A NYPD officer from Mahopac receiving one of the highest civilian honors today for his heroism.

Officer James Talbert received the New York State Liberty Medal from state Sen. Terrence Murphy (R) in Yorktown this morning. Talbert was off duty at the time of the incident.

Talbert is credited for pulling a woman from an overturned car that was on fire on the Taconic Parkway back in July. He then went back to save her dog.

Talbert says despite the accolades, he's no hero. He insists he did what he had to do. "I hope anyone else would do the same thing.  My instincts pretty much kicked in," he says.