Medal for Heroism
Kristine Rich & Paul Fong
Officers, Sacramento Police Department
On June 11, 2005, at approximately 11:24 p.m., Sacramento Police Department Officers Kristine Rich and Paul Fong were dispatched to a family disturbance call of a male beating his wife in front of the apartment. They were on scene within approximately 10 minutes and noted no activity in the front of the apartment complex.
They proceeded to the upstairs apartment and noted that the front door was closed, but damaged around the door lock, as if someone had forced entry. They knocked on the door, gained no response and forced the door open. Once inside, they observed a female covered in blood, lying on the bathroom floor and not moving. Officer Fong noticed the suspect standing in the living room near an open window. As they approached the suspect, he jumped out of the second-story window.
Officers Rich and Fong ran out the front door and began chasing the suspect, who was now running through the apartment complex. As they gave chase, Officer Fong noticed the suspect was holding a large butcher knife as he ran. The officers pursued the suspect northbound through the complex and westbound down the driveway toward 29th Street. The suspect stopped abruptly and turned facing the officers, still holding the butcher knife.
Both officers verbally yelled for the suspect to drop the knife and get on the ground, but the suspect was non-compliant. The suspect instead decided to attack the officers. The suspect quickly advanced on the officers holding the knife in a threatening manner, as if to stab them. When the suspect got within approximately 5 to 10 feet of the officers, still advancing on them, they drew their weapons and shot him.
After being shot, the suspect continued to refuse to drop the knife. Assisting officers arrived on scene and ordered the suspect to drop the knife, but he was still non-compliant. Officer Kaneyuki deployed his Taser and shot the suspect with it. The suspect still refused to drop the butcher knife, forcing a second officer, Sergeant Chan, to also shoot the suspect with his Taser.
After being hit by the second Taser, the suspect laid on his stomach, clenching the butcher knife beneath him. Still refusing to let go, officers moved in and pinned his arms back with their batons, forcing him to let go of the butcher knife. He was taken into custody.
While the suspect was taken into custody, additional officers went to the apartment and discovered the bloody female in the bathroom. Next to the woman, who expired from her stab wounds, was a baby who was moving. Sergeant Mitchell picked up the small child and ran outside, giving the baby to fire personnel who arrived shortly afterward. The child was transported to the hospital but died shortly thereafter.
Officers Rich and Fong, despite the risk to their own safety, courageously pursued the armed suspect who had already stabbed two people. Their heroic actions led to the arrest of the suspect, who, as it turned out, was a total stranger to the woman and child he had killed.
The Golden Badge Foundation is proud to honor Officer Kristine Rich and Officer Paul Fong with the Medal for Heroism.
Medal for Heroism Award
Andrew Meehan, Matthew Goodin & James Kelly
Officers, San Francisco Police Department
On July 4, 2004, San Francisco officers were dispatched to Pier 32 regarding a call of two males in the San Francisco Bay who appeared to be drowning. Officers Andrew Meehan, Matthew Goodin and James Kelly responded along with numerous other officers, fire department units and the United States Coast Guard.
When Officers Meehan, Goodin and Kelly arrived on scene, they immediately observed two adult males in the water. The younger male, later identified as 35-year-old Aodotos Manulat, had a green tint to his face and appeared catatonic, potentially experiencing a seizure. He was obviously unable to help himself and in immediate need of medical attention. The older male, later identified as 77-year-old Jose Manulat, the father of Aodotos, was holding his son in an attempt to prevent him from submerging while trying to keep himself afloat by grasping onto a piece of rotting wood.
The two men had been in the 50-degree water for at least 10 minutes and it was unknown how much longer they could survive without succumbing to hypothermia. It was also becoming obvious that Jose was struggling to sustain the physical strength to keep his son and himself afloat.
The fire department arrived and attempted to lower a rope down from the bridge to aid them. Jose was unable to secure the rope to his son or himself without letting go of Aodotos or the wood, to which he was still struggling to hold onto.
