Police Officers Are Honored for Bravery

Scores of LAPD’s finest went back to the Police Academy on Wednesday for the 20th annual Recognition Day Awards Ceremony, which honored officers who have shown outstanding bravery or made a lasting contribution to the department.

Among the recipients was Officer John Morena, who saved helicopter pilot Steven L. Robinson from a downed Los Angeles Fire Department aircraft in Griffith Park in March 1998.

Morena was in the middle of a routine traffic stop in nearby Los Feliz when he heard the crash. He rushed over to the helicopter, brushed off warnings from onlookers that it could explode, and pried the door open with a crowbar.

Although he found four passengers--including an 11-year-old girl--dead, Morena’s quick work saved Robinson’s life. With no formal medical training, Morena moved Robinson’s head to open his airway and held the hysterical man until other help could arrive.

“It wasn’t an easy thing. He was very combative,” Morena said Wednesday.

As Morena relived the day, Robinson stood by his rescuer while their children played together in the academy auditorium. They were having so much fun they nearly ran into Police Chief Bernard Parks as he came over to offer congratulations.

Since the accident, Morena and Robinson have become close friends, talking often on the phone and getting their families together for Father’s Day picnics. Others honored for heroics or community service Wednesday were:

* Officer Christine Perkins, for reducing crime in MacArthur Park by adding street lights, stepping up trash removal, tracking gang activity and increasing police presence in the park.

* Officer Yehuda Packer, who saved the life of a 9-year-old whose father was holding a 10-inch screwdriver to his throat.

* Officers Ellen Gable, Jerome Ealy and Edward Waschak, for bravery while trying to rescue a wounded officer who was in a warehouse with an armed suspect.