Two police officers receive nation’s highest civilian award

WARREN — Officer David Chapman and Cpl. Daniel Rose of the Warren Police Department were awarded the Carnegie Medal for heroism during a ceremony at City Hall Nov. 21.

The officers received the honor for their efforts in saving an 8-year-old boy who had touched a fallen live electrical wire and was rendered unconscious as the wire dangled 5 feet above the street.

“Hospital staff were very clear that the child would likely have not survived if it were not for officers Chapman and Rose’s extraordinary actions,” said Lt. John Gajewski, public information officer for the Warren Police Department.

The Carnegie Medal is the highest civilian award bestowed on an individual for lifesaving acts of bravery and heroism performed in the United States and Canada. Thousands are nominated each year for the award. This year there are 18 recipients, making Chapman and Rose the only awardees in Michigan.

“In a year when only 18 individuals in North America were deemed worthy of this prestigious honor, the Warren Police Department is home of not one but two recipients,” Warren Mayor Lori Stone said. “Such an award places officer Chapman and Cpl. Rose in the company of history’s and Michigan’s greatest heroes.”

It started off as any other day Aug. 30, 2023. Chapman and Rose were working together in the area of McKinley Elementary School where they saw an 8-year-old boy who had received an electrical shock and lay unconscious in the street with a live wire hanging above him. According to police, the boy had grasped the wire with both hands.

A storm the night before had knocked down many electrical wires.

Rose and Chapman got on their hands and knees and crawled under the hanging wire. Each officer took one of the boy’s ankles and dragged him to a safe area about 10 feet away. The officers held on to the boy until they felt numbness or burning from the electrical current coursing through their hands and arms.

The boy was taken to the hospital in a patrol car.

“I actually had to order both officers to go to the hospital and to be checked out,” Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Charles Rushton said.

The officers went to the hospital but did not require medical treatment. According to police, the boy suffered severe burns on both hands and when last checked was in a rehabilitation facility.

“What happened was not a scenario everybody could imagine ever encountering,” Rushton said. “What happened that day is as real as it gets. Life and death, a split-second decision with a child’s life hanging in the balance.”

According to the commissioner, Rose and Chapman responded without hesitation, without thoughts of their own safety. The officers solely focused on rescuing the child. The officers did not mention what they had done and did not seek recognition. It was only after follow-up that the department became aware of the officers’ actions, Rushton said.

“It is not easy what we do,” Chapman said. “We just do it.”

He thanked the Warren Police Department for giving him the opportunity to show what he is capable of doing. He also thanked his wife, Nikita, for always having his back.

“Without them and my wife, there is no me,” Chapman said.

Rose said no one would want to be in the situation they faced that day and have to make those decisions.

“But I am glad we have, and I work with, people who can make the decisions,” Rose said.

Rose also thanked his wife, Alejandra, who was not in attendance because she had just given birth to their third daughter three days before the medal ceremony.

Chapman was hired by the Warren Police Department in December 2021, having served previously with the Detroit Police Department.

Rose has been with the Warren Police Department many years and was promoted to corporal in 2023. Prior to coming to the Warren Police Department, he worked in departments in various communities.

“Our community expresses deep pride and appreciation for their accomplishments,” Stone said.

The Carnegie Medal was established in 1904 by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to recognize outstanding acts of selfless heroism of individuals who risk death or serious physical injury while saving or attempting to save the lives of others, according to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission’s website. Carnegie was inspired by the January 1904 events of the Harwick mine disaster near Pittsburgh when an engineer and miner went into the mine and made an effort to save others.