Whether confronting armed suspects, extricating people from burning vehicles, spiriting pets away from house fires or aiding injured people in a foreign country, Fairfax County public-safety personnel received their due April 11 at the 46th annual Fairfax County Valor Awards.
“We are thankful to have such highly skilled and dedicated public-safety professionals who provide that first response in these harrowing, and sometimes life-altering, episodes,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay (D).
The event was hosted by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce at the Hyatt Regency Reston.
Silver Medals of Valor went to Fairfax County police Pfcs. Kristen Rowe, Brian Nichols and Nathan Doehnert, who responded to the scene of an overturned sport-utility vehicle that had caught fire. While not wearing any protective gear, the trio managed the fire while extricating the driver seconds before the vehicle’s cabin started to burn.
Those receiving Bronze Medals of Valor included:
• Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office 2nd Lt. Tom Aardema, who while off-duty helped a person who was trapped in an overturned vehicle, the engine compartment of which was on fire.
• Fairfax County police Pfc. Kyle Albert, who was among 11 officers honored for their efforts in the January 2022 capture of a fleeing suspect who was wanted in connection with multiple shootings. Albert confronted the suspect and detained him until other officers arrived.
• County police Pfc. Nathan Crane, who provided critical first aid to a victim of multiple gunshots while keeping order with a crowd of bystanders and securing custody of the suspected shooter.
• County police Public Safety Communicator III Amanda Davenport, who coordinated police resources to help an officer who had been attacked by a man who tried to disarm him. The officer and suspect struggled and ended up in the officer’s vehicle, which then was knocked into reverse gear and began rolling with the officer inside.
• Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department Lt. Christopher Gay, Technicians Wesley Sloan and Vincent Flores, and firefighter Gage Chalmers, who were rendering aid to assault victims in a domestic dispute when they saw the suspected assailants physically struggle with police officers at the scene. The four Fire and Rescue Department employees helped the officers control the suspects and moved children at the scene to safety.
• County police Pfc. Steven Monahan, who coordinated with two other officers to use their vehicles to block the car of a suspect at Springfield Mall. Police later fatally shot the suspect, a wanted felon who was in possession of a firearm and reportedly several days earlier had discharged a weapon in his home, where family members were present.
• County police Pfc. Trevor Jones, who while preparing to tow a suspicious van was confronted by a rifle-wielding man. Jones shot and wounded the man, then gave him medical aid.
• Fire and Rescue Technician Kevin Nishiyama, who while vacationing in Costa Rica aided a woman who had been struck by a fallen tree limb while on a hiking tour. Nishiyama identified himself as an emergency medical technician, helped park staff backboard the victim, then carried her a quarter-mile over steps and narrow pathways and ensured she was treated at a hospital, not local clinic.
• County police Sgt. Carolina Oliver and Pfc. Kenneth Holden, who climbed a ladder to rescue a victim who had barricaded himself in a third-floor bedroom after reportedly being menaced by his shotgun-wielding father. The officers placed themselves between the bedroom door and victim so that the victim could descend the ladder safely.
• County police Pfc. Moises Romero, who noticed an active townhouse fire, called the Fire and Rescue Department, checked for occupants inside the house and then rescued several distressed dogs from their crates.
• County police Detective Johnny Saada and Officer Timothy Janson, who despite being close to an electrified third rail at the Dunn Loring Metro station helped a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officer render assistance to an injured rider, who had been caught in a train door.
• County police 2nd Lts. Gordon Sloan and Michael Connor, Master Police Officer Wesley Walker and Pfc. William Carter, who used a patrol shield to protect themselves while moving a gunshot victim away from outside a residence while the armed suspect still was inside the home.
Chamber officials also honored recipients of Lifesaving Awards and Certificates of Valor.
Visit Fairfax president and CEO Barry Biggar, who served as Valor Awards chairman, thanked the first-responders for their work day-in and day-out to keep the community safe.
“Our debt to you and your families is immeasurable,” he said. “Fairfax County’s first-responders do not seek the spotlight. If you were to call them heroes, and many would, they’d deny it. They are strong and humble, wanting only to protect their families and our community.”
