<bt>Kyle Kunstel was the first on the scene. The officer from the West Springfield station was responding to a call from a man who told him that his mentally-ill wife had chased him around the house with a double-edged battle-ax threatening to kill him. She had been off her medications for three weeks, he said.
Kunstel was soon joined by other officers from West Springfield. Police Officer 1st Class Peter Kwak and Master Police Officer John Brocco helped Kunstel secure the area around the house and waited for backup. When 2nd Lt. Thomas Vaclavicek arrived, he took over the scene. He asked Duty Officer Mark Rogers and a crisis team to come to the scene. He also told officers to go behind the house to keep track of movements inside and to make sure no pedestrians strayed too close.
Meanwhile, officers at the Public Safety Communications Center in Annandale were speaking to the woman on the phone. She refused to leave the house, saying that she suspected her husband and the police of trying to kill her by forcing her to drink her children's blood. She would not hesitate to kill, she said, even though she had never killed anybody before. Besides the battle-ax, there was a samurai sword and a long-blade knife in the house.
Brocco and Kunstel, who were standing near the front door armed with beanbag shotgun rounds, smelled something burning. The husband told them there was a charcoal grill in the basement and that his wife was probably trying to burn the house down.
The officers worked out a plan. Brocco would enter first with the beanbag rounds. Vaclavicek would enter next, and the others would follow with their weapons if necessary. Vaclavicek ordered the woman to put down her battle-ax. She ignored him. So he shot her with an electric stun gun known as a "taser," knocking her to the ground. She was then subdued and transported to the hospital.
FOR THEIR COURAGE, Kunstel, Brocco, Vaclavicek, Kwak and Rogers were awarded certificates of valor at the 25th annual Valor Awards presented by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
"We should all be especially proud of today's award recipients," said Board chairman Katherine K. Hanley (D). "They answered that call and performed those heroics with dedication and courage."
The Valor Awards ceremony, which took place at the McLean Hilton at Tysons Corner, honored 83 public safety officers from all branches for their exceptional service.
Bill Kurtis, host of the TV show "Investigative Reports," hosted the ceremony.
"A large community has become a small community because of television and mass communication," he said. "And a small community has become very large because of your enthusiasm."
U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-11th) told the audience he had introduced a proclamation honoring the awardees into the congressional record.
"I just want to say to all of them, thank you very much for keeping us safe," he said.
Michael Lewis, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, also recognized the families of those honored.
"It is your support that gives the public-safety members strength," he said.