9 Policemen Cited for Heroism : Slain Officer’s Widow Accepts Posthumous Honor

In an emotional ceremony Tuesday, nine Los Angeles police officers were honored for their bravery with the Police Department’s Medal of Valor.

About 900 people looked on as Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, who was celebrating 37 years on the police force Tuesday, presented the medals during the 26th annual awards luncheon at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel downtown.

Actor Cary Grant narrated the descriptions of the officers’ heroic acts.

Kathleen Johnson, the widow of Officer Duane C. Johnson, who was killed during a shoot-out in Chinatown late last year, received a standing ovation as she accepted her husband’s posthumous award.

Absent from the ceremony was Officer Archie Nagao, Johnson’s partner, who was also given the department’s highest honor. A police spokesman said Nagao “is still emotional and didn’t feel comfortable coming.”

On Dec. 19, the officers interrupted a robbery at the Jin Hing Co., a small jewelry store off Broadway, which triggered a gun battle that left Johnson and two of the holdup men dead. Nagao and Robert Lee, the shop owner’s son, were wounded.

Johnson, 27, was with the force for three years. Nagao, 29, is a seven-year veteran and is currently stationed at Central Division.

Grant became visibly shaken as Kathleen Johnson, who was pregnant at the time of her husband’s death, walked on stage. Her daughter, Rachel, is 5 months old.

“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. But I’m comforted that I have Rachel,” Kathleen Johnson said after the ceremony. “I know my husband did what he wanted to do.”

Also honored were Detective John C. Helms, 36, and Officers Lawrence A. Mudgett, 38; Kenneth A. Thatcher, 36; Randy D. Walker, 37; Steven Gomez, 29, and Edwin H. Arneson, 36, members of the special weapons and tactics team.

On Aug. 2, 1983, the six officers rescued two female hostages who were being held at gunpoint during a 14-hour siege by a man wanted for murder and robbery.

As the suspect, James Bomar, was ordered to drop his weapon, he pointed it at Helms, who opened fire. When Bomar again pointed his gun at the head of one of the hostages, Mudgett fired a single round, fatally wounding the suspect.

Mudgett won a Medal of Valor in 1976, when he abandoned his cover and went to the side of a mortally wounded officer, carrying him to a safe area.

Another recipient, Officer Clifford E. Lloyd, 40, saved the life of an LAPD helicopter observer March 1, 1983.

During a vicious windstorm in South-Central Los Angeles, the aircraft struck a power line and crashed, its rotor blades still spinning. As fuel poured from the wreckage, Lloyd crawled through it to escape the whirling blades, reaching the observer and dragging him to safety.

“There are plenty of heroes (in the Police Department),” Lloyd said. “But it’s just every so often that they’re recognized.”

There have been 336 recipients of the Medal of Valor since 1925. The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce has sponsored the award ceremonies since 1959.