Dozens of Chattanooga police officers were celebrated at a small awards ceremony Thursday night for their service to the city and community over the last year.
Officers were recognized for everything from rewriting department policy, to improving department efficiency, to using tourniquets on shooting victims to prevent them from bleeding out.
Officer Zackary Crawford, recipient of the patrol officer of the year award, was honored for his heroics when he shoved an ungloved finger into a shooting victim's leg wound, putting pressure on his femoral artery. Doctors later said the man would have died within 2 minutes without Crawford's actions.
"He paid for a family's hotel room when he heard the parents and two children were sleeping in a car," said Michelle Heron, a reporter at WRCB-TV who emceed the event. "All these things he's done, he's done quietly without drawing attention to himself."
Others also were recognized for their life-saving actions as well as their responses on the front lines when tragedy strikes, as was the case with the Woodmore Elementary School bus crash. The crime scene unit, among others, were recognized for their actions in the wake of that crash.
Fletcher said the details of that scene were inappropriate for such an event, but he did say the unit should be celebrated for its actions in the aftermath.
"Suffice it to say that then-Sgt., now-Lt., Williams and her team did things to support our community that we truly should not ask them to do," he said.
Finally, one of the last people to be recognized was Tracy Arnold, who recently retired after three years as assistant chief for community relations. He had been with the department 30 years and received the department's very first distinguished commander award.
Paul Smith, the former public safety coordinator for the city, congratulated Arnold for the diligent care he had taken in working with the community.
"We have been at funerals together, we have gone and supported families together and he has been instrumental in leading victims' services," he said.
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731. Follow him on Twitter @emmettgienapp.