Sweet Home Police Sgt. Chris Wingo was recently awarded the Oregon Peace Officers Association Medal of Valor, one of 12 statewide, for his actions when he confronted an armed subject in the parking lot of the Jim Riggs Community Center in March.
Unanimously voted by his peers as the Sweet Home Police Department Employee of the Year, the department awarded Wingo its Medal of Valor for the incident on Jan. 26, 2018.
“Number one, Chris is highly exalted by everyone here,” said Community Services Officer Gina Riley at the time.
“He has the most calm demeanor of anyone. He’s level-headed. He has a care and compassion for his fellow employees and his community.”
Wingo has been a Sweet Home police officer for more than 11 years and is a member of the Linn County SWAT team, the department’s defensive tactics instructor and training officer and teaches at the Police Academy.
Wingo received Medal of Valor for his expert handling of the potentially lethal situation, which involved a suicidal armed subject in the parking lot of the Senior Center late last year.
“Chris’s swift actions saved the life of a subject and others in the immediate area, including himself,” Riley said. The act of valor is defined as above and beyond the call of duty, with exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind, precision and swiftness of action to save and protect human life.
The subject had some mental health issues, Riley said. “Officer Wingo was in control of the situation from the moment he arrived onsite.
“His calm manner, speech and extensive training enabled him to successfully turn a dangerous situation into one that resulted in everyone involved being safe.”
During the incident, police responded to a call from a 32-year-old male who was threatening to commit suicide in the parking lot of the Jim Riggs Community Center, which went into lockdown status.
An officer located the man among the buses parked in the west end of the parking lot, Police Chief Jeff Lynn said following the incident. “Officers negotiated with the man from a position of cover. The officers were able to convince the male to put the handgun on the ground.”
The male was taken into custody on a police officer hold for mental evaluation but was not charged in the incident.