Chattanooga Police Department Chief Fred Fletcher speaks at an Aug. 26 news conference at the Police Services Center in Chattanooga.The six Chattanooga police officers who rushed to stop the July 16 attacker will be honored nationally for their actions that day.
Officers Sean O'Brien, Grover Wilson, Jeff Lancaster, Keven Flanagan, Lucas Timmons and Dennis Pedigo will be given a "Top Cops" award from the National Association of Police Organizations in May, sources confirmed.
The association, which represents about 240,000 law enforcement officers across the United States, gives the award annually to 10 officers for actions that go above and beyond the call of duty, according to the National Association of Police Organizations.
The award has been given since 1994.
The Chattanooga officers will be honored for their roles in shooting and killing 24-year-old Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, who attacked two military sites in the city on July 16, 2015.
Abdulazeez opened fire with an assault rifle outside a military recruiting center on Lee Highway before driving across town to the U.S. Naval and Marine Reserve Center on Amnicola Highway and attacking again. There, Abdulazeez killed four Marines and mortally wounded a U.S. Navy specialist before five Chattanooga police officers shot and killed him.
Pedigo was wounded in the firefight, shot in the leg. Police Chief Fred Fletcher said Tuesday that Pedigo is recovering from a second round of surgeries after the "very, very debilitating" wound, and that he is determined to come back to work.
In December, the officers who stopped Abdulazeez spoke only with the Times Free Press about what happened, explaining how they managed to trap Abdulazeez between two groups of officers that day.
The entire incident at the reserve lasted just three to five minutes.
Fletcher said both the police department and the officers involved are honored to be recognized.
"These officers who are being honored risked their lives as officers do day in and day out throughout this country," Fletcher said. "They are my heroes, they are heroes to the Chattanooga community and they are clearly heroes across the country, as [they're] being recognized by this prestigious award."
Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas.