Exemplary Performance Award
Filippo Anselmo, Innosaint Chinweze, Steven Hernandez, Anthony Lerma, Gregory Maxwell, Tara Midgett, Robert Patterson, Marcos Raygoso, Saul Salas & Charles Wilson
Officers, Los Angeles County Probation Department
On the evening of October 22, 2005, a riot erupted at Los Angeles County Probation Camp Glen Rockey in San Dimas, California. More than 100 minors, many with violent and gang-related records, pitted themselves along racial lines and began assaulting each other and destroying property.
Ten staff members were on duty that night — Filippo Anselmo, Innosaint Chinweze, Steven Hernandez, Anthony Lerma, Gregory Maxwell, Tara Midgett, Robert Patterson, Marcos Raygoso, Saul Salas and Charles Wilson. This group responded immediately, attempting to separate the rioting minors and protect those not involved. Vastly outnumbered, the staff called for help from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. In the meantime, they did everything they could to protect their own lives and those of the minors. When one of the staff was injured, the others made a safe passage to get the officer out of the area.
As Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies arrived in full riot gear, the violence among the minors intensified. Although they were armed only with their training, knowledge and professional skill, the Camp Rockey Probation Staff stood with the armed Sheriff’s deputies until they managed to quell the riot together.
However, the work of the Camp Rockey staff was not finished, even as the violence subsided and minors were transported to other facilities. Staff members turned immediately to cleaning up the area, surveying the damaged property for safety concerns and writing the reports that would help the Los Angeles County Probation Department prevent a repeat of the night’s events.
Thanks to the courage displayed by the Probation staff and Sheriff’s deputies, the riot of more than 100 minors resulted in only a couple of slight injuries. There were no fatalities and no escapes.
The Golden Badge Foundation is honored to recognize the extra effort of these 10 people above and beyond the call of duty, to save lives in the midst of immediate danger, consistent with the 2006 Exemplary Performance Award.
Exemplary Performance Award
Gonzalo Gallardo
Detective, Santa Ana Police Department
Detective Gonzalo Gallardo, a veteran of the Santa Ana Police Department, is currently assigned to the Career Criminal Unit. During the course of the last two years, Detective Gallardo’s primary focus has been acting as the case agent in charge of an operation dubbed “Operation Nemesis.” This multi-agency effort targets organized criminal street gangs with numerous leaders that are directly associated with the Mexican Mafia. Thanks to his hard work and dedication, Detective Gallardo has been able to obtain two unprecedented RICO indictments against two well-organized criminal street gangs. For his efforts, the entire unit was given a “Class A” commendation.
To accomplish this result, Detective Gallardo went beyond the call of duty and “flipped” one of the arrestees who voluntarily gave Detective Gallardo information on another extremely active narcotics trafficker. Although he was already overwhelmed with the previous caseload, Detective Gallardo notified the proper narcotics units, but they suggested that he follow up on the case. He began another investigation and within a couple of months had not only indentified the key players but operations were planned with all that gathered information and search-and-arrest warrants were obtained by him. At the end of the case, 14 vehicles, over $250,000 in cash, two residences, and over 53 kilos of cocaine and several pounds of methamphetamine were seized.
He was allowed to continue with the third investigation. Within a couple of months, he was able to identify the trafficker and all of his associates and subsequent search-and-arrest warrants were obtained. At the conclusion of this investigation, two suspects were taken into custody. This time, four vehicles, over $87,000 in cash, one residence, approximately 300 pounds of marijuana, over 15 pounds of “ice,” one kilo of cocaine and several firearms were seized.
Although all the operations took a group effort, it was Detective Gallardo’s tenacity that drove the Career Criminal Unit. He sacrificed his family time and devoted all of his efforts toward not only identifying all the key players of these very active criminal organizations but effectively provided prosecution units with all the necessary documentation, which resulted in overwhelmingly positive results. In view of voluminous reports and pending court cases, he has managed to gather and complete all the reports and pending court cases, and also complete all the documents needed for successful prosecution in a timely and professional manner.
