Officer Joe Heynen receives the Medal of Valor
by Admin Services |
The Medal of Valor is the highest award given to a police officer.
Officer Joe Heynen was on duty as a Juneau Police SWAT Team Officer when he responded to a call to a house that was considered high risk. Upon his arrival Officer Heynen began being fired upon by the resident. He took a position behind the residence and began directing other responding officers to keep them out of the line of fire. There were 30-40 pistol and rifle rounds fired, however thanks to Officer Heynen's quick thinking, no one was injured. The suspect was taken into custody following the stand-off.
By the time the awards were announced, Officer Heynen was working for the UAA Police Department and the Juneau Police Chief, Bryce Johnson, asked UAA Chief Rick Shell to make the presentation. With Officer Heynen's mother, sisters and both Chancellor Case and Vice Chancellor Spindle in attendance the University Police Department proudly presented the award to Officer Heynen on March 27, 2014.