Valleywide : Awards Will Honor Officers for Bravery

They are the top cops of the Los Angeles Police Department, 17 men and women whose acts of bravery include rescuing citizens from quake-flattened apartments and burning buildings. In recognition, the officers will receive the Medal of Valor--the department’s highest honor--at a luncheon today.

Sponsored by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the annual event will begin at 11 a.m. at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

According to Officer Cherie Clair, an LAPD spokeswoman, the awards are decided by a department committee based on the recommendations of supervisors in the various bureaus.

“It’s a great thing for an officer to have,” she said.

This year’s honorees include Devonshire Division Officers Angelito Angeles and Henry Izzo, the first police officers to arrive at the Northridge Meadows Apartments where 16 people died after the Jan. 17, 1994 earthquake.

Officers Hong Kim and Donald Lint will also receive medals for their efforts to assist quake victims that morning.

Also receiving medals are Officers Jeffrey Alley, Gerald Ballesteros, Edward Broussard, Francisco Caingcoy, Thomas Carr, Darnell Davenport, Darcie Kolar, Raymond Mendoza, Adam Milecki, Michael Petrusis, Jean Salvodon, John Sandling and Kimberly Watson.

Since it was first presented in 1925, the Medal of Valor has been awarded to 433 LAPD officers.