LAPD Honors 19 for Valor on Duty

Nineteen Los Angeles police officers received the LAPD’s 1998 Medal of Valor, including 17 who were involved in the North Hollywood bank shootout, Police Chief Bernard C. Parks announced Wednesday.

It was the largest group of officers to receive the department’s highest commendation in the medal’s 73-year history, said Parks at a news conference at the LAPD training facility in Westchester.

“We pay tribute to these officers for their courage in that instance when the circumstances became dangerous and deadly; where with the next breath their valiant efforts were above and beyond the call of duty,” said Parks as he stood surrounded by rows of police recruits and officers. “Their actions clearly display the dedication behind our motto, ‘to protect and to serve,’ and the bravery and valor of our Los Angeles police officers.”

In the bank incident, more than 100 officers were deployed to the Bank of America on Laurel Canyon Boulevard to confront two gunmen toting armor-piercing AK-47 assault rifles on Feb. 28, 1997. When the 44-minute firefight was over, 1,800 shots had been fired, injuring 12 officers and eight civilians.

The bank robbers were killed during the gun battle, which was broadcast live on television.

Among the 17 officers honored in connection with the bank shootout were nine from the North Hollywood Division, including helicopter pilot Charles Perriguey.

Not only did Perriguey dodge 150 rounds fired at him by the gunmen as he surveyed the scene from above, he had to maneuver around several media helicopters that were competing for the best camera angles, police said.

His colleague, Officer Edward Brentlinger, was in the bank parking lot as one of the gunmen randomly fired at civilians and officers. Brentlinger saw two officers shot and left his protective cover behind a concrete wall to divert the suspect’s attention from the wounded officers. Gunfire and concrete fragments struck his face and forearms and knocked his prescription glasses off, yet he continued the gunfight until the suspect fell to the ground.

Also honored were Dets. Lawrence Winston and Phillip Wixon, members of a controversial LAPD undercover police unit, who were seriously injured in a Ventura County shootout with two armed robbers in 1995.

After a months-long surveillance operation by the LAPD’s Special Investigation Section linked the suspects to more than 40 robberies in the San Fernando Valley, the detectives followed them to a Newbury Park liquor store on June 26, 1995.

The detectives confronted the suspects after they robbed the business at gunpoint, but they refused to surrender. A firefight ensued in which both detectives were shot in the abdomen before they killed one suspect and wounded the other.

A federal civil rights lawsuit filed in 1996, which accuses the detectives of tailing the suspects to the liquor store with the intention of killing them, is in litigation.

Other award recipients include Officers James Zboravan, Conrado Torrez, John Caprarelli and Edwin Dominguez and Dets. Tracey Angeles, Kevin Harley, Vincent Bancroft and Thomas Culotta, all of the North Hollywood Division.

Officers Richard Zielinski of the Valley Traffic Division; Anthony Cabunoc and Todd Schmitz of the Van Nuys Division; and Sgt. Israel Medina of the West Los Angeles Division were commended, as were three SWAT team members, Officers Don Anderson, Richard Massa and Steven Gomez.

Since the Medal of Valor was first awarded in 1925, there have been 455 recipients.

After announcing the honorees, Parks dedicated a monument to LAPD officers killed in the line of duty.

“It’s important to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice,” said Parks solemnly as he stood encircled by the blue-clad recruits and officers. “These officers went above and beyond the demands of duty.”

The 15 1/2-foot monument, which stands in front of the training facility, depicts a gigantic bronze hand with a cutout of a human figure in the palm to symbolize the “ascending spirit of a slain officer,” said project manager Sgt. Dave Dalton.

The monument is inscribed with the names of the 188 officers who have been killed on the job since 1907. Inside the base is a time capsule with items donated by the families of slain officers, including a photo of Officer Tina Kerbrat, the first female officer killed in the line of duty, along with letters from her children and the bullet that killed her.