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel in the bay had been attempting to locate the men in the water and went speeding by the far end of the pier without seeing them. Unfortunately, this action created a lot of waves in the water that eventually reached the two men, causing them both to submerge several times in the water. Jose was fatiguing and officers watched as he was losing the grip he had on his son and the wood. Due to the bay waters being deep green in color, the officers knew that if the men submerged more than a few feet, they would lose sight of them in the murky waters. They also found it very apparent that in a matter of minutes or seconds, Jose would lose his grip and both men would most likely go under.
With no other rescue attempts in progress by the fire department and the Coast Guard vessel still quite a distance away, Officers Meehan, Goodin and Kelly decided that they needed to get to the two men immediately or they would certainly drown. Without regard for their own safety and knowing the perils of the frigid bay water, they entered the bay and began swimming to the men. As they neared them, they saw both men sinking lower into the water with several brief periods where both were submerged.
Officer Goodin swam immediately to Aodotos, who appeared in dire need of medical attention. Officers Meehan and Kelly swam to Jose, who was now in distress himself due to the amount of time he had been in the cold water. Officer Goodin, with the assistance of a San Francisco firefighter, was able to secure a rope around Aodotos, allowing him to be pulled out of the water. Aodotos appeared lifeless and was vomiting large quantities of water as he was being pulled out. Police and fire personnel immediately began administering CPR on Aotodos when they received him.
Jose, completely fatigued from supporting his son and himself, was unable to climb out of the water onto the ladder that was lowered by the fire department. Officers Meehan and Kelly held onto Jose for several minutes until the Coast Guard vessel arrived and assisted Jose onto the vessel.
Officers Meehan, Goodin and Kelly each suffered cuts and abrasions during their rescue attempt of the two men. They were each treated on scene by paramedics; however, Officer Kelly was transported to Saint Francis Hospital, where his cuts and abrasions required further treatment. A short time later, and after a change of clothes, all three officers returned to full duty.
The Golden Badge Foundation is pleased to honor Officers Andrew Meehan, Matthew Goodin and James Kelly with a 2006 Medal for Heroism.
Medal for Heroism Award
Eric Paulson, Julian Rodriguez, Edward Gutierrez & Manual Moreno
Officers, Santa Ana Police Department
On April 8, 2005, at about 2 a.m., Officers Eric Paulson and Manuel Moreno were dispatched to a suspicious person call in the 2300 block of East Joana in Santa Ana. Officers Julian Rodriguez and Edward Gutierrez were in the area and responded as well. As Officer Rodriguez drove north on Tustin Avenue from 17th Street, he came across a single-car traffic accident that apparently had just occurred. Officer Rodriguez noticed that the car was on fire and the sole occupant of the vehicle was unconscious in the driver’s seat. He reported the accident and soon found out that the occupant was trapped inside the mangled vehicle.
Officers Gutierrez, Paulson and Moreno arrived within seconds to assist. Officer Gutierrez rushed over to help Officer Rodriguez who was battling the flames inside the Honda with a fire extinguisher. Officer Paulson attempted to open the driver’s door but found it to be wedged into the driver’s seat and heavily damaged. Officer Gutierrez managed to pry the front right passenger door open while Officer Rodriguez continued fighting the flames from the driver’s side through a broken window.
Managing to extinguish the flames enough to attempt a rescue, Officer Rodriguez tried to pull the occupant through the driver’s door window, but was met with resistance from the safety belt, which was stuck. Officers Gutierrez and Paulson entered the burning vehicle from the passenger’s side and attempted to free the occupant as Officer Rodriguez cut the safety belt with his knife. As soon as the safety belt was cut, flames once again erupted through the air vents, dash and floor area of the car. As the flames grew in intensity fed by gasoline, Officer Gutierrez discovered that the driver’s feet were wedged between the gas pedal and the brake pedal, making it impossible to remove the occupant from the vehicle and forcing him to retreat from within the vehicle.
Officer Rodriguez retrieved a third and final fire extinguisher while Officer Gutierrez crawled back into the burning car. Officer Gutierrez reached down toward the occupant’s feet in a desperate attempt to free them from the pedals as Officer Gutierrez sprayed the fire extinguisher into the vehicle. Smoke and flames were licking at the driver’s feet and coming through the dashboard vents, making it difficult to see exactly how he was trapped. As the rescue unfolded, Officer Moreno was at the driver’s side window grappling with the driver and attempting to pull him through the window. After the final fire extinguisher had emptied and flames began to once again breech the vehicle interior with force, Officer Gutierrez’s efforts were successful, and the driver’s feet were freed.
