Two Dallas County deputy constables were recognized Tuesday by the Dallas County Commissioners Court for their actions during a deadly apartment explosion and fire last month in Oak Cliff.
Deputy Constables Vincent DeLuna and Jonathan Banda received a standing ovation from commissioners and attendees for being the first law enforcement officers on the scene of the May 28 incident, which killed three people and injured others.
Dallas County Commissioner Elba Garcia presented a formal resolution to the deputies and their constable, commending them for moving toward the danger while other agencies were still working to evaluate the scene.
“Run to the scene and risk their lives to see how they could save, and they walk into the fire while Dallas Fire-Rescue and everyone else, Atmos, and all the different agencies were trying to find out. These two individuals ran into it to see how they could help,” Garcia said, per Fox 4 KDFW.
DeLuna and Banda were in separate locations that Thursday afternoon when the first explosion occurred. Both decided independently to head toward the blast, arriving before other emergency responders.
Body camera footage showed DeLuna going door-to-door at the complex next to the burning building, searching for residents and animals. He guided at least five dogs, including a large husky, to safety.
Banda worked to open a path for incoming emergency vehicles. A Waymo autonomous vehicle had stopped in the street, blocking a large fire engine from continuing down the block. Banda reached a Waymo dispatcher, took control of the vehicle, got inside, and moved it out of the way.
Deputies and Constable React
Precinct 5 Constable Michael Orozco said he was proud of his deputies and believed any member of his office would have responded the same way.
“Oh absolutely, 100% proud,” Orozco said, per Fox 4. “These deputies, like I’ve said before, if it would have been another set of deputies from our office, they would have acted in the same brave and professional moment at that time.”
DeLuna described the recognition as humbling and said the work was part of the job.
“It’s humbling, and it’s the first time in my career that I’ve ever been recognized for something,” DeLuna said. “And know I didn’t sign up for it, and I don’t believe Deputy Banda signed up for it, but we knew what we were getting ourselves into. We don’t know what we’re going to come upon, we don’t know what’s going to happen, and we just have to be ready for anything every single day.”
“It makes you feel great to understand that they’re giving us recognition for something, you know, something so small at the end of the day. It’s big for other people, but for us, it’s everyday,” he added.
