LAPD Veteran, Quake Hero Dies

Joseph Jordan was a monk turned cop. A man fellow police officers described as “meticulous and extremely intelligent.” But ex-residents of the Northridge Meadows Apartments building probably remember Jordan best for the way he rescued injured neighbors after the 1994 earthquake.

Tuesday night the 55-year-old Jordan died after suffering a heart attack as he drove down a Northridge street. His death left former colleagues reminiscing about a man they said represented some of the qualities all officers should strive to develop.

“He was a very methodical and articulate man,” said Sgt. Russ Lyons, who worked closely with Jordan for years. “He had a sense of humor and wit that was unique just to him. Joe was just simply a hard worker and a gentleman.”

Jordan, a 24-year veteran of the LAPD, was driving south on Tampa Avenue just past Devonshire Boulevard at about 9 p.m. when he suffered a heart attack, according to Valley Traffic Officer Bill Mulvihill. Jordan’s car spun out of control and hit the curb before smashing into a concrete block wall.

Paramedics rushed him to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he suffered another massive heart attack and died a short time later.

When he was awakened by the rumbling in his apartment building on Jan. 17, 1994, Jordan said he knocked down walls to get to his wife, who was also in the building when it collapsed. When she was safely outside, Jordan began pulling his neighbors out of the pancaked apartment building.

For his actions, the LAPD awarded him the Police Star, given to officers who demonstrate exceptional bravery, at his retirement last year . Jordan was also honored as detective of the year at a 1994 banquet sponsored by the Northridge Chamber of Commerce.

After losing his apartment in the 1994 earthquake, Jordan moved with his wife to San Fernando.

He began his career in Devonshire Division as a patrol officer before moving downtown to Parker Center, where he worked as a special investigations officer for the Police Commission. Ten years ago he returned as a detective to the Devonshire Division, where he worked on homicides, aggravated assaults and burglaries.

Before becoming a police officer, Jordan studied to become a monk, according to one of his former supervisors. “It might seem like a radical change, but I don’t think it was,” said Lt. Bob Normandy.

“Like police officers, you take orders and wear uniforms. And most of all, both want to help people. Joe was a child of the ‘60s and just wanted to improve society.”