WATCH: True Hometown Hero Awarded For Historic Bravery

BEAUMONT , CA — A police officer who was shot in the leg during the 2015 Inland Regional Center terror attack that claimed the lives of 14 people was presented with the Congressional Badge of Bravery Thursday during a ceremony in Beaumont. The award is the "highest decoration for bravery exhibited by public safety officers in the United States," according to congressional officials.

Patch was live from the ceremony in Beaumont. Watch it here:

Officer Nicholas Koahou, formerly of the San Bernardino Police Department but now a member of Redlands PD and a Beaumont resident, suffered a gunshot wound to his left leg while he and other officers exchanged gunfire with Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, who shot and killed 14 people and injured 22 others on Dec. 2, 2015. Both Farook and Malik, a married couple, were killed following a pursuit and subsequent shootout with police.

Koahou, a former Marine Corps. officer, took a prone position to try to avoid gunfire while rescuing a pinned-down deputy and continued to return fire after sustaining his injury. Here's a bit of his story from the local congressman who is presenting the award on Thursday, Rep. Raul Ruiz:

Officer Koahou, valiantly defended and save the lives of other police officer on December 2, 2015, when the Inland Regional Center in the city of San Bernardino, CA, was attacked by two armed assailants. While in pursuit of the suspects, a sheriff deputy unknowingly drove into the kill zone between the suspects and officers, and the suspects began to focus the majority of their fire on the deputy.

With disregard for his personal safety, Officer Nicholas immediately left his position of cover and engaged the suspects. One suspect went down, but the second suspect began to focus fire on the pinned-down deputy. Officer Koahou rose, and despite being hit in the leg, he continued to selflessly close the distance between the pinned-down deputy and the suspect.

Officer Koahou’s gallantry in the face of extreme threat exemplifies the values of a public safety officer, and his courageous actions were integral in the protection of his fellow officers. We are honored to have the opportunity to celebrate such a courageous man, and we hope you will join us as we present this prestigious decoration.

In addition to Ruiz, others who spoke at Thursday's ceremony were Julie Chavez Rodriguez, state director for U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, a California Democrat; and Enrique J. Armenta, community outreach director for U.S. Rep. Pete Aguilar, a Democrat from Redlands.

Koahou was also previously awarded with the Governor's Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor for his actions. He joined the Redlands Police Department last month after seven years in San Bernardino.

Photos by Renee Schiavone, Patch