Del. corrections officer posthumously awarded Medal of Valor

DOVER, Del. (WPVI) -- It was a somber moment Friday afternoon as Steven Floyd Jr. accepted the Medal of Valor from Delaware Department of Corrections Commissioner Perry Phelps.

Floyd Jr. accepted the medal on behalf of his father, fallen corrections officer Lt. Steven Floyd.

Lt. Floyd was the corrections officer who died when inmates took Floyd and three others hostage on Wednesday at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna.

An autopsy completed by the Delaware Division of Forensic Science determined Floyd's death to be a homicide by trauma. No further information regarding the autopsy will be released, officials say, due to an active and ongoing investigation.

The medal was given to Floyd's son during a ceremony for correctional officer cadets who've completed initial training.

There was a huge turnout, and many were there to show their support for the Floyd family.

And that they did with a huge round of applause after the commissioner promoted Floyd to lieutenant.

Action News was there Friday as Lt. Floyd was saluted and moved from the medical examiner's office in Wilmington to the Evan Smith Funeral Home in Dover.

It's been a horrific three days for the Delaware Corrections Department.

Lt. Floyd was one of four hostages taken by inmates.

Union president Geoff Klopp blames this on a lack of state funding.

"There were cuts. We have less corrections officer positions now across the state than we had in 2008 when Gov. Markell took office."

He says the focus now is to figure out which inmates were responsible for the attack, and of course support for the corrections officers hurt and the Floyd family.

"I've expressed that to their family and this is a tough time for them, but know when this is all said and done and you guys all go away, we will still be there 100 percent for the family," said Klopp.

The investigation into what inmates were involved in the attack is ongoing.