Duluth Police Officer Presented Gold Medal of Valor

The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce honored Duluth Master Patrolman Bobby Johnson with the Gold Medal of Valor, the highest award for bravery and heroism, for pulling a 10-month-old baby from the window of a burning home in Duluth last November. The medal is awarded in cases where a police officer knowingly places his or her life in peril of death or serious bodily harm while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.

Presenting sponsors of the sixth annual Valor Awards at the Atlanta Marriott-Gwinnett Place last Friday (March 25) were Mobile Communications of Gwinnett and Motorola. 

“It is because of the heroic and courageous efforts of Gwinnett’s public safety professionals that we are able to live, work and play in a safe community,” said Abby Wilkerson, the chamber’s program manager.  

Johnson and two other Duluth Police Department Officers Matt Baker and Scott Parrish arrived at the fire scene ahead of firefighters to learn from the distraught father on the front lawn that the baby was still inside the house. He was holding his limp wife, whom he had just pulled out of a bedroom window, in his arms. Two other children in diapers had escaped the fire and were running around the yard unharmed. The house was fully engulfed in flames, and smoke was billowing from the windows.

Unable to enter through the front door, Johnson and Parrish climbed onto a small ledge at the side of the house. Parrish and Baker held Johnson up to the window enabling him to reach through the smoke and grab the infant. The unresponsive baby responded to CPR administered by Baker and Johnson at the scene and revived, but died later at the hospital.

“Officers aren’t expected to fight fires or pull people out of burning buildings. They don’t have the equipment, training or experience to deal with it,” said Duluth Police Lt. Jackie Hood, who nominated Johnson. “These officers went above and beyond the call of duty, without regard for their personal safety, to save a small baby’s life. For that, they make us proud. For that we call them heroes.”

All three officers already had been recognized at the Duluth City Council’s December meeting where Johnson was presented the Medal of Valor. Baker and Parrish received Police Star awards.

At the chamber ceremony, the Silver Medal of Valor was presented to Officer J. Bailey and Officer D. Mitchem with the Gwinnett County Police (South Precinct) for rescuing an elderly disabled man from a residential fire on Stone Mountain Highway in July 2010. They made it out safely just as the roof started to collapse.

Five other awards were presented at the ceremony. They were the Lifesaving Award, Public Safety Person of the Year, Public Safety Unit of the Year, Communications Person of the Year, and Medal of Merit. The keynote speaker at the event was Atlanta Fire Rescue Chief Kelvin Cochran.

• The Lifesaving Award was given to Gwinnett County Firefighter Dan Rimmer for aiding a runner who had collapsed after completing a local 5K race last December. Rimmer was off duty and participating in the run. He administered CPR and used an AED (automatic external defibrillator), provided by the church sponsoring the run, to restore the runner’s pulse and breathing.
• The Public Safety Person of the Year award was earned by Det. Dennis Hennelly and Sgt. Edward Restrepo with the Gwinnett County Police (Criminal Investigations). The first police officers to respond to a fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy at a Lawrenceville apartment complex, they persisted in their investigation of the crime and eventually obtained a confession from the shooter. The investigation focused on residents of another unit in the complex and involved listening to hours of jail conversations whenever any of their friends or associates were in custody.
• The Public Safety Unit of the Year Award was given to the Gwinnett County Sheriff Department’s Sex Offender Registry Registry Unit consisting of Lt. Jeremy Brown, Sgt. Michael Oakes, Cpl. Sheila Thomas, Deputy Bobby Chapman, and a civilian employee Casey Duffield, who handles most of the administrative duties. They were recognized for their hard work and dedication to keeping Gwinnett citizens informed and safer from child predators and sexually violent offenders.
• Communications Officers Lauren Sullins and Daphne Vernold were presented the Communications Person of the Year award. Sullins, who received a telephone call on Feb. 1, 2010, from a woman threatening suicide with a gun, was assisted by Vernold in locating the woman in a restroom at Lake Lanier near Cumming and contacting Hall and Forsyth county officers. For over an hour Sullins remained in contact with the women until the situation was safely resolved.
• The Medal of Merit was awarded to Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services Battalion Chief Eddie Myers’ Firefighters Lunch and Mentoring Experience (FLAME) Program. Firefighters participating in the program spend their lunchtime weekly mentoring an at-risk youth. Since the program’s inception in early 2009, students at 30 elementary schools throughout the county have benefited from relationships with their firefighter mentors.