MPD honors officers at semi-annual Merit Awards

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee police officers, credited with saving lives, were honored on Wednesday, May 8. 

They were joined by their peers and families tonight at a semi-annual ceremony. 

This Merit Awards Ceremony is coming in on the heels of National Police Week. 

The guests of honor were all in uniform and sat in the front row. Some 24 incidents community members faced that might have had a different outcome if it were not for those police officers were read out loud. 

One of the incidents happened in July. A 5-year-old girl's life was hanging in the balance after a shooting near 41st and Wright. Officers Chris Spankowski and Ryan Sharp found the girl on the porch and immediately began tending her wounds. 

"It's kind of just like laser focus you just focus on the one thing. You want to help her and it's great having good coworkers that are able to secure the scene around us," said Spankowski. 

"So, we were able to pack the wounds with the wounds and reassure her, I mean she did great she was crying, but still able to talk to me," said Sharp. 

Along with dozens of officers, there were detectives, dispatchers, and even regular citizens honored at the ceremony.