Las Vegas police honor own for going ‘above and beyond call of duty’

Hundreds gathered Friday night for the Metropolitan Police Department’s Best of the Badge gala honoring officers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, held by the Metropolitan Police Department Foundation at Red Rock Resort.

The department honored 189 officers at the Las Vegas event held by the Metropolitan Police Department Foundation. Among them were 153 officers who were specifically honored for their actions during the Oct. 1 attack.

As the event got underway, officers and their families began to fill seats at dozens of tables. But one seat would remain empty.

Each year a place at one of the tables is made in front of an unmarked chair to symbolize the officers who have died in the line of duty. This year, that place was reserved for officer Charleston Hartfield.

A rose and cap marked the memory of fallen Las Vegas police officer and Army veteran Charleston Hartfield, who was killed while off-duty at the concert where the shooting occurred.

A purple cloth napkin was wrapped around the silverware, the same color as the purple heart award Hartfield was posthumously awarded.

Hartfield’s wife, Veronica Hartfield, and their two children accepted the award on his behalf. The three smiled as Sherriff Joe Lombardo handed them the purple medal and a plaque.

Hartfield’s friend and fellow officer told the audience of the officer’s “unforgettable Charlie grin.”

He detailed how Hartfield helped others in the crowd to safety, including his wife, who was in the audience with him that night.

“Yes, Charlie was a hero, and he was much more than that,” officer Thomas Clevenger said. “He was my coworker, friend and also my brother.”

After the award presentations, Lombardo asked all of the officers to stand. He told them he often receives praise for the department’s response to the shooting, but that he wasn’t the reason why police responded efficiently that night.

“To be frank with you, it’s the result of each and every one of these individuals in the room,” he said. “I want to thank each and every one of those individuals standing out there in the audience tonight.”

Among those officers was Michael Tran.

‘How do I help these people’

In an interview earlier in the evening, he recounted his experiences on Oct. 1.

The sound was the first sign something wasn’t right — a volley of exploding noises.

No fireworks were planned for the final night of the Route 91 Harvest festival, Tran thought. So he and his partner walked toward the stage to investigate. The men were working overtime to provide additional, uniformed security at the event, and so far, it had been “a really good night.”

As he made his way to the stage though, Tran saw sign No. 2: a group of people standing over a woman on the ground.

Tran walked over, trying to find out if she had been knocked unconscious in a fight. But the moment he stood over her, he realized she had been shot in the face.

He called the injury out over his radio, requesting medical. His partner tried to roll the woman on her side when another volley of explosions started. This time, they realized they were gunshots.

Jason Aldean and his band stopped playing. Bright stadium lights suddenly illuminated the crowd. And Tran began yelling, “Get down!”

“All I was thinking about was, how do I help these people? How do I get them out?” Tran said Friday, a few hours before the sheriff was expected to honor him with a medal of valor, one of the highest honors a Metropolitan Police Department officer can receive.

On the night of the shooting, Tran helped load the wounded into wheelbarrows and onto makeshift gurneys. He laid on top of people who were unable or too scared to move, shielding them as best he could. And he constantly directed people to exits.

When asked how many people he helped escape that night, Tran said, “Not enough.”

Las Vegas officer Patrick Burke also received a medal of valor for his actions Oct. 1.

’A privilege’

Like Tran, Burke was working overtime at the festival. But shortly after the shooting started, Burke and other officers headed across the street toward Mandalay Bay, responding to reports that the shooter was on the 32nd floor.

Burke ended up positioning himself down the hall from the gunman’s suite, weapon drawn, in case the shooter, who killed himself, tried to escape. Burke then helped evacuate guests on that floor, including an infant and the child’s nanny.

The entire time, he had “no idea the level and volume of what was going on” at the festival grounds below.

Burke said being awarded Friday was not just an honor.

“It’s a privilege,” he said.

He realizes now that everything is not as serious as it once seemed, he said. He has more understanding and more empathy.

Tran also said the tragedy changed him.

“I try to make sure I enjoy life, hang out with my family,” Tran said, “because where we were standing, I could have been one of the 58.”

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3801. Follow @rachelacrosby. Review-Journal staff writer Katelyn Newberg contributed to this report.