Even though St. Police Officer Brady Harrison could hear the firetruck sirens in the distance, he ignored them and jumped into action when a house fire erupted during his shift in St. Paul, MN. Harrison risked his life to save an 82 year old woman from her burning house last year and is being rightfully recognized for it today. The firefighters asked him afterwards, “Didn’t you hear the sirens coming? The firefighters were coming.” Officer Harrison responded with, “I did, but I was already kinda committed.” Officer Harrison, a K-9 officer who has been with St. Paul for more than 25 years, was on patrol on the Greater East Side the morning of November 14th, 2022, when he heard a call dispatched about a house fire with two people inside. He was five blocks away and rushed to the home at Birmingham Street and Idaho Avenue, the first to arrive. A man had made it out, but he was distraught and told Harrison his wife was still inside. As smoke billowed out of the house, Officer Harrison made the brave and difficult decision to go into that house and get that woman out. Officer Harrison crouched onto his stomach, trying to get below the smoke, and Army-crawled toward the sound of the woman’s voice. Luckily, he found her and carried her out of the house to safety.
“People who have worked with Harrison for a long time weren’t surprised by his actions in the rescue,” St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said. Many of his coworkers have said, “What I find so inspirational is that Brady still brings that enthusiasm and commitment and level of service that a rookie officer does … He still looks at the job that way and thinks, “I can make the situation better.” Missy Harrison, Harrison’s wife remarked about her husband, “You could have heard the sirens a block away and you still would have gone in because you just can’t sit still. You have to do something.”
St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry recognized Harrison this week as the department’s Officer of the Year and also presented him with the Distinguished Service Award on Wednesday, both for the rescue and his outstanding work on the force.
It’s stories like these that are near and dear to our hearts because we don’t understand that officers will help their community out no matter what the situation is at hand. Being able to put all feelings aside and lock in on what is important for everyone else not only takes so much mental stability, but also bravery. Something we absolutely applaud police officers all over the world for taking on.
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