GREENBELT, Md. - Prince George's County Officer Edwin Flores is one of the members of law enforcement honored with a Valor Award for the outstanding work they have done in the county.
The story of why Flores was honored with the Gold Medal of Valor started on October 15 at around 4:30 p.m. He was off duty in his own car as he approached Russell Avenue in Gaithersburg.
"I was coming out of the gym when I observed several subjects that were walking through the parking lot," he said.
Officer Flores suspected the suspicious men were up to no good. So he parked around the corner and watched them.
"I kept observing them. I saw an individual take a handgun out and a mask, hand it over to a friend, who was in front of him. There were two additional subjects behind him. They all started walking towards a car,” said Flores.
He got out, identified himself as a police officer, and then ordered the suspects on the ground.
"Honestly, it's the first instinct, just to protect and serve the community and what I saw, I believed were citizens in harm’s way and I just had to react,” Flores said.
Two of the suspects followed Flores’ orders. A third raised his hands. But the fourth suspect ran behind a car before giving up.
Flores had contained all four suspects, but there was still one problem he had to deal with. He had left his cell phone in his car and had no way to call for backup. So Flores took one of the suspect’s cell phone. The phone happened to be password protected.
"The owner of the phone gave me the password after verbal commands and I was able to unlock the phone and dial 911,” said Flores.
The lone officer had foiled the plans of four armed suspects. By just doing his job, those four suspects ended up behind bars. Four guns were recovered and residents avoided what was about to be a dangerous situation.
"It's an honor and blessing and I know all the officers I work with would have done the same thing,” said Flores.
Article courtesy of Fox 5 News
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