Remembering Day of Violence, Valor

Police, citizens and community leaders marked the one-year anniversary of the North Hollywood shootout 11 days early Tuesday, remembering the day several blocks around a Bank of America turned into a war zone.

Officers Stuart Guy and Martin Whitfield, both wounded in the shooting, came with the aid of walking sticks.

Bank of America employee Felicitas Varela brought a T-shirt design she intends to have made for police to thank them for their heroism. Dr. Jorge Montes, the dentist who treated two officers injured in front of his office, took pictures and showed off his photo album depicting the event.

Tuesday’s news conference, held early in part for the convenience of television stations in the midst of “sweeps month,” also gave those involved an opportunity to confront their traumas. Officers and civilians spoke about the occasional nightmare or rapid heartbeat provoked by the sound of a helicopter overhead.

“I don’t think enough time has passed” to be able to coolly contemplate reminders of the event, said Officer James Zboravan, who was shot twice, in the back and hip. “It’s still there.”

By the time it was all over on Feb. 28, several streets around the Bank of America branch on Laurel Canyon Boulevard were strewn with glass, bullet holes and blood. Robbers Larry Eugene Phillips Jr. and Emil Dechebal Matasareanu were dead, and five civilians and 11 police officers were wounded.

On Tuesday, police played a videotape of news footage of the shootout, interspersed with 911 audiotape recordings of conversations between injured officers and dispatchers. Some wiped away tears as they watched.

Whitfield, who was shot four times, said he will retire from the LAPD this year. The seven-year department veteran said he replays the incident over and over in his mind and sometimes wakes up in the prone position he was in when he was fired upon by the robbers.

In his memories, “There I am, laying there, getting shot at,” he said.

Guy, who was shot twice, said he also will retire this year, because of his wounds.

He said his religious beliefs have helped him cope.

“I have a lot of faith in God. I knew God was going to save me and everybody else out there,” Guy said. “And he did. Nobody died except the bad guys. You know what? You live by the sword, you die by the sword.”

Both Guy and Whitfield face more surgery.

Police presented Montes with an office sign that said “Bullet Proof Dentistry,” complete with mock bullet holes. Many officers penned messages to the dentist, who provided painkillers and compresses to Zboravan and another wounded officer, Det. William Krulac, until help arrived.

“Dear Doc Jorge, thanks for ‘filling in’ as a medic on a day when our LAPD butts were getting drilled by more technically equipped suspects,” wrote Eileen Stuart, a civilian police employee. “You are one of the good guys making me proud to be a member of the LAPD community.”

In the year since the shooting, Montes said, he has gained patients. Some saw his face on television and thought that since he helped save police officers, he’d be compassionate toward the dentist-fearing, Montes said.

Others signed on to show their gratitude for his courage in the shootout.

Varela offered her gratitude to the officers in the form of a T-shirt designed by her nephew. It was the first time she had visited with them since the shooting, and she hugged them.

“I can’t thank you enough,” she said. “If it wasn’t for you guys . . . “

Her voice trailed off.

“You know. Thanks.”