The doctor who happened to be on the scene when a gunman opened fire in Yaletown almost three years ago has been awarded the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) highest civilian honour.
Dr. Clifford Chase was getting a coffee at the Urban Fare in Yaletown when Gerald Battersby shot his former boss, Reckless Cycles owner Paul Dragan, outside the Starbucks on Davie Street near Marinaside Crescent on June 10, 2014.
WATCH: Dramatic online footage has surfaced of gunshots in today’s shootout in Yaletown.
The retired emergency room doctor, then working at the Aquarius Medical Clinic, rushed to Dragan’s aid.
“I did what I could with what I had, which was nothing, except just that towel if that would have made a difference. I kept his airway open, but I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, I don’t think this guy’s going to make it,'” Chase told Global News back in 2014.
On Thursday, the VPD thanked Chase for his heroism.
“For selflessly coming to the aid of a critically injured stranger, making sound decisions and actions under extreme pressure to save a life. Dr. Clifford Chase is awarded the Vancouver Police Board’s highest award for civilian bravery, the Award of Merit,” Staff Sgt. Randy Fincham told a crowded room during the awards ceremony.
“I just intervened and did what I could. I was just the right person with the right training at the right time at the right moment,” Chase said following the honour.
Dragan survived the shooting, despite losing between 60 and 80 per cent of his blood.
Battersby was sentenced to 18 years in jail in December 2016 after pleading guilty to three attempted murder charges.
WATCH: Court video shows the events that took place the day that Gerald Battersby shot his former boss Paul Dragan in Vancouver’s Yaletown.
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