The adorable toddler son of an off-duty cop tragically shot in a friendly-fire incident last year was handed the NYPD’s most prestigious medal yesterday on behalf of his slain father.
In a poignant moment that brought tears to the crowd gathered outside Police Headquarters, Omar Edwards’ 2-year-old son, Xavier, accepted the eight-pointed star while the cop’s widow, Danielle, and their 19-month-old son, Keanu, looked on.
“We are deeply grateful for everything Omar accomplished . . . This morning, with pride, sadness and immeasurable gratitude, we present the Medal of Honor to his family,” said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
Edwards, 25, was killed in May 2009 as he chased a burglar he caught rifling through his car on East 123rd Street in Manhattan.
As Edwards, who had just finished his shift, pursued the suspect, three plainclothes officers from a nearby precinct intervened.
In the harrowing seconds that followed, the officers mistook the gun-wielding Edwards for a suspect and shot and killed him.
The officers were not charged with any wrongdoing.
“From the moment he entered the Police Academy in 2007, Omar was energetic, hardworking and passionate about policing,” said Kelly.
“Today, we honor him for the actions he took that night and for the contributions he made to the city throughout his career with the Police Department.”
The Medal of Honor is awarded for acts of gallantry and valor performed above and beyond the call of duty, with full knowledge of the risk involved, according to the NYPD.
A second Medal of Honor yesterday went to Sgt. Timothy Smith, who survived a stabbing in his eye, brain and chest by a psychopath he was trying to subdue in Far Rockaway, Queens, last January.