17 Officers in Shootout Nominated for Medals

Seventeen Los Angeles police officers have been nominated to receive the department’s highest commendation--the Medal of Valor--for their heroism in the 1997 North Hollywood bank shootout, the most honorees for a single incident in the department’s history.

But the announcement of the nominees, who must still be approved by the Police Commission today, triggered complaints Monday from many officers who felt other heroes in the internationally televised gun battle are being overlooked, including several who were wounded.

The 17 honorees were selected from a list of more than 100 officers whose actions in bringing down two gunmen armed with superior weapons in a 44-minute firefight were chronicled in a lengthy department investigation and report.

The shooting began at 9:17 a.m. on Feb. 28 inside a Bank of America branch on Laurel Canyon Boulevard.

By the time the battle--broadcast live on television--had ended, more than 1,800 shots had been fired, and 12 officers and eight civilians had been injured. The only fatalities were the two robbers.

The medal nominees were recommended by Police Chief Bernard C. Parks in a written report to the five-member commission, which makes the final decision. The commission almost always accepts the nominations submitted by the chief.

The medals will be presented at a ceremony in September.

Since the Medal of Valor was first awarded in 1925, there have been 452 recipients--defined in the LAPD manual as “officers who distinguish themselves by conspicuous bravery or heroism above and beyond the normal demands of police service.”

But several observers and officers said they were surprised that some whom they considered to be heroes were omitted from the list of medal recipients. Among those is Sgt. Larry “Dean” Haynes, one of the first at the scene, who was wounded but continued to broadcast the movement of the robbers and draw their gunfire away from another wounded officer.

However, Cmdr. David Kalish, a department spokesman, said not every heroic officer could be included in the record number of awards. “They’re all heroes and we don’t mean to slight the actions of one officer compared to another,” he said. “However, the deeds of some officers were more heroic than others. The recommendations were made after a very thorough and comprehensive review.”

Haynes’ his patrol car--hit by 57 bullets--has been put on display to show the effects of the powerful assault weapons used by the two slain robbers, Emil Matasareanu and Larry Eugene Phillips Jr.

Officers interviewed Monday agreed that those selected fully deserve the award, but said they feel the commendations are not comprehensive enough.

They also said Haynes would be the first to deny that he deserves a medal. In a Times interview last year, Haynes, 42, of Canyon Country, praised his co-workers: “I was so awed by the response by the LAPD officers showing up. . . . There were so many acts of heroism.”

The nominees are Officers James Zboravan, Ed Brentlinger, Conrado Torrez, John Caprarelli and Edwin Dominguez and Dets. Tracey Angeles, Kevin Harley, Vincent Bancroft and Thomas Culotta, all of the North Hollywood Division.

Other nominees are Officers Richard Zielinksi of Valley Traffic Division and Anthony Cabunoc and Todd Schmitz of the Van Nuys Division. SWAT Team members nominated are Officers Don Anderson, Rick Massa and Steven Gomez. Sgt. Israel Medina of the West Los Angeles Division and Officer Charles Perriguey of the Air Support Division are also nominated.