BY KEITH LACEY
Dylan Petrin adheres to the unwritten law you don't kick a man when he's down.
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PETRIN |
As a bouncer at a downtown nightclub, Petrin, 20, has seen more of his fair share of fist fights. While he was walking home from his bouncer job
around 3 am last July 3, Petrin saw a man punching and kicking an elderly man on St. Anne's Rd.
When the assailant wouldn't stop kicking the man, Petrin decided to take matters into his own hands. He not only broke up the severe beating, but
chased the assailant for several city blocks, before eventually subduing him near Sudbury Secondary School.
Petrin was assisted by Richard Dionne and a third man named "Jake," who wasn't around when police arrived to help arrest the assailant.
Petrin and Dionne were honoured for their acts of bravery at the 2005 Greater Sudbury Police Services Board awards banquet Monday evening. The ceremonies were held at the Hellenic Centre in the city's South End.
This is the 20th consecutive year the police services board has continued the tradition of recognizing citizens, organizations and police personnel for outstanding service to the community.
Citizens who conducted acts of bravery or assisted police during the year were honoured as were officers with the local service who have attained 30, 25 and 20 years of service.
Petrin said he couldn't have completed his act of bravery without the assistance of Dionne, who wasn't in attendance Monday, or Jake, who he has never seen or heard from since.
"It took all three of us to catch this guy...the other guys did a great job in helping me," he said modestly.
Petrin attended Monday's ceremony with his proud mother and father, Gary and Sheila, in attendance.
Petrin, who is attending Laurentian University, said he's "keeping his options open" and wouldn't rule out a career as a police officer.
Sgt. Tapio Paajanen and Brian Purvis were both honoured with the prestigious Governor General's Commendation for heroism for their part in saving
the life of an elderly man in early January.
In a case which received a lot of media attention, Purvis noticed an elderly neighbour had fallen through the ice while cross-country skiing and contacted police before running out onto the ice.
Together, Paajanen, a member of the local service for almost 35 years, and Purvis worked together to drag the elderly man from the ice and back to
safety.
