DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - High honors were given to a Miami-Dade Police officer who was shot while trying to apprehend a shoplifter.
Manuel Gonzalez was recognized as Officer of the Year, Tuesday.
Congrats to Officer Manuel L. Gonzalez of #MDPD’s Marine Patrol for being named Distinguished Officer of the Year for 2018. 👏 #MDPDproud pic.twitter.com/WZLBw4DHtT
— Miami-Dade Police (@MiamiDadePD) January 15, 2019
Other awards, such as Retired Officer of the Year and Officer of the Month for December were also given during the special event.
The highest praise came with a humble reaction.
“I’m happy, I’m very glad that I received the award,” Gonzalez said. “The incident happened on December 6th, 2017. I went through a lot, luckily the department, the training they put me through, [I] was fortunate enough to overcome.”
Officer Gonzalez was shot by a shoplifter at a Walmart along Northwest 79th Street and 32nd Avenue.
He was off-duty during the shootout and was struck six times.
Gonzalez returned fire, killing the suspect.
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