As soon as the driver was pulled out of the burning wreckage from the driver’s window by Officers Moreno and Paulson, Officer Gutierrez, who quickly exited the burning car himself, and Officer Rodriguez each grabbed a limb and raced the unconscious driver to a safe distance. Within seconds of the driver’s removal from the wreckage, the vehicle’s interior was completely engulfed by flames. The fire department and paramedics arrived after the rescue was complete and transported the victim to a local hospital where he was treated for his injuries.
It is without a doubt, that if not for the heroic efforts and determination of Officers Julian Rodriguez, Edward Gutierrez, Eric Paulson and Manny Moreno, the victim of this traffic collision would have certainly burned to death. These officers put their personal safety aside to save a perfect stranger.
The Golden Badge Foundation is honored to bestow upon these officers the 2006 Medal for Heroism.
Medal for Heroism Award
Paul LeMay & Armando Montalvo
Officers, Glendale Police Department
On June 2, 2006, at about 12:30 a.m., Officers Paul LeMay and Armando Montalvo were dispatched to a house fire in the Montrose area of Glendale. Officer Motalvo was the first officer on scene and found a single-story house nearly fully engulfed by flames with thick, black smoke bellowing from the windows and doors.
As he approached the house, a woman ran up to him screaming that someone was still inside the burning home. The screaming woman was the caretaker of the lady still inside. She and her boyfriend feverishly attempted to pull the woman out of her bedroom when the fire started. Unable to do so, they managed to drag her to a nearby window. Due to the woman’s extremely large size, they were unable to lift her out of the window. The smoke and heat became unbearable and they were forced to abandon the rescue attempt.
Officer Montalvo ran down the smoke-filled driveway, attempting to find the open window where the trapped woman was located. At the end of the driveway, he spotted a glimpse of the woman’s arm atop the window ledge. The heat and black smoke emitting from the window made it impossible to see inside the house or get too close to the window. Officer Montalvo quickly realized that he was unable to safely pull the woman out of the window.
He retreated to the entrance of the driveway as Officer Paul LeMay arrived. He advised Officer LeMay that a woman was trapped inside the house and that she was at an open window to the rear of the house. Without hesitation, Officer LeMay followed Officer Montalvo through the hot, dark smoke, now completely covering the driveway.
As they reached the window, the black smoke and heat was intense. The officers held their breath and tried in vain to pull the woman through the window. They were only able to stay above the window sill for a second or two at a time before the heat would force them to duck below it. This, coupled with the woman’s size, made the rescue attempt very improbable. The officers managed to get the woman’s head and chest area onto the window sill. By this time, the flames were becoming more visible and the heat and smoke was becoming even more unbearable.
Realizing that they were so close, but physically unable to completely pull the woman out of the window, they were running out of options quickly. Rather than abandon their rescue attempt and leaving the woman to burn, they maintained their grip to avoid her from slipping back into the room and continued to endure the intense heat and smoke. They began yelling for someone to help them, hoping that another officer or the fire department had arrived on scene.
Within seconds, a citizen named Peter Whang, who was standing at the driveway and heard the officers’ call for help, ran to their location. Mr. Whang stood between the officers and quickly grabbed hold of the woman. With flames now shooting out of the window, the officers and Mr. Whang struggled with the woman and were able to pull her out of the window. They carried her to the street area as an ambulance arrived. With burns over 30 percent of her body, the woman was still alive and transported to the hospital. Unfortunately, she succumbed to her injuries the next day.
Officers LeMay and Montalvo willfully exposed themselves to the same deadly smoke and fire that ultimately killed the woman at the scene. When most people would have abandoned a rescue under these most adverse conditions, these officers refused to give up, placing their lives at risk.
