MILWAUKEE — Heroes were recognized Thursday night at the War Memorial Center in Milwaukee.
It was the 21st Annual Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office Award Ceremony.
"All heroes don't wear capes, sometimes we wear khakis and work boots,” Lifesaving Award Recipient, Ezekiel Banks said.
Banks was one of dozens of award recipients.
"You can be special, and you don't like have to be famous,” Banks said.
He received the Lifesaving Award after he saved two young boys from drowning at Bradford beach on September 8th.
"I run down there, I get in the water, and I grab him. I throw him over my shoulder and I'm like running back up the rocks. I then eventually lay him down and perform CPR on him,” Banks said.
That CPR saved the kids life. Gabe Gutierrez stepped up in the same way at Bender Park in June.
"Deep down morally, I knew I had to do my best to help,” Gabe Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez and Hunter Logan jumped into Lake Michigan to save two swimmers on a night the waves were dangerous.
"I'm grateful that I finished a CPR course literally a month before I needed to use it,” Gutierrez said.
He encourages everyone to learn the lifesaving skill.
Another person honored for lifesaving actions was Milwaukee County Jail Captain Michael Hannah.
Captain Hannah performed lifesaving measures on an inmate who was unconscious and taught newer officers how to react in the scary situation.
Meanwhile, Corrections Sergeant Randall Wilborn was presented with the Purple Heart Award after he was brutally stabbed six times by a former inmate.
"It's a situation that I don't think anybody would want to go through. But I got through it. So, I fought through it because I'm a fighter,” Sergeant Wilborn said.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