Besides his initial “Class A” commendation, he has not been recognized for all of his efforts. Detective Gallardo is already working on a fourth investigation, which looks like it will be another promising conclusion.
The Golden Badge Foundation intends to correct the failure to recognize Gonzalo Gallardo with its 2006 Exemplary Performance Award.
Exemplary Performance Award
Steven Johnson
Commander, San Francisco Police Department (Retired)
Commander Steven Johnson retired from the San Francisco Police Department in 2001 after devoting 36 years of dedicated service. Everyone is probably wondering how someone who retired in 2001 could be nominated for an award in 2006. It is really quite simple. Commander Johnson, while retiring from the department, has been unable to let go of his dedication toward his fellow officers. Although the commander is no longer receiving a paycheck, he continues to assist and volunteer his time and services to officers in need.
Prior to his retirement, Commander Johnson gained expertise in the legal defense of officers from the San Francisco Police Department as well as in the area of “collective bargaining.” His reputation of always being there for a fellow officer in need had made him a legend in the department, a true “cop’s cop.” Since his retirement, Commander Johnson has proven time and again to his peers that his dedication was not merely a part of his job, but a part of his life.
After retirement, Commander Johnson became a paralegal and returned to work for the San Francisco Police Department. Despite the fact that he could have made much more money in the private sector, the commander opted to remain steadfast in his defense of police officers.
The year 2005 was unfortunately a busy one for Commander Johnson, with numerous “officer-involved shootings” in San Francisco. Even though this was not part of his job description, most of the officers involved in these shootings asked for Steve Johnson. One of the shootings involved a career criminal who had shot an officer and tried to run him down in his car. The shooting took place in a low-income public housing project. The situation became very hostile until Steve showed up at the location. Steve was at a family outing when he was made aware of the shooting. He left his family outing and responded to the shooting scene in order to comfort the officer involved. Steve not only calmed the officer, but spoke with the hostile crowd, amazingly calming them down as well.
Last year, Steve also was instrumental in obtaining support services for members of the San Francisco Police Officers Association and their families who had alcohol, drug and gambling problems. Again Steve took care of this on his own off-time and never asked for recognition or compensation. The executive board of the San Francisco Police Officers Association was only made aware of his deeds when family members who had been helped came into the office and expressed gratitude and thanks for the help Steve provided to them.
Last Christmas, Steve was a part of a group of people who got together to raise funds to buy Christmas presents for children who were terminally ill. Steve solicited donations from members of the Association, successfully collecting over $10,000. He then submitted the donations to the San Francisco Police Officers Association. Once again, Steve did this on his time off and never asked for recognition.
These are just a few things that Steve has done on his own time, thus earning him the nickname “Mother Teresa” by the Association for his patience, understanding, loyalty and behind-the-scenes work.
The San Francisco Police Officers Association wanted to let Commander Steve Johnson know that they are in fact aware of and deeply appreciative of everything he has done for them and the community by giving him statewide recognition for his dedicated deeds.
It is with great honor that the Golden Badge Foundation gives Commander Steven Johnson that statewide recognition by awarding him with this year’s Exemplary Performance Award.
Exemplary Performance Award
Bryan McMahon, Scott Lasch, Dave Rios & Steven F. Smith
Detectives, Long Beach Police Department
On February 26, 2003, the attempted murder of a documented Tiny Rascal Gang (TRG) member was committed near a local high school in the City of Long Beach. Initially, this incident appeared to be an isolated gang-related shooting. However, it set into motion a series of violent retaliation shootings and homicides against rival gang members, committed by this extremely ruthless and vengeful TRG gangster.
Detectives contacted this TRG member as he was recuperating in a local hospital, in an attempt to identify the suspects who had shot him. He was uncooperative, and would not provide detectives with the information they needed to solve this case. After his recovery and release from the hospital, he disappeared and made no further attempts to stay in contact with investigators.