Mr. Whang did not hesitate to enter the smoke and the heat when he heard the officers yelling for help. He quickly and selflessly exposed himself to the same heat and deadly smoke that the officers were exposed to in order to assist them with their rescue attempt. Had Mr. Whang not responded to assist the officers, there is little doubt that the officers would have been forced to abandon their rescue efforts or been overcome by smoke inhalation.
It is with great pride that the Golden Badge Foundation honors Officer Paul LeMay and Officer Armando Montalvo with the 2006 Medal for Heroism. In addition, the Golden Badge Foundation also recognizes Mr. Peter Whang for his selfless act of heroism by presenting him with the 2006 Humanitarian Award.
Medal for Heroism Award
James Egan
Sergeant, Hollister Police Department
On the afternoon of May 9, 2005, Hollister Police were dispatched to a residence regarding a “shots fired” call. Sergeant James Egan and several officers arrived on scene to investigate. The suspect who fired the round had left the location. Officers on scene were given a description of the suspect and his vehicle and they began their search of the area.
Within minutes, officers located the suspect’s vehicle parked in a nearby liquor store parking lot. The suspect was seated in the driver’s seat holding the gun. As officers approached the vehicle, the suspect put the revolver to the side of his head and pulled the trigger. Unbeknownst to the officers, the gun was empty. The officers ceased their advance and began pleading with the suspect to put the gun down.
The suspect briefly pulled the gun away from his head, giving officers a glimmer of hope that perhaps the despondent male would surrender his weapon. But the suspect quickly placed live rounds in to the gun’s chambers and put it to his head once again before the police could react. Officers once again attempted to convince the suspect to put the gun down.
Sergeant James Egan noticed that while the suspect’s car doors appeared to be locked, his front door window was slightly open. Convinced that the suspect was adamant about shooting himself or anyone attempting to stop him, he felt that immediate action was necessary to avoid the suicide attempt.
As officers continued pleading with the suspect to put his gun down and not shoot himself, Sergeant Egan began walking up on the suspect’s cracked open window, attempting to stay in the suspect’s blind spot. As he reached the window and aimed his Taser toward the window opening, the suspect pulled the trigger, again on an empty chamber. Before the suspect could pull the trigger again, Sergeant Egan discharged his Taser through the slightly opened window, striking him. The Taser hit forced the suspect to drop the gun. The suspect attempted to retrieve the dropped gun three times, forcing Sergeant Egan to discharge the Taser three times in order to keep him at bay while officers forced their way into his locked vehicle and removed the gun.
The officers examined the gun and found that the revolver’s next chamber had a live round in it. The weapon would have fired had the suspect been allowed to pull the trigger again. There is no doubt that Sergeant James Egan, at great risk to his own safety, saved the man from committing suicide.
The Hollister Police Department is proud of the actions taken by Sergeant James Egan to resolve this most volatile and dangerous situation without a loss of life. It is the Golden Badge Foundation’s honor to present Sergeant James Egan with a 2006 Medal for Heroism.
Medal for Heroism Award
Trevor Jackson, Richard Ramos, Osbaldo Ramos & Charles Wunder
Officers, Los Angeles Police Department
On March 10, 2005, two young men decided they wanted to murder LAPD officers. The suspects loaded up an SUV with over 500 rounds of ammunition and a rifle, and started cruising around South Los Angeles looking for a black and white. Coming upon a marked LAPD cruiser, the suspects wanted to get their attention and began throwing beer cans out their windows at the unit. It worked. The LAPD unit activated its overhead emergency lights and pulled in behind the suspect’s vehicle to pull them over. The suspects continued on at a leisurely pace, failing to yield to the unit. They wanted more cops involved.
That happened. Other units began to respond to the pursuit. Once the suspects judged that there were enough officers present, the door of the SUV flew open, a rifle barrel appeared, and a series of rapid fire shots zinged at and around the police vehicles.
Several units put out the call “shots fired” and more units began to respond. The suspect’s vehicle continued at a leisurely pace and an air unit was requested. Unfortunately, the air unit was grounded due to fog.
The suspect’s vehicle made a U-turn on a broad street with a center divider. Now the suspect’s vehicle was cruising southbound passed the northbound unit, passing each other like an ancient battle line of warships. The suspects hung the rifle out the window and sprayed each black and white with rounds as they went by. Officers drew their weapons, but no one returned fire. The black and whites did a U-turn and continued the pursuit.
