An Irish born San Francisco police officer has been hailed a hero after he helped disarm a dangerous suspect on a busy street. 

Officer Patrick Brady (45), originally from Co. Meath, will be named San Francisco Police Officer of the Year on 7th April next at a Lions Club International ceremony in the city.
 
According to the Meath Chronicle, Brady grew up in Dunboyne.
 
The incident occurred when Brady and his colleague, Officer Robert Wong were dispatched to Sutro Park, a busy tourist area, to follow up on a report of a man walking around with a coffee in one hand and a gun in the other.
 
When the two police officers discovered the suspect they spotted the handle of the gun protruding from his trousers pocket.
 
Brady and Wong then approached the suspect and disarmed him. They then found he was carrying a fully loaded .45 calibre semi-automatic weapon. He also had an additional 100 rounds of ammunition in his cargo pants.
 
Speaking about the dangerous aspect of his job, Brady recalled a scary incident which occurred in 2006.
 
"It was my first 'lights and sirens' to a major incident. I was with my training officer, Chris Schaeffer, when we heard a call come out about a hit-and-run," he said.
 
"As we were on our way to that scene, two more hit-and-run calls came out describing the same suspect and vehicle. Our object was now to stop and arrest the driver of the vehicle.
 
"How we tracked the driver's route was by the citizens at locations where someone had been run over, pointing at the direction of flight of the suspect vehicle - a total of 14 crime scenes. We were literally following the trail of bodies in the street.
 
"The end of the incident was at California Street and Spruce Street. The suspect took a wrong turn and left himself no escape route. I assisted Officer Manuel Solano in getting the suspect out of the car and on the ground."