An overdue ceremony took place Wednesday for one of upstate New York’s bravest heroes.

Originally delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rochester police officer Denny Wright finally received his Department of Criminal Justice Medal of Valor and the 2019 Governor’s Police Officer of the Year.

Wright was blinded in an October 2019 confrontation with a man while responding to a domestic situation call.

"I'm trying to adjust to or learn to function with what I am presented with now,” Wright said. “Although it is darkness [and] I have no light perception, my world is not dark. My world is lit up."

"Your state and your community is stronger because of the work and the service you have brought every single day to this city and to this state,” New York Lieut. Gov. Antonio Delgado said of Wright.

Wright was previously awarded the Rochester Police Department's highest honor for his bravery in 2021.