WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has selected Senior
Police Officer Daniel Whitney, of
the Athens-Clarke County (GA)
Police Department, as the recipients of its Officer of the Month
Award for October 2016.
Located in the nation's capital, the National Law Enforcement
Officers Memorial Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to
honoring the service and sacrifice of America's law enforcement
officers. The Memorial Fund's Officer of the Month Award Program
began in 1996 and recognizes federal, state, and local officers who
distinguish themselves through exemplary law enforcement service
and devotion to duty.
Senior Police Officer Whitney, along with the other Officer of
the Month Award recipients for 2016, will be honored during
National Police Week at a special awards ceremony in Washington, DC, in May
2017.
STORY DETAILS
- In the early morning of May 15,
2016, the Athens-Clarke
County Police Department received a frantic 911 call from about a
car fire on U.S. Highway 29. The caller, who lived in a nearby
home, was worried the vehicle, which had crashed into a large tree,
would explode.
- Senior Police Officer Daniel
Whitney responded to the call and found a passenger of the
vehicle partially hanging out of a small rear driver side window.
The impact of the accident that caused the fire had bent the frame
of the car and the doors were jammed shut.
- "I could tell by the dispatcher's voice that it was bad, so I
headed out there," SPO Whitney said. "When I arrived, I could see
the guy hanging out the window. I retrieved my fire extinguisher
and that was little help and knocked it down a little bit."
- Unsuccessfully with the extinguisher to quell the flames, SPO
Whitney called for a water hose from a nearby house. He then used
the extinguisher to break rear windows of the car, hoping to give
the passenger room to get out, but he was stuck in the small
window. As SPO Whitney tried to open the rear hatch of the vehicle,
an explosion came from under the hood, signaling that time was
running out for the passenger.
- SPO Whitney started to bend the door frame to give the
passenger more room to escape, enabling the passenger to slide out
of the window with the help of the officer. The passenger was
carried to the side of the road by other motorists.
- "Get him out, get him out of the car. That's pretty much what
was going through my mind," SPO Whitney said. "I couldn't stand to
stand back and watch. You couldn't live with yourself, I thought,
if you do nothing."
- The fire department arrived a short time later and extinguished
the fire. The part of the vehicle that the man had been extracted
from was found completely gutted. Officers at the scene described
the heat from the fire as "unbearable" from 50 feet away.
Unfortunately, the driver of the vehicle did not survive the
incident.
- Video of the incident from SPO Whitney's body camera can be
found on the Athens-Clarke County
Police Department YouTube page: https://youtu.be/pOxdEoARb0s.
SUPPORTING QUOTES
- "Had SPO Whitney not put himself in harm's way and shown
exceptional valor in rescuing the passenger, he likely would have
suffered the same fiery death as the driver," said Athens-Clarke County Police Department
Lieutenant Christopher Nichols.
- "Senior Police Officer Dan
Whitney demonstrated the dedication our officers show every
day in the line of duty," Memorial Fund President and CEO
Craig W. Floyd said. "His quick
actions saved the life of a man who would've died without his help.
SPO Whitney is deserving of the November
2016 Officer of the Month Award."
For more information about the National Law Enforcement Officers
Memorial Fund's Officer of the Month Award, visit
www.LawMemorial.org/OTM.
About the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
Established in 1984, the National Law Enforcement Officers
Memorial Fund is a private non-profit organization dedicated to
telling the story of American law enforcement and making it safer
for those who serve. The Memorial Fund built and now operates and
maintains the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in
Washington, DC, which contains the
names of 20,789 officers who have died in the line of duty
throughout U.S. history. The Memorial Fund is now building the
National Law Enforcement Museum, which will tell the story of
American law enforcement through high-tech, interactive
exhibitions, historical artifacts and extensive educational
programming. For more information, visit www.LawMemorial.org.
MEDIA CONTACT
Jaclyn Barrientes
jbarrientes@nleomf.org | (202) 737-7989
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SOURCE National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund