By W. Thomas Smith Jr.<\/i><\/p>\n
Bruce Brutschy, noted self-defense and fitness instructor and a member of the S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame, received a S.C. Senate Commendation from Sen. Thomas Alexander, Thurs. Jan. 14, 2021. The awards ceremony was held in the offices of Lt. Governor Pamela Evette in the S.C. State House complex.<\/p>\n
A past president and current member of the West Columbia Police Foundation and former boardmember of the Columbia Police Foundation, Brutschy is a 10th-degree black belt who is widely known for his daring pursuit and apprehension of a dangerous felon nearly 17 years ago.<\/p>\n
According to news reports from 2004, Brutschy followed a fleeing robber in his vehicle, cornering him in the parking lot of Whitney Hotel. The suspect – a 6’5” 240-pound man previously charged with three counts of armed robbery and assault and battery – rammed Brutschy’s car in an attempt to flee.<\/p>\n
“Brutschy was worried the suspect was getting desperate and got out of the car to stop him,” reported WIS-TV on May 11, 2004. Brutschy added: “As I tried to get in the door, he started to reach under the seat, I thought he was going for a gun, so I went ahead and hit the window out, pulled him up, and I think he popped me one right there. We struggled, and he ended up on the ground. I held him until police got there.”<\/p>\n
S.C. Floodwater Commission Chair and retired S.C. State Guard Maj. Gen. Tom Mullikin nominated Brutschy for the Senate honor in 2020.<\/p>\n
“Bruce is the kind of man that truly exemplifies all that is noble and courageous in a South Carolinian,” said Mullikin, who is also a S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame inductee. “The fact that he is also a man of tremendous grace and humility speaks volumes about who he is and how well he represents this state.”<\/p>\n
A portion of Brutschy’s Senate Commendation reads: “This honor is also indicative of your many years of sterling leadership and tireless service to to the people of South Carolina – hundreds of whom you have personally and pro-bono trained in self-defense tactics and techniques solely for their protection – as well as the guidance, direction, and inspiration you have provided to the state’s and nation’s martial arts, law enforcement, and military communities.”<\/p>\n
Attending Brutschy’s award presentation were Lt. Gov. Evette, Sen. Alexander, Maj. Gen. Mullikin, Brutschy’s wife Jeanne Lorick Brutschy, and S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame pres. Mike Genova. A luncheon followed at the Palmetto Club.<\/p>\n
– Pictured from left are Alexander, Brutschy, Evette, Genova, and Mullikin.<\/p>\n
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By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Bruce Brutschy, noted self-defense and fitness instructor and a member of the S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame, received a S.C. Senate Commendation from Sen. Thomas Alexander, Thurs. Jan. 14, 2021. The awards ceremony was held in the offices of Lt. Governor Pamela Evette inContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31],"tags":[195],"class_list":["entry","author-john-griggs","post-2779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-community-news","tag-black-belt-hall-of-fame"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpstrianglenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Brutschy_630x350.jpg?fit=630%2C350&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}