The Los Angeles Police Department will host its Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony Thursday, during which Chief Jim McDonnell will present officers with the department’s highest honors — the Medal of Valor, Purple Heart and Preservation of Life Awards.
Thursday’s event, emceed by actor/comedian Howie Mandel, will take place at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
The awards honor 16 officers — including a K9 officer named Aro — “who knowingly and willingly placed themselves in grave danger to protect others,” according to an LAPD statement.
One officer will be honored posthumously.
According to the LAPD, the actions honored include the following:
— On June 5, 2024, Officers Jose Avila and Jerry Coletto responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call and encountered a violent domestic attack. A woman had been stabbed in the head, while her injured husband struggled to restrain their knife-wielding son. When the suspect refused to comply, Avila attempted crisis negotiation while his partner Coletto deployed less-lethal force to disarm him. Seizing the moment, Avila pulled the injured father to safety. The suspect was taken into custody, and both victims were rescued from further harm.
— On June 29, 2023, Officers Gian Guenther and Ruben Ovsepyan were at Northridge Medical Center when hospital staff reported a man claiming to be armed inside the emergency room. In the confined and vulnerable environment, Guenther immediately broadcast an “officer needs help” call, drew his weapon and began calmly engaging the suspect while patients were evacuated to safety. As the subject advanced and refused commands, Guenther maintained composure, repositioned strategically and continued dialogue until backup arrived. Working together, officers deployed less-lethal options, and when the suspect resisted and reached for an officer’s weapon, they acted quickly to subdue him without further injury.
— During a June 16, 2017 probation search in the Newton Area, K9 Aro was deployed to search the rear yard of a residence where a suspect began firing. Struck in the rear leg by gunfire, Aro returned to his handler and continued performing his duties without hesitation. Throughout the search and standoff, Aro remained actively involved in locating the suspect, who was eventually taken into custody.
— On Jan. 23, 2023, while on DUI enforcement patrol in the San Fernando Valley, Officer Joseph Gall was struck head-on by a vehicle that crossed into oncoming traffic. Thrown more than 50 feet from his motorcycle and pinned beneath a parked car, Gall had activated his body-worn camera just moments before the crash, capturing critical footage of the incident.
— On Oct. 22, 1971, Policeman Phillip Riley and his partner attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a fleeing vehicle. The suspect vehicle crashed at the edge of the Marina del Rey entrance channel, and two male occupants fled on foot in different directions. Each officer pursued one of the suspects. Riley successfully caught one of the suspects and attempted to take him into custody. During the struggle, the suspect gained control of Riley’s service weapon and tragically shot him twice in the chest before fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle.
— On Nov. 8, 2022, Officer Melissa Salinas responded with her partner to a radio call involving a subject in mental health crisis. Upon their arrival, the subject suddenly and without warning lunged toward Salinas with an eight-inch kitchen knife, thrusting directly at her face. With split-second reflexes, Salinas raised her left hand to deflect the deadly strike, the blade piercing her palm. Though seriously wounded, Salinas immediately broadcast for assistance and continued to engage, as her partner attempted to subdue the armed assailant.
— In the early morning of Feb. 20, 2024, Officers Yulian Castrillo, Cheyne Underwood and Kevin Hernandez were working patrol when they observed a vehicle driving without headlights after rainfall. When the vehicle later crashed into a tri-light pole and caught fire, the officers rushed to the scene. Castrillo, Underwood and Hernandez quickly pulled the passengers from the wreckage, dragging them to safety through heavy smoke.
The Above & Beyond Ceremony is hosted by the Los Angeles Police Foundation, an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides funding for essential equipment, state-of-the-art technology and upgrades, specialized training, community outreach and youth programs that would otherwise not be funded. Since its founding in 1998, the LAPF has awarded more than $58 million in grants to help the LAPD.