Chief Donie Lee last night presented six law enforcement officers with the highest honor bestowed by the Key West Police Department: the Valor Award.

Key West Police Officers Alex Gaufillet, Frank Betz, Brian Leahy, Curtiss Richardson and Jessie Hammers and Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy David Lariz all put their lives at risk in order to protect the community during a shooting on Duval Street.

A call came in on March 21^st that an armed suspect had shot three people on the street. Within minutes, officers surrounded the armed suspect and placed him into custody.  In the meantime, other officers were treating the wounded victims, preserving multiple crime scenes and providing crowd control.

“Every officer that night pulled from their training and experience to protect the public,” said Chief Lee. “These five officers are being awarded our highest honor for their outstanding act in the line of duty. With full knowledge of the risk involved, and at imminent personal hazard to their lives, they did what had to be done to protect and serve.”