The New Orleans Police Department turned the spotlight on its own Friday, honoring officers and civilian staff for “bravery beyond the call of duty,” lifesaving heroics and standout work that often plays out far from TV cameras. The New Orleans Police Department handed out Medals of Merit, Medals of Commendation, Lifesaving Medals, unit citations and multiple letters of commendation to patrol officers, investigators and technical staff. Among those singled out with Medals of Merit were Officers Rene Benjamin Jr., Cody O’Dell and Antravis Turner, while civilian members from the department’s analytics and information-technology teams earned an Achievement Unit Citation.
What the awards mean
The department’s awards manual sets a pretty high bar for its top honors. A Medal of Merit is reserved for moments when “a member is exposed to great bodily harm while carrying out an act of bravery beyond the call of duty,” while a Lifesaving Medal recognizes instances when “a member saves another’s life while placing his/her own life in extreme danger.” According to City of New Orleans, unit citations are used to recognize sustained or group performance, and the awards are entered into a member’s personnel file and presented in public ceremonies.
Who was recognized
According to a post on the New Orleans Police Department’s Facebook page, Medals of Merit went to Officers Rene Benjamin Jr., Cody O’Dell and Antravis Turner. Lifesaving Medals were awarded to Officers Ashuntai Harrell and Dominique Williams. The same post notes a Unit Citation Achievement for a team that included Captain Rebecca Gubert, Officers Eric Rish, Amanda Torres and Jovan Washington, along with civilian staffers Jessica Nezat, Chris Lea, Paul McCaskell and Megan Stevens.
Dozens more department members received Medals of Commendation and Letters of Commendation for outstanding arrests, lifesaving responses and exceptional service, according to the department. In other words, it was not a slow day at the awards table.
Context
Some of the Medal of Merit recipients – Rene Benjamin Jr., Antravis Turner and Cody O’Dell – were among officers who appeared in coverage of an October 2024 standoff. Body-worn camera footage later released showed the three returning fire during the incident, according to local reporting. FOX8 noted that the Force Investigation Team, the Independent Police Monitor and a federal monitor reviewed the event.
Why it matters
The NOPD manual explains that awards are presented at scheduled public ceremonies and recorded in personnel files, creating an official paper trail of meritorious acts. City of New Orleans frames these honors as both recognition and documentation of actions that bring credit to the department…