MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Fla. (WSVN) — A South Florida officer received a hero’s homecoming after the president himself awarded him a high honor.
Miami-Dade Police officer Mario Gutierrez received a water cannon salute, Thursday, as his plane from Washington D.C. landed at Miami International Airport.
A fellow Miami-Dade Police officer shot cellphone video as his comrades rushed aboard the plane in a surprise welcome for Gutierrez.
The officer is back in South Florida after receiving The Public Safety Medal of Valor from President Obama himself. “Pretty awesome, and I’m very, very much blown away,” said Gutierrez.
He was one of two South Florida officers to be given the highest national award for public safety in Washington, earlier this week.
Surveillance video from Oct. 29, 2013, showed the moments Guitierrez put his life on the line to stop a man from igniting two 8,000 gallon gas tanks near Miami International Airport.
Gutierrez was stabbed several times, but he prevented a potential catastrophe.
“Mario will tell you, Mario represents the men and women that serve Miami-Dade County as a whole,” said Miami-Dade Police Assist. Director Freddy Ramirez. “People who wear this badge, any one of us can come across a scenario that he came across, putting his life at risk for the community we serve.”
Officer Gutierrez said only a few words after walking off the plane, as he was greeted with applause. “Everything is blowing around in my head,” he said. “It’s overwhelming, but I appreciate everything.”
And now that he’s home, he will have time to reflect on that medal and what it means.
North Miami Police Niel Johnson was also recognized for his heroic act after he stopped a man who shot a fellow officer and two by-standers in 2013.
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