FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A Broward Sheriff's Office deputy shot in the head during a traffic stop last year is among those who were being honored at an awards ceremony Tuesday.

Maury Hernandez received a standing ovation as he was awarded the Medal of Honor -- the BSO's highest honor -- during Sheriff Al Lamberti's semiannual awards ceremony at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Also honored were three other deputies killed in the line of duty.

Hernandez was shot after pulling over a motorcyclist during a routine traffic stop Aug. 6. The accused gunman, David Maldonado, remains in custody awaiting trial. He is charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.

"My thought when I first heard about the award was, 'How am I going to get this?'" Hernandez said. "I've always looked at other people that are well deserving of the award and, well, here I am. I'm getting it. So, I'm very happy. I'm very honored to be in this position."

Also honored posthumously were Deputy Paul Rein, who was shot and killed in November while transporting an inmate to the courthouse; Sgt. Chris Reyka, who was gunned down outside a Pompano Beach Walgreen's in August; and Deputy Brian Tephford, who was also shot while conducting a traffic stop in November 2006.

Hernandez, who arrived at Memorial Regional Hospital in a coma, has made a miraculous recovery. At the time of the shooting, he was not expected to survive.

The bullet struck him in the back right side of his head, shattering his skull and damaging his brain. Fragments of the bullet remain in Hernandez's head, but doctors said it would be more damaging to remove them.