ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Orange County Sheriff's Office hosted an award ceremony Tuesday afternoon to honor deputies and citizens who have gone above and beyond in the line of duty.
The ceremony was hosted at Majestic Life Church beginning at 2 p.m., and senior staff from the Sheriffs Department were on hand to celebrate the achievements of the awardee's.
The event began with a prayer from the chaplain of the Sheriffs Office as well as words from Sheriff Jerry Demings, who spoke about the "privilege" it is to live in the United States.
Among those honored were three deputies who administered Narcan to a woman who was overdosing outside of the Orange County Jail in July. Also honored was a citizen, Michael Salvato, who was able to get a license plate number from a vehicle involved in a robbery, leading to the arrest of three suspects.
A variety of awards were distributed throughout the run-time of the event: Meritorious Service Awards for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of service to the department, Distinguished Service Medals for Retirees, Certificates of Appreciation and accommodation and Medals of Merit.
The biggest award of the afternoon was the Medal of Valor, awarded to the seven officers involved in the June 5 workplace shooting in Northeast Orlando. The men were commended for their bravery in entering the building and carrying victims out of the horrible scene.
The chief of Kissimmee police, Jeff O'Dell, was also on-hand for the ceremony to offer his thanks to as many Deputies as he could for the aid his department received in what he called possibly the darkest day in the history of the Kissimmee Police Department; the night two officers were shot and killed during a routine stop in August. O'Dell mentioned that he'd been at dinner with his family the night of the shooting, and the first call he received after the news of the events came from Demings.
In addition to Demings, groups attending the ceremony were the OSCO leadership team, deputies and other Central Floridian citizens.
The ceremony was streamed live by News 6.