MANCHESTER, N.H. — Two Manchester police officers shot in the line of duty received one of New Hampshire's top honors Monday.
Officers Ryan Hardy and Matt O'Connor were awarded the Medal of Valor in a ceremony that included nearly three dozen other officers and police dispatchers.
Hardy and O'Connor were shot in the line of duty while trying to make an arrest last May.
"You don't go out there to be heroes, but it is our job and that's what we do," Goffstown Police Officer Yverson Alcide said.
Alcide was honored as a hero for his work in taking down Ian MacPherson last year after the 32-year-old shot Officer Ryan Hardy in the face and shoulder during a traffic stop on May 13.
“This experience better prepared me for the future and all the experience similar I will face,” Alcide said.
After shooting Hardy, MacPherson fled with more than a dozen other officers in pursuit. Officer Matt O'Connor was shot in the leg in the confrontation.
“I think Matt and Ryan embody what American policing is all about. They went out there and did their job. They did it for one another," Manchester Police Chief Nick Willard said.
But at Monday’s ceremony, Chief Willard told friends and family the parts of the story they didn't know.
Among those who rushed in to respond to these shootings was Officer Hardy's best friend and fellow brother in blue on the Manchester Police Department, Michael McGee.
"Officer McGee pretty much threw himself on Matt after Matt went down to prevent him from being shot any further,” Chief Willard said.
Officer McGee had only been on the force a couple of years. He told FOX25 there was no time to think. He acted on instinct.
“We engaged in the gun battle. I didn't know if the suspect was still around, so I did everything I could to make sure he didn't get shot again,” said McGee.
He said the memory of that night has stayed with him and so does the memory of his friend's bravery.
“To see him the way he was, was awful,” McGee said. “To have to tell him everything was going to be okay when I didn't know. It was hard. Then he just looked at me and said go get the guy."