Dozens of Lacey police officers, staff and those outside the department were recognized with awards before Lacey City Council on Thursday.
But among them were two officers — Corporal Miguel Stansberry and Officer Patrick Jo — who received the department's highest honors, earning the medal of honor and a bravery medal for their role in responding to a chaotic domestic violence situation last year.
Stansberry received the medal of valor, Jo the bravery medal and Thurston 911 dispatcher Fritz Riddle, who assisted both officers that night, earned a chief's commendation, Lacey Police Chief Robert Almada told the council.
Almada recapped the incident of Jan. 20, 2022, that involved the three men.
About 8 p.m. on that date, Stansberry and Jo were dispatched to a report of domestic violence in the Horizon Pointe neighborhood, which is just south of Capitol City Golf Club.
A woman reported that she had been assaulted by her husband, then fled her home with her children and took refuge at a neighbor's house.
Stansberry and Jo caught up with the suspect at his residence. Unbeknownst to them, the man had already armed himself with a 9 mm pistol, Almada said.
Domestic violence is among the most dangerous situations for police because emotions run high and they can quickly become volatile, he said.
And that's exactly how the situation played out, according to Almada, because soon the suspect became uncooperative, then began to physically resist the officers and then it grew to become a physical altercation.
Chief Almada attempted to show video of the incident to the council, but the images and audio weren't clear or couldn't be heard.
The chief then played back the audio for The Olympian after the meeting and it was chilling as the suspect began to scream "No! No! No!" then fired 12-15 rounds at the two officers.
Both Stansberry and Jo scrambled to take cover, although one round struck Jo's protective vest. According to Almada, Stansberry eventually "engaged the armed suspect until the incident came to an end."
"Their courageous actions led to the most favorable outcome possible in this deadly encounter," he said.
In addition to the medal of valor and the bravery award, the department also awarded one distinguished service medal, two exceptional service awards, an employee of the year and a volunteer of the year awards, and two CrimeStoppers awards.
There also were 54 commendations, four chief's awards, three inspirational partnership awards, which is named for former Lacey police officer Tina Griswold, who died in the line of duty as a Lakewood police officer. Service awards also were bestowed on those officers with 15 or more years of service.
The department also had one recent promotion and retirement, Almada said.
