May 11, 2018 (Boise) – A southern Idaho police officer will receive the Idaho Medal of Honor for performing with exceptional courage and bravery while protecting the public.
The medal will be awarded Wednesday, May 16, at 2:00 p.m. during a ceremony in the Lincoln Auditorium at the Idaho Capitol.
The state’s highest honor for law enforcement officers, firefighting professionals and emergency medical providers will be awarded to:
- Cpl. Charles Hoop, Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office.
“Corporal Hoop’s bravery and rapid reaction during a difficult moment epitomize what the Medal of Honor is all about,” said Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, chairman of the Idaho Medal of Honor Commission. “He put his own life on the line to save that of another and, thus, has rightly earned this tremendous honor.”
On December 13, 2017, at approximately 7:14 p.m., emergency service personnel responded to the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls. Dispatchers had received a report of a suicidal teenager preparing to jump. Cpl. Hoop arrived within three minutes of the call and found the teenager hanging on the outside of the railing, very distraught. Hoop, believing time was critical, jumped over the traffic barrier and grabbed the individual around the chest, just as the teen let go of the railing. Hoop was holding the full weight of the teenager over the 486-ft. drop, and was in danger of being pulled over the side of the bridge. Hoop then pulled the struggling teen back over the railing and placed him in protective custody.
Hoop is the lone recipient of the 2018 award. In 2017, the Medal of Honor Commission selected three law enforcement officers and one firefighter to receive the award.
For more information about the Idaho Medal of Honor and past recipients, visit: medalofhonor.idaho.gov.
###