PUNXSUTAWNEY – The Purple Heart Ceremony for Trooper Bradley Wilson, which was scheduled for Wednesday at Troop C Headquarters in Punxsutawney, has been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date.
Wilson’s ceremony was postponed due to the death of Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II, a seven-year member of the Pennsylvania State Police. Dickson was fatally wounded during an ambush attack at the Blooming Grove barracks on Friday.
The Pennsylvania State Police Purple Heart Award is presented to troopers or enforcement officers who have sustained serious bodily injury in the line of duty. It’s also given to those who have been shot by a criminal and require medical treatment, regardless of the degree of injury.
The Purple Heart Award nominee must have been actively engaged in the performance of their duties when they sustained the serious bodily injury.
The injury must have either directly resulted from a criminal act in which harm was intended, or carried out in a manner reasonably expected to produce harm to the nominee or a third party.
The injury may have also occurred when the trooper or law enforcement officer was engaged in saving or attempting to save another from death or serious bodily injury.
Wilson was shot twice and critically injured by an assailant while serving a search warrant with other law enforcement officers on Sept. 26, 2013 at a private residence in Brockway.
“Wilson’s injuries resulted in significant paralysis and his recovery has been long and difficult. It is still ongoing,” state police said.
