Officers recognized for valor and excellence in Santa Barbara County
Law enforcement officers received H. Thomas Guerry awards in Santa Barbara on Wednesday.
A dozen officers from the Santa Barbara Police Department, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol received awards for valor.
Michael Harris was among them.
The Sr. Deputy and several other officers saved Paradise campground campers from a man with multiple axes last June.
They arrested the man without using lethal force. It turns out the man was high on LSD.
Harris brought his family to the ceremony. He told his young children the award he received was for his courage.
His son hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps someday.
His wife said it was nice to see officers recognized for their contributions to the community.
The Guerry Award for Superior performance went to eight people including three detectives from Lompoc and Santa Maria police departments, a Santa Barbara County probation officer and an investigator with the DA’s office.
The H. Thomas Guerry award is named after a Santa Barbara police investigator who died in the line of duty during a manhunt for an armed robber on a cross-country crime spree.