Shortly after his release from the hospital, a chain of brutal homicides, attempted murders and assaults against Asian Boyz, Suicidal, and Insane Crip gang members were committed in the city. Homicide and gang detectives worked feverishly to identify the suspect responsible for these crimes.
Evidence recovered at the crime scenes was linked to firearms that were later found in possession of the notorious TRG gang who had been shot in the original February 2003 incident. Homicide investigators focused their efforts on this TRG gang member, who had been taken into custody after being identified as a suspect in the attempted murder of an Insane Crip gang member.
Even with ballistics and firearms evidence linking this TRG gang member to the crimes, homicide detectives were extremely concerned about two homicide cases that they knew would require additional evidence for a certain conviction at trial.
After exhausting all investigative tactics, it was decided that a wiretap would provide the surest means of gathering incriminating evidence to convict the TRG gang member of his crimes, in addition to identifying co-conspirators who were responsible or assisting him, carrying out shooting orders and committing more crimes in furtherance of their gang’s reputation.
Homicide detective Steve Smith drafted a meticulously detailed wiretap order, articulating the circumstances of the crimes being investigated and the target subjects who had knowledge of the crimes, but were withholding information and hiring evidence.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney authorized the application for the detectives and Steve Smith, Scott Lasch, Bryan McMahon and Dave Rios were quickly tested and certified by the California State Attorney General’s office as wiretap analysts. They immediately directed their full-time attention to the simultaneous monitoring and analysis of 11 target subjects and their telephone lines.
Over the course of the next 90 days, the detectives intercepted and audited over 20,000 telephone calls that were made between the TRG target suspect and his co-conspirators. Detectives were required to adhere to the strictest rules of communications interception, and maintain detailed reports documenting each telephone call received, or risk losing their wiretap certification and order approval.
Upon completion of the wiretap order and with thousands of pages of supporting documentation in hand, homicide detectives obtained unquestionable evidence connecting the TRG target suspect to four homicides, five attempted murder cases, an assault with a deadly weapon case, and a shooting into an inhabited dwelling case. Cumulatively, the wiretap investigation attributed six homicides and 20 other violent crimes to the TRG crime spree.
For undergoing this complex and mammoth investigation involving many officers of the Long Beach Police Department Investigations and Patrol Bureaus, the Golden Badge Foundation is honored to bestow its 2006 Exemplary Performance Award to Detectives Bryan McMahon, Scott Lasch, Dave Rios and Steven F. Smith.
Exemplary Performance Award
Amador Nunez
Officer, Anaheim Police Department
Often, police officers come in contact with people only through horrible circumstances, and they often feel helpless in trying to solve other people’s problems that have festered through many years.
Not so with Officer Amador Nunez, who has chosen to use his skill and the resources of the Anaheim Police to show youth the right way to live. Nunez started his law enforcement career with Los Angeles Police Department in 1984. In 1993, he transferred to the Anaheim Police Department where he grew up, and a year later was selected to become a DARE officer.
It was here that Officer Nunez found a calling that has become a personal passion to help the youth of the community. After serving as a DARE officer for three years, he next became a gang enforcement officer and saw firsthand the self-destructive effects of gang involvement on youths. He was selected to a newly formed team within the gang detail known as safe schools. Amador worked tirelessly mentoring kids at high schools and junior high schools in Anaheim and attended numerous school attendance review board involving truant youth. It was here that he saw that the problems with our youth started much earlier than at the high school level. He saw the value in addressing problem behavior at the elementary school level where he realized that the greatest impact could be made in molding youth to become productive future members of society and not future problems.
It was also at this time that he started to work in collaboration with the Anaheim School District and the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim in trying to turn around at-risk kids. In 2002, he was selected to be the director of the Anaheim Police Activities League, which services children between the ages of 5 and 17 by establishing positive relationships among youth, police and the community. APAL has enrolled children in karate, soccer and boxing classes as well as the police explorers program, for which Officer Nunez is police advisor.
