Medal of Valor and Meritorious Conduct Medal - Los Angeles ...
Medal of Valor and Meritorious Conduct Medal - Los Angeles ... Medal of Valor and Meritorious Conduct Medal - Los Angeles ...
YEAR IN REVIEW 2004Sergeant Henry SaucedoDeputy Hector AndujoYEAR IN REVIEW 2004MEDAL OF VALOR & MERITORIOUS CONDUCT MEDALDeputy Raul V. GamaDeputy Armando MaciasDeputy Robert F. FurmanDeputy Scott E. KalassayMEDAL OF VALOR & MERITORIOUS CONDUCT MEDALOn June 20, 2003, due to a series of unfortunate human-errors, a Union Pacific train, with 31 fully loaded flatbedrailroad cars, was reported as a "runaway" from its switching yard in Montclair.Twenty-four minutes after it had left Montclair, the cars derailed, sending sheets of lumber and wooden missilesinto the adjoining Commerce neighborhood. The force of the crash was so great that flatcars were launched ontothe roofs of houses, collapsing them. Cars were overturned or flattened, and thousands of board feet of lumber werescattered everywhere. Adding to the danger, high-tension electrical poles had been knocked down and gas lines cut,posing the possibility of an explosion.Thirty seconds later, East Los Angeles units arrived at the disaster to assess the situation. Sergeant Saucedoand Deputy Andujo ran toward the area, searching through several completely or partially demolished homes.A child’s cries for help led Saucedo and Andujo, now joined by Deputies Gama and Macias, to the backyard ofa semi-collapsed house with a railcar sitting on the roof. A family of six was trapped in the debris. The three deputiesand their sergeant, spurred on by the cracking and creaking of the structure, climbed over the wreckage, found an exit,and safely extricated the two trapped adults and four children.For displaying bravery and great courage in confronting circumstances beyond the normal course of duty,Sergeant Henry Saucedo, Deputies Hector Andujo, Armando Macias, and Raul Gama were awarded the MeritoriousConduct Medal-Silver.On July 19, 2003, a compact car cut off a big-rig on the southbound Long Beach (710) Freeway, causing thetruck to veer up over the shoulder and knock over a 12-foot-high section of the sound wall which weighed several tons.Compton Station Deputies Furman and Kalassay were on patrol when they received the call that the accidenthad damaged an East Rancho Dominguez residence. When they arrived, the deputies saw that the sound wall had fallenon top of a trailer parked in the driveway. Immediately, the deputies began to search for any victims who might beinside. They peered into the trailer, now only a few feet high, yelling for victims. No response was received, but witnessesfrantically advised the deputies that three people lived inside the trailer.Spurred on by the witness reports, and the fact that fire department personnel were minutes away, bothdeputies crawled under the unstable wall and into the collapsed trailer. Inside the trailer, they were able to extricateone victim, a male adult. Furman and Kalassay pulled the victim out from under the wreckage to safety. They tried toreach the two other victims, but the teetering wall and severe damage to the trailer prevented further rescue attempts.It wasn’t until the wall was stabilized by a Los Angeles County Fire Urban Rescue Team that the other two victims werediscovered. A five-year-old boy was pulled alive after rescuers cut a hole through the side of the trailer. Sadly, theboy’s mother was killed on impact.For placing themselves in a situation where severe injury or death was a distinct possibility to save the life ofanother human being, Deputies Robert Furman and Scott Kalassay were awarded the Meritorious Conduct Medal-Silver.4647
MEDAL OF VALOR & MERITORIOUS CONDUCT MEDALYEAR IN REVIEW 2004YEAR IN REVIEW 2004Deputy Phyllis L. AntunaReserve Deputy David J. KatzMEDAL OF VALOR & MERITORIOUS CONDUCT MEDALIn the early morning hours of September 8, 2003, Deputy Phyllis Antuna responded to the call of a possible"jumper" who was sitting on top of the guardrail spanning the Azusa Way bridge which crosses high above ValleyBoulevard. When she arrived, Antuna saw a large woman straddling the railing.The woman was perched on the top rung of the railing, about four feet above the surface of the bridge, andabout 45 feet above Valley Boulevard. She was looking down intently and did not notice the approach of Deputy Antuna.As she got closer, Antuna could see that the woman started to lose her grip and began to teeter from side to side.Deputy Antuna now made a conscious decision that she would have to grab the woman to ensure her safety from the45-foot drop to the asphalt of Valley Boulevard.From her position on top of the rail, the woman, who weighed considerably more than Antuna, could easilycause both herself and Antuna to plummet over the side. The woman continued to peer at the street below as Antunaapproached. The woman was on the verge of jumping and Antuna now knew she could not wait for back-up. In onequick motion, Antuna reached as high as she could, grabbed the woman around the waist, and jerked her back over theguard rail to safety.For her actions in saving another human being from injury or death, while knowingly risking her own personalsafety, Deputy Phyllis Antuna was awarded the Meritorious Conduct Medal-Silver.On October 31, 2003, a contentious probate matter had left one of the parties enraged with the final court decision.Outside the courthouse, the suspect waited with two handguns hidden in his pockets. When the victim appeared,the suspect walked up to him and began firing shot after shot at the victim, hitting him in the head and shoulder area.The victim was able to duck and sway behind the cover of a tree. With several news cameras capturing the event onvideotape, the gunman expended all the bullets in one gun, placed the weapon in