He had 10 stories to tell, each a detailed account of risks taken by his officers to save lives, and when it came to the ninth, St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington still could only marvel at it all.
The scene was of an accident, the chief recalled Monday, and of an officer, Michael McGinn, who had arrived to find that a car had crashed into a tree, and been torn in two, with a smoking hot engine lying on the driver's chest and head.
McGinn, the son of a retired St. Paul cop, was patrolling alone at the time, Harrington said. But he slipped on his gloves, picked up the 300-pound engine and he slid it off the victim.
St. Paul Officer Honored for Superhuman Life-Saving Feat
Officer Michael McGinn, the son of a retired St. Paul cop, was patrolling alone at the time, Chief John Harrington said. But he slipped on his gloves, picked up the 300-pound engine and he slid it off the victim.
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