Several heroic Los Angeles Police Department officers will be honored Thursday at a ceremony in which the department’s highest awards will be presented.
The 2026 Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony will see Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell present the honors to 16 officers “who knowingly and courageously placed themselves in grave danger to protect others.”
Television news anchor Sandra Endo was set to serve as emcee during the event, during which details of the officers’ heroic actions will be shared though stories, video recreations, body-worn and in-car video.
Those in line for honors include:
— Officer Anthony Malley, a South Traffic Division motor officer, who was searching for an armed shooting suspect in the Wilmington Area on Nov. 14, 1975, when the suspect accelerated his vehicle toward him, striking Malley and his motorcycle. The officer’s leg was pinned and he and his motorcycle were dragged 30 feet before the suspect fled. Officer Malley sustained significant injuries to his left knee, was hospitalized for three days and underwent approximately three months of recovery before returning to duty.
— Officers Arthur Soo Hoo and William Wong, who were conducting patrol near Broadway and Alpine Street in the heart of Chinatown early on Oct. 29, 1983, when their cruiser was struck by a vehicle that ran a red light while being driven 85 miles per hour. Both officers sustained catastrophic injuries.
— Sgt. Vanessa Prentice was assisting officers with a high-risk traffic stop involving a stolen vehicle near Western Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard on Sept. 23, 2023, when she was struck from behind by an impaired, wrong-way driver. Prentice was thrown 40 feet and suffered multiple fractures and a traumatic brain injury with intracranial bleeding. She remained hospitalized a month, but recovered and returned to full duty.
— Sgt. Shiou Lih Deng stopped on the San Diego (405) Freeway to assist a stranded motorist on June 23, 2025, when an oncoming vehicle struck his patrol vehicle and Deng, causing fatal injuries.
— Officers Richard Whitaker and Roger Fiderio entered a burning two-story residence near Vermont Avenue and Exposition Boulevard to search for trapped occupants on Feb. 26, 1969. Fiderio found and saved one man, while Whitaker found the man’s two young daughters huddled in a locked bedroom. He wrapped them in a wet blanket and carried them to safety.
— Officers Al Moen and Donald Mandella were conducting plainclothes surveillance on Oct. 18, 1969, when they were ambushed by two armed suspects. Moen was struck by shotgun fire in the hand and shoulder, but returned fire and killed one of the suspects.
— Officer Sal Obaidee and his partner were investigating suspicious activity near Florence and Western avenues on Aug. 25, 2011, when they were ambushed by several armed suspects and trapped inside their cruiser under a barrage of gunfire. Obaidee sustained gunshot wounds to his hand, wrist and chest, along with facial injuries from shattered glass, but he returned fire, striking one suspect, and broadcast a call for help while driving the vehicle away from immediate danger.
— Sgt. Jesse Garcia responded to active gunfire at a homeless encampment near Fourth Street and Grand Avenue on Oct. 6, 2021, and encountered an armed suspect who was holding a woman by the neck with a handgun pressed to her head. Garcia deliberately exposed himself to gunfire to obtain a clear view of the suspect and fired one round as the suspect simultaneously discharged her weapon.
— Detectives Jose Delgado, Joel Ruiz and Huy Nguyen, along with officers Derrick Boykins and Francisco Zaragoza, were assigned to Gang and Narcotics Division and were working with the U.S. Marshals Apprehension Task Force on April 18, 2024, when they attempted to apprehend a suspect wanted for child sexual abuse. The suspect ambushed the team with repeated gunfire, but they moved into the line of fire to shield an officer and returned fire. Following an extended standoff, the suspect surrendered.