4 Earn Medals of Valor for Acts of Heroism in Valley

In a downtown ceremony, Los Angeles Police Chief Willie Williams honored three Valley police officers Wednesday who entered burning buildings and another who jumped into a wash, all to save people in danger.

The four were among 10 police officers to receive the Medal of Valor. City officials, council members and Mayor Richard Riordan joined Dodgers executive and former manager Tommy Lasorda at the annual ceremony.

Lasorda served as celebrity host, reading descriptions of each medal recipient’s accomplishments, which he punctuated with such wry comments as, “Now, this guy’s not an athlete--he’s a real hero!”

Department spokesman Lt. Anthony Alba said the robust turnout of officials at the Westin Bonaventure hotel mirrored public support for the beleaguered LAPD, a quality missing at recent ceremonies.

“It looks like we’ve turned the corner in terms of our relationship with the community,” said Alba. “We have really reconnected.”

The officers honored for events that occurred in 1995 include:

* Officer Michael A. Grasso, 38, a trainee who jumped into the Pacoima Flood Control Wash to save two people being swept along by the current. For his effort, Grasso will also receive a Top Cop award in October from President Clinton in a White House ceremony.

* Officer Adam Gauba, 52, of the West Valley Division, who entered a burning home after hearing screams and helped a family escape with only minor injuries.

* Officer James J. Panek, 37, of the Valley Traffic Division, who forced his way into a burning house to save a 2-year-old child.

* Sgt. Melvin Patton, 45, of the West Valley Division, who, like Gauba, entered a burning home after hearing screams from within.

Among the other honorees were Det. Tony Alvarez and Officers Felix Pena and Armen Sevdalian, all of whom earned medals for their heroic roles in a Hollywood drug shootout that took a fellow officer’s life in October. Also honored were Officer Theodore Hammond, who confronted armed attackers at a gas station; Officer Ray Robinson, who pulled three people from a burning vehicle, and Sgt. Peter Zarcone, who while off duty thwarted an armed robbery in a restaurant where he was dining.