Obama lauds cops' valor, sacrifices

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama honored the nation's top police officers Saturday, paying tribute to their sacrifices and "quiet courage" in the line of duty.

Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, praised the winners of a national police association award at a White House ceremony that honored 34 officers who showed valor in tense standoffs, shootings and rescues.

"They are representative of the sacrifices and that quiet courage that exists among law enforcement officers all across the country and their families," Obama said in the Rose Garden.

Recipients included 15 members of the Detroit Police Department who confronted a gunman who opened fire in a local precinct station; five Las Vegas officers who stopped an assailant who shot an officer at a Wal-Mart; and five New York City police detectives who rescued two cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who had become disoriented while rock climbing.

Other award winners hailed from Los Angeles; Miami; Chicago; Woburn, Mass.; Paramus, N.J.; Copley, Ohio; and Chattanooga, Tenn.

It was Obama's first joint appearance with Biden since the vice president, according to aides, apologized to the president for pushing gay marriage to the forefront of the presidential campaign and inadvertently pressuring Obama to declare his support for same-sex unions. Obama and Biden were all smiles as they walked to the ceremony together.