May 11, 2011

Three Baltimore County police officers will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday after winning an annual law enforcement award, Rep. John Sarbanes said Wednesday.

Michael B. Forish, Michael Gerard Lynch and Zachary J. Small, were among 30 officers, deputies and agents from nine states who won an award from the National Association of Police Organizations this year. The three pulled a disabled man out of a burning building in Pikesville just before it collapsed, according to Sarbanes.

In a statement, the Baltimore County Democrat said when the three officers arrived at the fire they found the disabled man stuck in his wheelchair on the staircase. He called the three “heroes who risked their lives to save another.” The incident took place on Halloween.

The TOP COPS Awards are based on an independent review of hundreds of nominations and are intended to pay tribune to law enforcement officers “for actions above and beyond the call of duty during the preceding year.”