Veteran gets award from Orlando Police for saving co-worker's life
ORLANDO, Fla. - A U.S. Army veteran who saved his co-worker's life at an Orlando office was recognized by the Orlando Police Department and Chief Orlando Rolon.
James Gutherie, 40, received a Good Citizenship award for saving the life of a co-worker back in February after a man with a machete walked inside their office building, according to authorities. It was all caught on surveillance cameras.
"I saw he was attacking her. I have a concealed firearm, so I drawed my pistol, I fired two shots. I hit him once and then he collided with me and we wrestled," said Gutherie.
He knew that wasn’t the end of the fight.
"Once I made the choice to pull my pistol and go on the defensive, I knew that eventually I’d get attacked. It's not like the movies where you shoot someone once and they just hit the ground."
So he kept fighting.
"My mind was you’re going to get hit by a machete. Throw up your left arm because you're right-handed. So I threw up my left arm, took the machete blow and I was like just keep fighting don’t give up."
He got slashed in the wrist and injured his knee and shoulder, but came out victorious.
"Got the weapon from him and he ended up running out. The cops picked him up down the road."
The accused attacker, Oraine Grant, 31, is now charged with attempted murder.
Chief Rolon praised Gutherie for his actions.
"That could have easily resulted in a number of people losing their lives, but its good to know there are people like that out in this world who can step up whenever they’re needed in order to protect someone else."
When asked how he learned to fight, Gutherie replied, " I studied martial arts when I was younger, but when I was in the military, I was a combat instructor, so I trained other guys to defend themselves."
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