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“There was no time to think; I just did it. It was about helping someone out and doing the right thing.”
Maj. Deron Warren, an emergency room physician at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center stopped a robbery at a restaurant in Kaiserslautern in April 2011.
For his bravery and courage, Polizeipräsident (commissioner) Wolfgang Erfurt, the chief of Polizei for Kaiserslautern, awarded Warren the Auszeichnung für Zivilcourage (civil courage award) Tuesday. The award is only given to a handful of people each year and this was the first time the award was given to a U.S. citizen or Air Force member.
“It is a great honor for me when I get a chance to once a year honor the men and women who make extraordinary sacrifices without thinking of themselves first,” Erfurt said. “(This is) especially honorable since this is the first time we have awarded this medal to a U.S. citizen who showed active moral courage in the face of possible danger.”
Warren said the weather was nice when his family and he were out doing errands. As they got out of the car to walk to the store, he saw a struggle near the restaurant entrance.
“I was literally five feet away from them. The two men were struggling and speaking German,” he said. “I didn’t know what they were saying but when the owner of the restaurant’s wife yelled for help, that’s when I stepped in.”
Warren grabbed the would-be thief, placed him in a headlock and slowly brought him to the ground placing his body weight on the man, preventing him from fleeing the scene.
“I still didn’t know what was going on, I wasn’t sure if I even had the right guy or if he had a weapon or something,” he said.
The owner then placed the man in a foothold to further prevent the man from escaping until the Polizei arrived.
A few minutes later, security forces showed up to take initial statement and get answers.
A few days later, Lt. Bernd Riffel, German police liaison officer at Ramstein, called Warren to get his statement. After the meeting, Riffel decided to submit a package for the prestigious award.
“I felt what (Warren) did was good enough to warrant the award,” Riffel said. “This is the first time I’ve ever put anyone in for this award and the first time I have ever seen it given to an American military member.”
Warren said being a military member comes with a certain responsibility, to not only your nation, but to the country in which you are a guest.
“The time where you are least prepared is the time you are tested,” he said. “Every member of the military in a different country creates an impression on that community, whether good or bad. I am just glad I was able to make a good one.”