Units got on the air and requested permission from the watch commander to return fire, due to recent changes in department policy on shooting at suspects in vehicles. Confused, the officers awaited a response from the watch commander before shooting back. The watch commander told them to stand by. The officers stood by as the pursuit continued.
The suspects repeated the U-turn. Once again, each black and white was exposed to the suspect’s rapid fire broadside as they passed in opposite directions. Officers flattened down in their units and took the fire, again without firing back. There was no word yet from the watch commander. They did their own U-turn and continued to follow the suspect’s vehicle.
It happened a third time. Another U-turn and another pass of one-way fire from the suspect’s SUV. One officer saw the windshield shatter directly in front of his face. By some miracle, the bullet ricocheted upward, missing the officer. Deciding that enough was enough, officers pulled up next to the Lieutenant’s unit in the pursuit and yelled, “We have to stop them; someone is going to get killed!” The Lieutenant did what a Lieutenant is paid to do. He made a decision. “Engage,” was his response.
That was all the officers needed to hear and they immediately put together a plan. The driver, Officer Richard Ramos from the 77th Street Division, would place the police unit in a 5 o’clock position relative to the suspect’s vehicle and hold it there. The passenger officer, Trevor Jackson, would deploy the shotgun out the passenger side of the unit. There was a small chance that the suspects seeing this would surrender, but neither officer had much faith in that occurring with these suspects.
Officer Ramos accelerated the police unit, closing the distance to the suspect’s SUV. They weren’t even in position when the blinking muzzle flashes from the suspect’s vehicle told them they were under fire. Ramos pulled the unit into the 5 o’clock position and matched the suspect’s speed while Officer Jackson jacked around in the shotgun and leaned out the window. Jackson opened fire with the shotgun. The suspect’s vehicle continued down the street and rounds continued to come back at the two officers.
Jackson yelled to his partner that his shotgun was empty and that he was transitioning to his pistol. Ramos didn’t want to give up the 5 o’clock position and realized that they needed cover fire during his partner’s transition. He pulled his weapon and fired a full magazine at the suspect’s muzzle flashes. As this was happening, Jackson drew his handgun, extended it out the window and resumed firing. Ramos concentrated on maintaining the position of the black and white.
Somewhere during the firing of Jackson’s second magazine, the suspect’s vehicle started to swerve. A hit had been scored! The SUV crossed the intersection on a diagonal, crashed through a steel fence and came to rest in a supermarket parking lot. The black and whites filed in behind the suspect’s vehicle in the shape of a crescent.
As the officers were exiting their units, muzzle flashes again appeared from inside the suspect’s SUV. A barrage of bullets whined by several officers’ heads and riddled their units. Officers returned fire and the gun battle continued. Officer Ozzie Ramos from the 77th Division exited his police unit and, while firing, crossed no man’s land, with no cover, to gain a position where he could fire on suspect and relay information on the suspect’s actions.
The police rounds were not penetrating the vehicle and an officer yelled out for a “slug shotgun,” determining that slug rounds would penetrate the SUV. Officer Charles Wunder from Newton Division ran up carrying a slug shotgun. He fired three rounds through the vehicle’s door and the battle was over. No more muzzle flashes were seen coming from the SUV.
It would be another two hours before the suspects were extracted from their vehicle by SWAT. One suspect was dead and one suspect wounded. Sixteen officers fired their weapons during this battle with suspects firing hundreds of rounds. The surviving suspect was asked later why they shot at the police officers. He responded, “We wanted to go out like Al Pacino in Scarface.” Only one of the suspects got their wish. The other was held to answer to numerous felony charges of murder and attempted murder.
These officers’ courage under fire is to be commended and is of the highest traditions of the Los Angeles Police Department. Their willingness to put themselves in harm’s way to avoid injury or death to fellow officers and civilians is of the highest tradition of law enforcement.
The Golden Badge Foundation is proud to honor Officer Trevor Jackson, Officer Richard Ramos, Officer Ozzie Ramos and Officer Charles Wunder with this year’s Medal of Heroism.
