Tori Johnson could have escaped the siege at Sydney's Lindt Cafe - being the store's manager and knowing the building's exits - but he stayed in order to help his fellow hostages.
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For his selflessness throughout the 17-hour stand-off in December 2014, Mr Johnson on Thursday was posthumously honoured with Australia's Star of Courage bravery decoration.
The then-34-year-old was killed along with barrister Katrina Dawson, 38, in the final moments of the siege during which self-styled sheikh Man Haron Monis held the pair, and 16 others, hostage.
Ms Dawson and survivor Jarrod Robert Morton-Hoffman, who was just 19 at the time, have also been awarded Bravery Medals for supporting others during the attack.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, one of the first commanders at the scene of the siege, says he thinks the honours are "absolutely correct" and an important means by which to remember Mr Johnson and Ms Dawson.
"We shouldn't forget about them," the top cop told reporters on Wednesday at a function to raise money for a charity founded by survivor Louisa Hope.
"We shouldn't forget about the sacrifices they made."
Ms Hope agrees the awards are "very appropriate" given Mr Johnson and Ms Dawson chose to stay when presented with opportunities to flee the cafe.
"Tori chose to stay. Katrina, she had an opportunity to go and she didn't because she wanted to take her friend with her," she told reporters on Wednesday.
Ms Hope said Mr Hoffman proved himself an "amazing young man" during the incident.
Mr Johnson, in particular, played a key role in the siege, having been directed by Monis when he entered the cafe to call triple zero and tell authorities a man armed with a shotgun and explosives had taken a group hostage.
He then attempted to maintain a rapport with Monis and pacified him without concern for his own safety.
He remained with an older and less mobile hostage and didn't heed her request to leave him when an escape opportunity arose.
A coronial inquest into the siege found that Monis ordered Mr Johnson to his knees at about 2.14am on December 16 and shot him at point-blank range.
The shooting prompted tactical officers to storm the Martin Place cafe.
Monis was shot by specialist police while Ms Dawson was fatally wounded after being hit by police bullet fragments.
Australian Associated Press
