By Beatriz Alvarado
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — From his mother’s arms, the 1-year-old son of a police officer injured last month while serving a warrant gripped a gold medal hanging from Corpus Christi fire Capt. Daniel Valdez’s neck.
“That’s for saving daddy,” Chiffon Hatfield-Jordan, Corpus Christi Police officer Andrew Jordan’s wife said to her son. “Say thank you.”
The boy smiled at Valdez, who was awarded the medal for leaving a safe coverage area to help the officer when bullets pierced his leg and forearm during a narcotics raid Feb. 19.
Valdez received the Corpus Christi Fire Department’s Medal of Honor during a Monday ceremony at the department’s headquarters.
He and firefighter Randy Lopez, who are part of the paramedic team that accompanies the SWAT team on hazardous calls, were honored for their roles in the raid.
Valdez, an 11-year veteran of the fire department and 6-year member of the Tactical EMS team, received the highest award given to a survivor of a hostile encounter, Fire Chief Robert Rocha said.
“Because of your vigilance, courage and devotion to your assignment, and you disregard for your own safety to render life-extending medical attention, a life was saved,” Rocha said to Valdez.
The life saving award was given to Lopez, a 7-year veteran who has been part of the Tactical EMS team for two years.
Lopez helped transport Jordan to an ambulance within three minutes of being shot. He made the decision to park an ambulance a couple of blocks closer than the usual distance, he said.
“I did it to be safe,” Lopez said. “It worked out very well.”
Jordan was the most critically injured of three officers shot that day.
Senior Officer Steven Ruebelmann, a six-year veteran of the force, received two gunshot wounds — one to a wrist, another to a hand — and was released from the hospital Feb. 20.
Officer Steve Brown, an officer with Corpus Christi police for two years, sustained a wound to his right calf and was medically cleared the day of the shooting.
The room was packed with employees from both departments, which showed the strength of the partnership with the fire and police department, Rocha said.
“It’s an effort to show CCPD and CCFD working close together to make sure we are protecting ourselves,” Rocha said.