‘Above & Beyond’ ceremony honors LAPD’s heroes

06.09.2024 05:59

DailyNews.com

Howie Mandel MC’d the LAPD Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Twenty-nine officers received the organization’s highest honors. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

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The Los Angeles Police Department hosted its “Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony” on Thursday, during which Interim Chief Dominic Choi presented officers with the department’s highest honors — the Medal of Valor, Purple Heart and Preservation of Life Awards.

The event, emceed by actor/comedian Howie Mandel, was held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

Awards honored “officers who knowingly and willingly placed themselves in grave danger,” according to an LAPD statement. One officer was honored posthumously.

According to the LAPD, the actions honored included the following:

— On May 13, 2016, while monitoring gang activity, officers with the Hollenbeck Gang Division attempted to stop and arrest a suspect with an outstanding arrest warrant, but he ran and a foot pursuit ensued, during which he collided with a light pole and ran into a parked car. As one officer attempted to take him into custody, the suspect pulled a handgun from his waistband and fired at the officer, striking him in the arm. Other responding officers arrived and shot the suspect to death. Officer Rigoberto Vazquez, the officer who was wounded, will receive a Medal of Valor and a Purple Heart. Officer Miguel Ruano will receive a Medal of Valor.

— On Oct. 8, 2021, a suspect with a gun entered an apartment and took a hostage. He had previously shot at three people, striking one of them. He had attempted to carjack one victim, steal another victim’s bike, placed the barrel of his gun on another victim and pulled the trigger, but it failed to fire. The suspect held a gun and used the hostage as a shield. Officers from the Metropolitan Division’s Special Weapons and Tactics team responded and breached the apartment. The hostage was taken to safety. SWAT officers fatally shot the suspect. Officers Bruce Adam, Enrique Anzaldo, Royce Burroughs, Guy Dobine, Joseph Dominguez, Steve Hernandez, Jose Martinez, Howard Ng, Phillip Peery, Jonathan Pultz, Eddie Roca and Luis Valle received the Medal of Valor.

Officer Thomas Redshaw of the Van Nuys Division was another recipient of the Medal of Valor.

The following officers received the Purple Heart: Sgt. Calvin Drake, Officer Richard Wuerfel, Sgt. Edward Williams, Officer James Sagbigsal, Officer Erik Cifuentes, Armando Medina and Matthew Whitelaw.

The following officers received the Preservation of Life: Officers Angel Guerra, Daniel Rodriguez, Saul Carrillo, Adell Hodge, Adrian Martinez, Detective Steve Reyes and Sgt. Jose Contreras.

The Above & Beyond Ceremony was hosted by the Los Angeles Police Foundation, an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides resources and support to the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPF provides funding for essential equipment, state-of-the-art technology and upgrades, specialized training, community outreach and youth programs that would otherwise not be funded. Since its founding in 1998, the LAPF has awarded more than $55 million in grants to help the LAPD serve at its highest level to keep communities and families safe.