Crime & Safety

Officers Brave Freezing Temperatures Attempting to Save Man

Police Valor Award Winners

The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce recently honored 64 police and fire fighters  with Valor Awards for their courage in protecting Fairfax citizens.

Fifteen were from the McLean District --- the largest contingent of officers recognized for valor. This is the third consecutive year  that the McLean District has achieved that distinction. Our thanks and congratulations to McLean District Commander Capt. Steve Thompson and his officers. 

McLean Patch is profiling each McLean District winner.

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Certificate of Valor:

Police Officer First Class Christopher Coleman
Fairfax County Police Department

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Police Officer First Class Jason Mardocco
Fairfax County Police Department

On a frigid winter day, PFC Coleman and PFC Mardocco received a call for a suicide attempt in a park behind an apartment complex. The frantic woman who called 9-1-1 said she and the man’s roommate found him unconscious and barely breathing.

Coleman and Mardocco arrived on scene and anxiously searched for the caller. In the distance they heard a woman screaming for help and followed the sound. The woman told the officers her boyfriend was about a mile away in the park. The officers sprinted after her over rough terrain in the piercing cold. Three quarters of a mile later she stopped at a set of chin-up bars on a fitness path and pointed to her boyfriend.

The victim’s roommate, kneeling over him, told the officers his friend was faintly breathing and had a weak pulse. PFC Coleman checked the victim, who had no pulse and wasn’t breathing, but was still warm to the touch.

The officers started CPR; Coleman performed chest compressions and Mardocco did the rescue breathing. They had run too far from their cruisers to retrieve any protective gear, but neither officer let that stop him. They continued CPR until Fire Department personnel arrived.

Rather than wait for a stretcher, the officers and medics decided to carry the victim out to the ambulance. Officers Coleman and Mardocco and the two firefighters lifted the victim and carried him a short distance, stopping just long enough to resume CPR before lifting him again. This slow process went on until they reached the medic unit and the victim was placed inside to be rushed to the hospital. The man didn’t survive his injuries. 

PFC Coleman and Mardocco responded quickly, and battled frigid temperatures and uneven, treacherous terrain to reach the victim, but both officers let their training guide them. They administered CPR with no protective gear and no hesitation.


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