New York’s uniformed public servants are rightly under the microscope for the way they use force, the overtime they accrue and so on; with the power of the job comes responsibility and scrutiny. But we don’t often enough stand back and collectively appreciate the plain, simple and essential fact that police officers and firefighters risk and sometimes give their lives to protect the rest of us. Just because it’s a cliché doesn’t mean it’s untrue.
Wednesday, President Biden awarded the Medal of Valor to nine American public safety officers. Six were New Yorkers.
Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera were posthumously honored after being shot dead during a 911 domestic violence call early last year. They were just 27 and 22 when cut down by a 47-year-old man on probation after a felony drug charge, a vicious criminal who wielded a stolen gun equipped with a high-capacity magazine. The third NYPD honor went to Officer Sumit Sulan, who showed great bravery in the Harlem crisis by fatally shooting his partners’ killer. (All three were promoted to detective after the tragedy, Mora and Rivera posthumously.)
