Yakima Police Department Awards First Ever Medal Of Honor

The Yakima Police Department awarded the first Medal of Honor to officer Brad Althauser during a ceremony at the Yakima Convention Center Thursday.
"I'm still kind of trying to take it in but I'm humbled considering the people I work with here at the department."
Althauser was on patrol in the early morning hours of March 30th of 2016 when he noticed smoke in the area of South 56th Avenue and Chestnut Avenue where he found a retirement complex on fire. Knowing he had arrived before firefighters he knew had to help rescue people from the fire.  He was joined by YPD officers Philip Amici and Ian Cole. "We kicked the gate in and then started knocking on doors and kicking doors in to get people out." Althauser says he carried some residents to safety while leading others to safety with the help of the other officers. Everyone survived the fire. As a result officer Amici was awarded the department's Medal of Valor. And officer Brad Althauser, a five year veteran was awarded the first ever Yakima Police Department Medal of Honor for "demonstrating exceptional bravery while facing imminent risk of bodily injury."