Countywide : Officers, Civilians to Get Heroism Awards
Six police officers and three private citizens will be honored in Ventura tonight by the county’s Peace Officers Assn. for performing acts of heroism.
Two of the officers, Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Campat and Oxnard Police Officer James O’Brien, will receive the association’s highest honor, the Medal of Valor, for heroic actions in two separate incidents.
On March 1, Campat entered a burning mobile home in Lake Casitas and helped rescue Barry Haberstitch and his 19-month-old son, Jerome, who were trapped inside.
Casitas Springs resident Ken Wickersham, a reserve firefighter who pounded through a wall of the mobile home with his bare hands to reach the father and son, will be awarded a civilian Medal of Merit.
O’Brien pulled a woman from the line of fire during a police shootout in Oxnard on Oct. 6. Police who responded to a call for help at the Oxnard home were interviewing Rosa Lozano, who had summoned police help, when a man emerged from the house waving a gun, police said.
Three other officers opened fire on the man, Heliodoro Montero, 47, firing 44 shots and killing him, while O’Brien pulled Lozano to safety.
Also during the ceremony at Ventura’s Doubletree Hotel, Medals of Merit will be awarded to Santa Paula Police Detectives Troyce Reynolds and Bill Woodson, Ventura Police Officer Brian Hewlett and Sheriff’s Deputy David Grier. Civilian awards will be given to Donel Lincoln of Oxnard and Ventura Harbor Patrolwoman Mindy Vollmert.
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