Myriad acts of courage under duress highlighted by Metro in emotional ceremony

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Steve Marcus

Metro Police Officer Casey Clarkson, center, is congratulated by Sheriff Joe Lombardo, left, and Officer Tara Brosnahan during the sixth-annual Sheriff Salutes the Best of the Badge gala at the Red Rock Resort Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. Clarkson received the Medal of Valor and Purple Heart award.

Sat, Sep 15, 2018 (2 a.m.)

2018 Best of The Badge Gala

Victims of the Oct. 1 mass shooting are displayed during the 6th annual Sheriff Salutes The Best of the Badge gala at the Red Rock Resort Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. Launch slideshow »

Las Vegas’ most valiant police officers were honored Friday night in Metro Police’s best attended and emotionally charged annual awards ceremony.

“We put this uniform on every night to make sure each and every one of you are safe,” said Officer Joshua Haynes, who received a Medal of Valor for transporting a wounded officer to safety under heavy gunfire during the Oct. 1 mass shooting on the Strip.

More 1,000 attendees packed the ballroom at Red Rock Resort to honor a record 192 recipients of three prestigious awards.

A total of 126 Medal of Honor awards were given to officers whose actions extended “beyond the call of duty,” five Purple Heart awards were given to officers who sustained substantial bodily injuries in the act of duty, and 61 others were given Medal of Valor awards — the department’s highest honor — for heroic actions performed at a great risk of their own safety to save a person’s life.

This year’s honorees — nearly five times the 30 medals typically given out each year — and number of attendees set new highs for the event’s sixth year.

Officers Patrick Burke and Michael Tran were among over 150 Metro officials awarded for their heroism in the Oct. 1 mass shooting. Burke, who was stationed stageside during Jason Aldean’s performance before shots started raining on the Route 91 Harvest crowd, was presented a Medal of Valor for discovering the shooter’s location, rushing up to the 32nd floor and helping evacuate guests as authorities closed in on the shooter’s hotel room.

Burke, an 18-year Metro veteran who served overseas in the U.S. military, said his wartime experience “pales in comparison” to the violence he witnessed on Oct 1. Since then, he doesn’t take everyday problems “as seriously,” he said.

“I have more patience and empathy,” he said.

Tran, who shielded concertgoers from gunfire on festival grounds and directed the scattered crowd to seek cover, was presented the Medal of Honor. He fought back tears as he reflected on the impact of that night on his family life a year later.

“I try to take more time in my life to spend time with my family,” Tran said, “Because I know I could have been one of the 58.”

Not all award winners Friday were involved in heroic actions on Oct. 1.

Officers D’Metre Farris and Steven Kaposta were among 33 other Metro staffers presented with Medal of Valor awards for their role in mitigating what likely would have been a fatal domestic violence incident last year. Just weeks after the mass shooting on the Strip, Farris and Kaposta coordinated a seven-officer effort to locate a teenage boy stabbing an elderly woman inside an east valley house.

Farris and Kaposta reached the boy as he held a knife above the woman, and promptly arrested him. Officers in their unit applied a tourniquet to the woman, which an investigation later found helped reduce bleeding enough to save her life.

Despite the award, Farris, a three-year officer with Metro, echoed a common sentiment of humility expressed by many at Friday’s event.

“I don’t think I’m special,” he said. “I’m out there to do our job.”

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