This one-of-a-kind program is the Anaheim Police Department’s Junior Cadet Program. Established by Officer Nunez, it brought the community, schools and the police together in a preventative effort. The program provides an alternative for gangs, drugs and criminal activity, and uses a “targeted intervention” approach by identifying children most at risk for a problem. Referrals from the school district make up over 30 percent of the participants and are designed for children between 8 and 13 years of age. The Junior Cadet Program also allows an opportunity to continue on into the Explorer Program.
Both the Junior Cadet and Explorer Programs focus on self-discipline, responsibility and respect. Meetings are held once a week; typical junior cadet meetings consist of working on homework with explorers, and officers are available to assist with assignments. Junior cadets are also taught military drill, physical conditioning with structured classroom activities. Through exceptional performance and good behavior, junior cadets can promote in rank and responsibility and attend a weekend “boot camp” twice a year. The program works in collaboration with Project Save a Youth, which provides instruction to parents on gang awareness and parenting skills. This is not a substitute for babysitting, as parents must take an active role for their child to participate in this program.
When the program first started in March 2004, it was hoped that 20-25 children would sign up. The response far exceeded expectations, as there are approximately 170 children in the program. It is well-known by the junior cadets that Officer Nunez will show up at school if they are having a problem, even on his days off.
Officer Nunez’s mentoring role for young people has improved the quality of life within the city of Anaheim through his selfless dedication and total involvement with the community. It is because of his personal commitment that these programs have been so successful and he should be highly commended, as we do tonight with the 2006 Exemplary Performance Award.
Exemplary Performance Award
Joe Pane
Officer, Sacramento Police Department
On September 29, 2005, at 8:13 a.m., Officer Joe Pane arrived on the 65th Street overpass of U.S. 50 Highway in Sacramento regarding a suicidal person, Sean Newton. Officer Pane saw Newton on the outside railing of the bridge, barely holding on, contemplating jumping down onto 65th Street.
Officer Pane’s first response was to reach out his hand to Newton and attempt dialog and as he did, he inched closer and closer to the man contemplating taking his life. When he got close enough, Officer Pane suddenly grabbed Newton around the upper chest and began to pull him backwards toward safety.
Newton was not ready to be saved and chose to struggle with Officer Pane in an effort to free himself and complete the jump. Officer Pane became more determined that Newton was not going to die that day and was able to pull him over the railing — finally to safety on the ground. Pane then restrained Newton until additional officers could arrive.
Officer Pane put his own life in jeopardy in a valiant effort to save Newton’s life. Officer Pane demonstrated outstanding bravery, taking actions to save Newton’s life with full knowledge of the risk to his own life.
Because of this incredible demonstration of caring for his fellow man, the Golden Badge Foundation is happy to give the 2006 Exemplary Performance Award to Officer Joe Pane.
Exemplary Performance Award
Thomas Candaleria
Officer, Los Angeles County of Public Safety
On July 28, 2005, at approximately 8:25 a.m., Officer Thomas Candaleria was working at the Harbor UCLA Hospital when he responded to the A-Clinic lobby on a woman down. Upon reaching the lobby area, he noted the victim, Amanda Rowe, lying on the ground. She was not breathing, had no pulse and was beginning to turn blue.
A Code Blue team had been dispatched to the lobby but had not arrived, and Officer Candaleria began CPR. When the Code Blue team arrived on scene a few minutes later, Ms. Rowe had been revived. They immediately took her into the emergency room for treatment.
Dr. Dale Yates advised that Ms. Rowe had just arrived in Los Angeles from Helsinki, Finland, and began feeling ill at the airport. She hailed down a cab, which took her to the hospital. Ms. Rowe collapsed and her heart stopped as she walked into the hospital. Dr. Yates explained that Ms. Rowe had a history of a rare heart condition, the same disease that took her mother’s life at the young age of 33. He said that had Officer Candaleria not taken action to “jump start” her heart when he did, Ms. Rowe would most certainly have died.
Officer Candaleria is to be commended for taking quick, appropriate action that resulted in saving the life of this young woman. As a side note, Officer Candaleria had a repeat performance on March 2, 2006, when he performed CPR on a man who was down in the hospital parking lot.
