A former Casino Nanaimo security guard has been awarded the Governor General of Canada Medal of Bravery.
Warni Fernando, who now works in Nanaimo Regional General Hospital’s protection services division, was presented the medal by Gov.-Gen. David Johnston at a ceremony hosted in Ottawa Dec. 5.
The medal recognizes Fernando’s actions in May 2011 when an RCMP officer responded to a call about a robbery, which proved to be false, and she was attacked by a man who claimed to be the robbery victim.
Fernando saw the struggle between the officer and suspect, who struck her repeatedly in the head, face and stomach as he tried to pull her gun from her holster.
Fernando radioed his supervisor to call for help and then rushed in to the altercation, grabbed the suspect and pinned him to the ground until help arrived.
Fernando is somewhat shy about sharing his feelings about being recognized for his actions.
“It felt nice,” Fernando said of receiving the medal. “It’s an accomplishment, you know?”
For more information about the awards ceremony, please visit the Governor General of Canada website at www.gg.ca.