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In Dewey Beach, officers honored for fiery rescue

Five seasonal officers, trooper ran into burning Chicken Ed’s
September 19, 2016

Story Location:
Dewey Beach, DE
United States

A month to the day after throwing caution to the wind and running into the unknown, five seasonal officers for the Dewey Beach Police Department and a Delaware state trooper were recognized for their bravery the night a fire destroyed Ed’s Chicken and Crabs.

Lt. William Hocker presented officers Cede Duvall, Aiden Gause, Chris Ebke, Patrick Stevens and Vincent Lopez, and TFC Matthew Kerrigan with a Heroism Award during the town’s Sept. 9 council meeting. It’s the town highest standard for police service, said Hocker.

Opened in 1978, the Dewey restaurant was destroyed by an Aug. 9 fire that was triggered after a driver jumped a curb and ran into the restaurant at 2 a.m.

Without hesitation these officers responded, said Hocker, who has been acting chief since Chief Sam Mackert went on leave before Memorial Day after suffering a heart attack. The officers receive 50 hours of training for their seasonal duties, said Hocker, and a burning structure fire is not part of it.

“These guys reacted on just pure instinct,” he said proudly.

Hocker showed a short clip of black-and-white video from a town street camera that shows the officers, ranging in age from 19 to 23, running into the building. Almost everyone in attendance at the meeting had seen the video, but the images weren’t any less impactful.

It’s an example of the many things police do, Mayor Diane Hanson said.

Following the brief ceremony, four of the officers gathered outside. Lopez, who goes to school in New York, and Kerrigan were not at the meeting.

Ebke said seeing the video reminded him of how there are so many pieces to any situation.

“You’re just seeing your piece of the puzzle when it’s happening, but it creates the whole picture when you see the video,” he said.

Gause acknowledged seasonal officers do not have the same level of training or permission to carry a gun as their full-time counterparts, but he said, they’re police officers nonetheless. He said Lt. Hocker and Chief Mackert said from the beginning that it was important to perform all duties to the same standards as the full-time officers.

Hocker had a big smile on his face through the whole ceremony.

“Not much can prepare you for what these gentlemen did,” he said.

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