He was able to bring that man back from certain death as well. The Golden Badge Foundation is pleased to honor Officer Thomas Candaleria with the Exemplary Performance Award.
Exemplary Performance Award
Darrell Littleton
Agent, California Department of Corrections
On February 23, 2005, at approximately 11:30 a.m., Parole Agent Darrell Littleton was driving his state vehicle east on Gopher Canyon Road in the city of Vista. He observed an eastbound pickup truck lose control and slide off the road into a raging water-filled ravine.
The truck was on its side and the female driver was unable to exit the vehicle, which was half-filled with cold water. The driver was basically pinned to the driver’s side door on her side, with water quickly filling the vehicle. With little though for his own safety, Agent Littleton waded into the water and assisted the driver out of the vehicle by lifting her out through the passenger door.
Police Captain Grigsby from the Oceanside Police Department arrived on the scene to find the victim safe and Agent Littleton wet and covered with mud. Another citizen had stopped to assist Agent Littleton rescue the victim by holding the passenger door of the truck open so that Agent Littleton and the victim could exit the truck.
The citizen was able to hold the door open, which was being forced to close by a fast-moving current. It was Agent Littleton that actually went into the water and risked his own safety to help the accident victim.
Agent Littleton committed an act of bravery and he is to be commended for the successful rescue of this accident victim. His heroic actions were above and beyond the normal demands of correctional services and in the face of life-threatening peril.
For this level of bravery, the Golden Badge Foundation honors Darrell Littleton with the 2006 Exemplary Performance Award.
Exemplary Performance Award
Arthur J. Ramirez
Supervisor, California Department of Corrections
On November 22, 2005, at approximately 10 a.m., Orange Parole Unit Supervisor Arthur Ramirez was driving eastbound on the 210 Freeway near the southbound Interstate 15 in Rancho Cucamonga. As he was driving in the middle lane, a sedan-type vehicle narrowly missed his vehicle as it slid at 95-100 miles per hour on a 45-degree angle across the freeway. The sedan made no effort to brake as it drove off the freeway down a ravine and then up the other side before hitting a retaining wall at full speed. The vehicle landed on its roof.
Ramirez was the first person at the scene. He attempted to call 911 but received a busy signal. He contacted Orange Parole Office and was connected to a fellow agent who followed up by relaying the accident information to the California Highway Patrol. A second responder, an off-duty fireman, arrived on the scene as Ramirez was making his way to the sedan. He picked up a cell phone from the ground en route and threw it to Ramirez, who thought the cell belonged to the fireman and he was loaning it to Ramirez to phone 911. Ramirez put the cell phone in his pocket.
Ramirez tried to get the driver’s door open, but it was lodged shut. He and the fireman were successful in getting the male driver out through the passenger door. At this time, the fireman took control of the victim by asking him questions and keeping him still. Ramirez started controlling the engine fire by throwing dirt on the vehicle.
A third responder, a retired sheriff’s deputy, arrived on the scene and Ramirez directed him to continue throwing dirt on the engine fire as he returned to assist. A short time later, the retired sheriff’s deputy stated the fire was getting “out of control,” and Ramirez instructed the fireman to assist in moving the victim further away from the vehicle.
When the CHP responded, the fireman advised a medevac was necessary to airlift the most serious injuries to Loma Linda Medical Center. When the owner had been transported, Ramirez retrieved the cell phone from his pocket and called the number, expecting to be speaking with the fireman or a family member.
When a woman answered, he realized the cell must have been the victim’s phone. Ramierez advised the victim’s wife what had occurred and that her husband was going to Loma Linda. He gave her his personal cell phone number to call in case the victim’s cell ran out of battery. He made arrangements to meet her at the hospital to recount the circumstances of what had happened since he was not at the scene and to return her cell phone. He made sure she had someone drive her to the hospital, since she was naturally upset.
For being on-alert and going the extra mile, the Golden Badge Foundation honors Arthur Ramirez with a 2006 Exemplary Performance Award.