his jacket pocket, and calmly walkedaway.Reserve Deputy Katz, at the Van Nuys Courthouse serving as Judge Pro-Tempore in Division 109, had just completedhis court calendar when he heard multiple gunshots and saw several people running and screaming that adeputy had been shot. Moving toward the sound of trouble, Katz identified himself as a deputy sheriff and asked otherswhere the deputy had been hit. It was Katz’ intention to render medical aid to the fallen victim. However, in the blink ofan eye, the situation changed.As Katz ran toward the victim, several people began pointing at the suspect, indicating that he was the shooter.Dropping his coat and briefcase, Katz charged the suspect from behind, executed a perfect shoulder tackle of the suspect,and knocked him to the ground. With the help of assisting deputies who arrived seconds later, the suspect washandcuffed and taken into custody.Reserve Deputy Katz’ decisive actions not only resulted in the immediate apprehension of a dangerousattempt-murder suspect, but also neutralized the potential for any further life-threatening confrontations between thesuspect and law enforcement, which would have taken place in a plaza full of people.For bravery above and beyond the call of duty, and placing his life in immediate life-threatening peril, ReserveDeputy David Katz was awarded the Department’s highest honor, "The Medal of Valor."4849
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MEDAL OF VALOR & MERITORIOUS CONDUCT MEDALYEAR IN REVIEW 2004YEAR IN REVIEW 2004Deputy Phyllis L. AntunaReserve Deputy David J. KatzMEDAL OF VALOR & MERITORIOUS CONDUCT MEDALIn the early morning hours <strong>of</strong> September 8, 2003, Deputy Phyllis Antuna responded to the call <strong>of</strong> a possible"jumper" who was sitting on top <strong>of</strong> the guardrail spanning the Azusa Way bridge which crosses high above ValleyBoulevard. When she arrived, Antuna saw a large woman straddling the railing.The woman was perched on the top rung <strong>of</strong> the railing, about four feet above the surface <strong>of</strong> the bridge, <strong>and</strong>about 45 feet above Valley Boulevard. She was looking down intently <strong>and</strong> did not notice the approach <strong>of</strong> Deputy Antuna.As she got closer, Antuna could see that the woman started to lose her grip <strong>and</strong> began to teeter from side to side.Deputy Antuna now made a conscious decision that she would have to grab the woman to ensure her safety from the45-foot drop to the asphalt <strong>of</strong> Valley Boulevard.From her position on top <strong>of</strong> the rail, the woman, who weighed considerably more than Antuna, could easilycause both herself <strong>and</strong> Antuna to plummet over the side. The woman continued to peer at the street below as Antunaapproached. The woman was on the verge <strong>of</strong> jumping <strong>and</strong> Antuna now knew she could not wait for back-up. In onequick motion, Antuna reached as high as she could, grabbed the woman around the waist, <strong>and</strong> jerked her back over theguard rail to safety.For her actions in saving another human being from injury or death, while knowingly risking her own personalsafety, Deputy Phyllis Antuna was awarded the <strong>Meritorious</strong> <strong>Conduct</strong> <strong>Medal</strong>-Silver.On October 31, 2003, a contentious probate matter had left one <strong>of</strong> the parties enraged with the final court decision.Outside the courthouse, the suspect waited with two h<strong>and</strong>guns hidden in his pockets. When the victim appeared,the suspect walked up to him <strong>and</strong> began firing shot after shot at the victim, hitting him in the head <strong>and</strong> shoulder area.The victim was able to duck <strong>and</strong> sway behind the cover <strong>of</strong> a tree. With several news cameras capturing the event onvideotape, the gunman expended all the bullets in one gun, placed the weapon in his jacket pocket, <strong>and</strong> calmly walkedaway.Reserve Deputy Katz, at the Van Nuys Courthouse serving as Judge Pro-Tempore in Division 109, had just completedhis court calendar when he heard multiple gunshots <strong>and</strong> saw several people running <strong>and</strong> screaming that adeputy had been shot. Moving toward the sound <strong>of</strong> trouble, Katz identified himself as a deputy sheriff <strong>and</strong> asked otherswhere the deputy had been hit. It was Katz’ intention to render medical aid to the fallen victim. However, in the blink <strong>of</strong>an eye, the situation changed.As Katz ran toward the victim, several people began pointing at the suspect, indicating that he was the shooter.Dropping his coat <strong>and</strong> briefcase, Katz charged the suspect from behind, executed a perfect shoulder tackle <strong>of</strong> the suspect,<strong>and</strong> knocked him to the ground. With the help <strong>of</strong> assisting deputies who arrived seconds later, the suspect wash<strong>and</strong>cuffed <strong>and</strong> taken into custody.Reserve Deputy Katz’ decisive actions not only resulted in the immediate apprehension <strong>of</strong> a dangerousattempt-murder suspect, but also neutralized the potential for any further life-threatening confrontations between thesuspect <strong>and</strong> law enforcement, which would have taken place in a plaza full <strong>of</strong> people.For bravery above <strong>and</strong> beyond the call <strong>of</strong> duty, <strong>and</strong> placing his life in immediate life-threatening peril, ReserveDeputy David Katz was awarded the Department’s highest honor, "The <strong>Medal</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Valor</strong>."4849
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