Fifty-Four OCSD Officers Receive Medal Of Valor Honor

Rancho Santa Margarita CA

01 October, 2021

7:29 PM

Description

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Fifty-three Orange County Sheriff's Department officers — and one exemplary K-9 named Roscoe — were honored at the 33rd annual Medal of Valor Ceremony Thursday for their courage and dedication in helping keep the Orange County community safe. "For the past 32 years, this year being the 33rd, the Sheriff's Advisory Council has hosted the Medal of Valor to recognize and celebrate the outstanding accomplishments made by the men and women from the Orange County Sheriff's Department," President of the Orange County Sheriff's Advisory Council Wayne Pinnell said during the ceremony. "Over the years, we've presented over 800 medals." The recipients of the Medal of Honor are selected every January by a committee composed of representatives from the OCSD and the Sheriff's Advisory Council. On Thursday, 58 medals were awarded to 54 total recipients at the Hilton Hotel in Anaheim. "From the brave deputies who risked their lives running into a burning house or car to rescue people trapped inside, to the deputies who administered advanced life-saving techniques to injured victims — these circumstances place our honorees into extraordinary places at extraordinary times," Pinnell said. Attendees of the ceremony heard numerous stories from OCSD officers across Orange County, including a testimony from Medal of Valor recipient and Rancho Santa Margarita Police Services Deputy Shawn Murray. Murray received the honor from an incident last October, in which he aided a victim with countless stab wounds at the scene of a crime after cuffing the suspect. "He had too many stab wounds to even count," Murray said in his testimony. Murray and Deputy Dan Castillo, who was also awarded a Medal of Valor, treated the victim as best as they could while waiting for emergency services. "As we waited, [the victim] kept telling us that he didn't want to die... looking at him, with the amount of blood that he lost, I did not expect him to survive. Both Dan and I spoke to him and tried to do our very best to put him at ease." The victim survived the attack with the help of Murray and Castillo. "I was really grateful for the courage of my partners who showed up and did their job without any fear, and I was extremely grateful to find out that he survived and that we were able to have a positive impact on a very bad scenario." For those who missed the Thursday livestream of the 33rd annual Medal of Valor Ceremony, the entire ceremony can be viewed on the OCSD's website.