BLAIR, NEBRASKA (2024 November 13, Wednesday)
Don Harrold, Writer / Editor
blairtoday@mail.com – Facebook
EDITOR’S NOTE: Though this award was presented to Sergeant Byrne in October, we are featuring his story now as part of our ongoing “Blair’s Best” series, which highlights outstanding individuals who contribute to our community.
In a ceremony that highlighted the best of Nebraska law enforcement, Blair Police Sergeant Thomas Byrne received the Police Officers’ Association of Nebraska Officer of the Year award on October 8, 2024, at the state law enforcement conference in Kearney. The award, representing the highest honor a Nebraska law enforcement officer can receive from their peers, recognizes exceptional service and heroism in the line of duty.
Byrne’s path to this prestigious honor began at the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center, where he graduated in April 2018. Building on his military experience, he quickly established himself as a tactical medical instructor for the department, a skill that would later prove crucial in saving lives.
Blair Police Chief Joe Lager, in his presentation speech, highlighted two incidents that exemplified Byrne’s exceptional service. The first occurred in May 2023, when Byrne responded to what would become one of Blair’s most challenging domestic violence cases.
“Blair police were dispatched to a residence in Blair upon a reported shooting with multiple victims,” Lager recounted. “Upon arrival, Sergeant Byrne and other members of the police department encountered two victims.” The scene they found was grim – a deceased victim and a woman with multiple gunshot wounds to her legs, injuries she sustained while holding her baby during the assault.
Byrne’s quick thinking and medical training proved vital. “He told the dispatch about when the tourniquets were applied, and notified the hospital of what was coming,” Lager said. “He did all the things, checked all the boxes he was supposed to do, stayed with the victim.” Later, an emergency room doctor would contact the department to confirm that without Byrne’s immediate medical aid, “the outcome would have been much worse for her.”
But Byrne’s heroism didn’t stop there. Earlier this year, he faced another life-or-death situation when responding to a house fire. Body camera footage captured the harrowing moments as Byrne entered the smoke-filled home after neighbors reported someone might be inside.
“You can see the smoke running off on the body camera,” Lager described. Despite the dangers, Byrne pressed on, eventually locating an elderly resident trapped behind a door. “He had to kick that door in, reach around, because the door would only open… maybe a couple of feet,” Lager explained. Despite struggling with the effects of smoke himself, Byrne managed to pull the woman to safety.
What makes Byrne exceptional isn’t just his heroic actions, but his demeanor in carrying them out. Described by colleagues as having a “calm demeanor” that helps victims in crisis, he exemplifies the best qualities of law enforcement service.
Chief Lager, drawing on his 40 years in law enforcement, emphasized the importance of recognizing such exceptional service. “We in law enforcement… dismiss the heroic acts. We say that is what I’m paid to do, or other officers were to do the same, or I’m not really that special,” Lager noted. “We need to stop that. If everyone could do that, we wouldn’t be in a hiring shortage, or people leaving for less stressful jobs.”
From his 2018 graduation from the police academy to earning the state’s highest law enforcement honor just six years later, Sgt. Byrne’s service record reflects the kind of dedicated public servant that makes Blair safer. His actions remind us that behind the badge are individuals willing to put themselves at risk to protect others, making split-second decisions that save lives.
For a community the size of Blair, having an officer of Byrne’s caliber recognized at the state level is a testament not only to his individual excellence but to the quality of the entire department. As Chief Lager proudly stated in his presentation, Byrne’s recognition reflects what law enforcement should be – brave individuals who are “wanted by 90% of the population out there.”
