam Lenda shares his perspective on Sikh Temple shooting

Posted 4:58 pm, September 10, 2012, by Chip Brewster, Updated at 05:20pm, September 10, 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GKVj_ipqGw

OAK CREEK — Monday, September 10th was the first day we heard from Officer Sam Lenda, the Oak Creek police officer credited with taking down the Sikh Temple shooter, Wade Page.

By the time Officer Lenda arrived at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on the morning of Sunday, August 5th, Oak Creek Police Lt. Brian Murphy had already been shot. Dashcam video shows Lenda kept his focus and may have saved many lives in the process. Some say he’s a hero.

“Hero is heavy. I’m just an officer who did my job,” Lenda said during a Monday news conference in Oak Creek.

Lenda was the second officer on the scene.

“I saw the individual coming at me and it’s just something that I had a sense that this was not right. He was coming at me, and the way he was marching at me was in an aggressive manner,” Lenda said.

Lenda, a 32-year veteran, reacted quickly. He threw his car into reverse, got out his squad rifle (an AR-15) and took up a defensive position. Had Lenda hesitated just a few seconds, he may have been one of the victims.

One of the bullets Page fired ended up crashing through Lenda’s windshield and hitting the driver’s seat headrest, but that didn’t phase Lenda.

“I had a target, I acquired it, I isolated it,” Lenda said.

It was roughly 60 yards between Lenda and Page.

“We know that he was on a mission to cause havoc. He had to be stopped and that’s why I decided to shoot at that time,” Lenda said.

Lenda fired off six rounds. The second or third hit the suspect in the stomach. Police say that shot is what ultimately stopped Page’s attack.

Lenda rejects any special treatment from his actions. He said every officer that responded that day was equally heroic.

“No different than the other 200 some officers that responded that day. No better, no worse,” Lenda said.

Lenda was involved in another active shooting case in 2004. Officials referred to it as the “Comfort Suites” incident. The shooter in that case was Gregory Phillips.