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Trump awards Medal of Valor to 12 public safety officers

Posted February 20, 2018 6:00 am

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE

President Donald Trump awards public safety Medal of Valor to Lt. William Buchanan of the Avery County, N.C. Sheriff's Office, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - A dozen public safety officers received the nation's highest honor for bravery from President Donald Trump on Tuesday, including six individuals who responded after a married couple shot and killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, more than two years ago.

"Through your service and sacrifice we are reminded that America's greatest treasure is her people," Trump said at a White House ceremony before he clasped the Medal of Valor around each man's neck. "In your courage we see America's strength and in your character we see America's soul."

The Medal of Valor is the nation's highest award for public safety officers who risk their lives attempting to save or protect others.

Six of the individuals who were recognized by the president responded in December 2015 after 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik, opened fire on a holiday gathering at a social services center in San Bernardino, killing 14 people and wounding more than 20 others.

Farook and Malik fled the scene but died in a shootout with police.

Other medal recipients had saved people from fire, drowning and shootings.

Lt. William Buchanan of the Avery County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina was off-duty when he helped pull a man from a burning car. Trump's first attempt to clasp the medal around Buchanan's neck didn't take and it slipped down Buchanan chest. Trump got the clasp to work on his second try.

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Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

President Donald Trump presents the Public Safety Medal of Valor to Chief Douglas Schroeder of the Hesston, Kan., Police Department, during an awards ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) The Associated Press

President Donald Trump speaks at the Public Safety Medal of Valor awards ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) The Associated Press

Attorney General Jeff Sessions walks past President Donald Trump after introducing him to speak at the Public Safety Medal of Valor awards ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) The Associated Press

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