Houston Mayor John Whitmire presented John Phillip Lally, Jr., with the Carnegie Medal for Heroism at Houston City Hall during a Nov. 19 city council public session. On the far right, to present the medal to Lally was Houston City Council Member Martha Castex-Tatum.
Lally was awarded the Carnegie Medal for saving a police officer from assault on Nov. 11, 2023.
A shoot-out on a Houston freeway left one police officer shot and others immediately seeking cover after a 19-year-old man crashed a stolen vehicle and then opened fire on the pursuing police. Officer Jonathan Gibson, 29, had approached the car and ordered the driver out of it, when he was shot in the left leg. Gibson attempted to hobble away as his partner provided cover and shot at the stolen car from their police cruiser. John Phillip Lally, Jr., a 40-year-old delivery truck driver from Houston, was stopped on the freeway. Lally exited his truck and saw Gibson fall, unable to seek cover from the shooting. Amid the gunfire, Lally shouted to Gibson and told him to come toward him as he moved closer. Another officer reached Gibson and dragged him by his ballistic vest about 25 feet as Lally approached. Lally grasped Gibson’s vest while he backed with the other officer, and pulled Gibson about 40 feet to cover behind Lally’s truck. The assailant was shot by police and later died. Gibson was admitted to a hospital and was released a few days later. Lally was not injured during the incident.
Lally spoke at the presentation and said he hopes others would do the exact same thing.
“I just want to continue to inspire change, and I want to inspire people that if you see someone in need, that you can help. If you can help, help them,” he said.