Reseda : Police League Honors ‘Good Samaritan’

When Jorge Elias of Reseda saw the overturned police car at the intersection of White Oak Avenue and Sherman Way, his only thought was to help the officers trapped inside the burning vehicle.

Elias and his brother, Javier, were among a handful of Good Samaritans who rushed to the accident scene Nov. 4 after a woman driving an Acura ran two red lights and broadsided the patrol car, killing herself and Officer Gabriel Perez-Negron and severely injuring Officer Martin Guerrero.

While Elias helped right the overturned black-and-white and pull the officers out that foggy night, his still-running Oldsmobile was stolen, and in it were the cleaning tools Elias uses daily as a contractor for the city of Los Angeles.

The Oldsmobile and tools have not been recovered, but Galpin Ford donated a new Ford Escort to replace Elias’ car.

In a ceremony Tuesday outside Parker Center in Los Angeles, the Police Protective League gave Elias $1,000 to replace the missing industrial-grade vacuum, cleaners, buckets and mops that were in his car when it was stolen.

Although the league is working with the City Council to honor all the people who rushed to the aid of Guerrero and Perez-Negron, Director Ted Hunt said Elias paid a steeper price than most.

“Mr. Elias’ special loss of his automobile and the tools of his livelihood call for recognition by police officers everywhere,” Hunt said on behalf of the 8,000 rank-and-file Los Angeles police officers.

Speaking through a translator, Elias shrugged off the praise bestowed upon him, saying he did what anyone else would have done in the same situation.

“It’s so painfully simple,” Hunt said. “Jorge acted out of that basic, simple human spirit to help somebody.”

Officer Guerrero, who attended the ceremony in a wheelchair, personally thanked Elias for his bravery as the two men hugged.