Three police officers and a Davis-Monthan airman will be honored Thursday for heroic efforts in helping save lives.
The 9:30 a.m. Heroes Day ceremony will take place in the courtyard at La Encantada, 2805 E. Skyline Drive. This is the eighth annual recognition.
The ceremony is open to the public and people are welcome to sign a banner thanking law enforcement and first responders for their work in Southern Arizona, organizers said.
The 2016 Heroes Day winners are:
Airman stops
pit-bull attack
On Nov. 21, 2015, Technical Sgt. David Velarde of Davis-Monthan was out for his morning jog when he encountered a man and his dog being viciously attacked by a pit bull. The two were under attack for nearly 30 minutes receiving mutliple, deep bites before Velarde arrived.
Velarde pulled the pit bull off the man and his dog, Scooby, and the man and dog both received medical treatment for severe injuries. The man had bites to his arms and legs, shoulder and a hand.
โI realize every day that I am alive because of him and his selfless effort to rescue me from a situation that I was powerless to stop,โ said the victim. โNot everyone would throw themselves into a dangerous situation as he did.โ
Oro Valley police rescue children
On July 14, 2015, a woman was traveling with her two young children on Interstate 17 headed to Flagstaff. The woman noticed her car was moving slowly and smoke was billowing from under the hood. She pulled to the side of the road and was in a panic state. She did not get her children out of the car.
Lts. John Teachout and Christopher Olson were also traveling on I-17 when they saw the car with smoke swelling outward from under the hood. They pulled over and spoke to the woman and found out two small children were strapped in child-safety seats inside the vehicle.
Teachout and Olson ran to the car and pulled the children out right before the car erupted into flames, said Oro Valley police Lt. Kara Riley, who nominated the two. Teachout and Olson remained to help secure the scene, and then gave the woman and her two children a ride to Cordes Junction to reunite with family.
Tucson officer saves suicidal man
On Dec. 17, 2015, Officer Mike Pelton responded to a call at the intersection of West 22nd Street and Interstate 10 to a report of a man running through traffic in an attempt to commit suicide.
The man was suffering a mental health crisis and was running in front of moving vehicles exiting the interstate. When Pelton arrived, he risked his life by running into traffic to reach the man to pull him out of danger. He grabbed the man and a fight ensued in the middle of the street.
Traffic continued moving around the two, and at one point, a motorist stopped and began to film Pelton and the man, and the motorist yelled insults at Pelton.
Pelton held the man down on the street until additional officers arrived to help him with the suicidal man.
