Denver Police Officer Mark Hart tore open the official-looking letter from headquarters, read what it said and thought it had to be a practical joke.
“Me? Officer of the Year? That can’t be right,” he recalled Thursday afternoon, clutching the award in a gymnasium full of police and families at the Denver Police Academy.
“I was stunned.”
Dozens of Denver’s finest were honored Thursday for their bravery and heroism, from cops who stared down armed gunmen, to those such as Hart, who show what it means to protect and serve.
How could the honor be a surprise? In one year, Hart:
A hero? “I’m not,” he insisted. “Every guy I work with could win this award.”
Mary Malatesta, Denver’s deputy manager of safety over police and fire, told an audience of 300 people that they were in the presence of heroes.
“These are the folks who turn toward danger when others run away, she said.
Other top honors Thursday went to John Stratton, technician of the year; Tom Walsh, corporal of the year; Aaron Lopez, detective of the year; Dave Sconce, sergeant of the year; Lts. Ron Thomas and Patrick Phelan, commanders of the year.
Sgt. Keith Cruz got two medals Thursday — a Distinguished Service Cross and a medal for saving a life, both in the past six months. Afterwards, he took his wife and children to dinner.
In one incident Cruz chased down 7-Eleven robber who had just robbed and carjacked a woman on West Alameda. In another incident,
In another incident, he helped rescue a wife and her three children from the home of a suicidal man, then helped save the man’s life after he plunged the knife in his own chest.
He was grateful for the recognition, but said it’s nothing you can aspire to.
“You don’t get up every morning to go out there trying to win a medal,” he said. “You go out there and do your job, and you hope you’re in the right place to help somebody.”
Ten officers won awards for saving lives, from wrestling a weapon away from a strung-out assailant and pulling someone from the path of a train to coaxing a suicidal man off a bridge.
Hundreds of family members and friends filled the audience, most greeting their loved ones on stage for a picture with Police Chief Gerry Whitman.
Some officers were teased by their wives and brothers about their moment in the spotlight, with their bronze medals dangling from their necks on red, white and blue ribbons.
Jennifer Andow seemed ready to jump out of her skin as department brass lauded her boyfriend, Officer Rhoderic Patrick, as a life-saver.
Patrick had been off-duty when he saw someone staring down an oncoming train at Smith Road and Holly Street. He leaped from his car and fought with the person to pull them both from the path of the train.
“That’s so amazing,” Andow said. “And he acts like it’s no big deal. He saved someone’s life. I think that’s great, but he just downplays everything.”
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
