2 Tacoma officers who saved man from burning car awarded Medal of Valor
Celis and Correia were dispatched April 29 to the 900 block of South 96th Street for a single-car crash. A car had struck a pole and fence, with its engine compartment fully engulfed in flames, according to the Tacoma Police Department.
Brooks had been driving the vehicle and was still inside when the officers arrived.
'The only thing I remember at that point was I came back to senses, or whatever it might have been, noticing that my airbag had deployed, my car's on fire and I pressed my panic alarm,' Brooks told The News Tribune at a ceremony held to honor Celis and Correia. 'The operator comes on and I said, 'My car's on fire, and I don't think I can get up.''
Celis and Correia pulled Brooks out of the car and had to navigate the smoke, flames and downed wires to move him to a safe distance from the fire.
'Once I was basically at safety, the only thing else I heard was, boom. The car had exploded,' Brooks said.
The incident left Brooks with a crushed heel and several fractured bones in his body. Brooks said he was in the ICU and eventually taken to a general room at a hospital. Now, he is going through rehabilitation and recovery.
Celis told The News Tribune that saving Brooks was just instinct.
'You don't think about what you're doing. You just go in and you get it done,' Celis said, 'You gotta help him, that's the whole point.'
For the rescue, Celis and Correia were awarded the Medal of Valor at the police headquarters. This medal is the highest honor given to police officers in the country for acts of bravery and heroism that went beyond what is normally expected. Both officers told The News Tribune they had learned they were being awarded the Medal of Valor once the ceremony began.
'It feels great,' Correia said when he was asked how receiving the honor felt. 'I think the chief made a good point saying that any one of these other officers would do the exact same thing.'
Correia has been with TPD since 2019, while Celis joined the department in 2022. Celis has been in law enforcement for 28 years, and will be joining the Fircrest Police Department in July as their newest chief of police.
Interim Police Chief Patti Jackson awarded Celis and Correia their medals during the ceremony as members of the department watched. City manager Elizabeth Pauli, family members of the officers, Brooks and his family also were in attendance.
'Despite the spreading fire, both officers put themselves in harm's way to save the driver's life without waiting for assistance from the Fire Department,' Lt. Shawn Mallot said at the ceremony.
Brooks' brother, Steven, thanked the officers in his remarks during the ceremony. He said he had written a letter to Jackson in May, which summarized how grateful his family was.
'These officers are a very good example of what being an unselfish hero is all about,' he said.
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