VIDEO — ‘What He Did Took Courage’: Massachusetts Cafe Owner Honored for Saving Two Police Officers

A restaurant owner in Springfield, Massachusetts, was recently honored during a special event for saving the lives of two police officers.

Mayor Domenic Sarno and law enforcement officials were on hand to enjoy the grand reopening of Pedro Perez’s Cafe D’Jolie on February 20, the Reminder reported Wednesday.

The restaurant was celebrating its grand reopening after having been closed for over a year due to construction near the building.

The Reminder article detailed what happened when Perez realized he knew he needed to help the two officers:

On Dec. 27, 2022, two officers were arresting a suspect, who was later convicted of robbing the MetroPCS store on Armory Street at knifepoint. When Perez, who was driving by, saw police struggling to subdue the man, he said he jumped out of his vehicle “on instinct” and dove in to help the officers. The suspect dropped the knife, but in the scuffle, was able to unholster an officer’s service pistol and fired two shots. While no one was injured, it was a close call for all three people handling the suspect and a bullet went through Perez’s sweatshirt, according to Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood.

“Still to this day I haven’t… it hasn’t hit me yet, you know?” Perez told Western Mass News, noting he is extremely thankful no one was hurt during the altercation.

In December, Perez was honored with a Carnegie Hero Fund Award for his courageous actions to help in the situation.

#CarnegieHero Pedro Perez was shot at twice while intervening in assault on a police officer. Read more: https://t.co/PQVGpYXflK pic.twitter.com/3ymfey1ZLu

— Carnegie Hero Fund (@carnegie_hero) December 22, 2023

One of the officers Perez saved attended the recent celebration but post-traumatic stress disorder due to what happened kept the other officer from returning to work.

When speaking about law enforcement officers and the services they perform each day for their communities, Perez stated, “People see it as, ‘They’re cops. That’s their job.’ To me, it’s more than just a job. If you’re a man or woman in blue, or you’re not in blue, it’s something in you.”

In a social media post, the cafe shared an image of an official proclamation declaring February 20 “Cafe D’Jolie Day”

“What he did took courage and he didn’t have to do it. He saw some officers in trouble and he did the right thing and that’s gotta be recognized. It’ll be a long time before we forget that,” Clapprood said.