|
"These officers risk their lives to protect the citizens of
Illinois, and they deserve recognition for their heroic actions,"
said Gov. Blagojevich. "They are to be commended for their unselfish
acts of bravery." "Our
citizens owe a debt of gratitude to the brave officers working
throughout the state of Illinois," said Larry G. Trent, chairman of
the selection committee. "These 18 honorees indeed exemplify the
very best of the 35,000 police officers who risk their lives each
day in order to ensure the safety of our citizens."
During the ceremony, four Chicago
Police Department officers, an Illinois State Police trooper and a
Homewood police officer were recognized as the recipients of the
Medal of Honor for their heroic acts in 2002. For 2003, six Chicago
Police Department officers, one Illinois State Police trooper and
officers from the Peru Police Department, Rockford Police Department
and Springfield Police Department were recognized for their acts of
bravery.
2002 Medal of Honor recipients
-
Chicago
Police Officer Randal L. King, while off duty, noticed a
suspicious vehicle with its motor running in a Burbank liquor
store parking lot. Three subjects exited the liquor store and sped
away. While he followed the subjects in his personal vehicle, they
began firing at him. Without regard for his personal safety, King
continued the pursuit to the Ford City Shopping Mall. Meanwhile,
fellow officer Sgt. Dennis P. Walsh, who was working security
while off duty, was monitoring radio traffic and observed the
suspects running through the mall. He pursued one of them on foot,
and the suspect ran into a store, where he attempted to hide
between the coat racks. When the officer attempted to subdue the
suspect, a struggle ensued, and Walsh noticed that the offender
was concealing a fully automatic weapon underneath his sweatshirt.
The offender broke loose and ran for the exit door when he noticed
responding security units outside the door. When Walsh ordered the
subject to drop his weapon, the offender turned and pointed his
weapon at him. Walsh then shot the offender and gained control of
the suspect and the weapon.
-
While
off duty, Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Todd A. Rohlwing came
upon a two-vehicle crash in which flames were coming from under
the hood of one of the vehicles and the driver was unable to exit
the car because his foot was stuck. After unsuccessfully trying to
pull the victim from the vehicle, Rohlwing tried extinguishing the
fire. When he entered the smoke-filled vehicle to determine what
was blocking the victim's foot, he was unable to move any of the
wreckage trapping the foot. However, Rohlwing was able to untie
the driver's boot and free his foot, allowing the officer and an
unidentified motorist to pull the victim from the vehicle to
safety. Before the arrival of the fire department, the vehicle's
floorboard and driver's area were engulfed in flames.
-
Responding to a call about a person shot, Chicago Police Officer
Joseph Stefanec found an unconscious woman with what appeared to
be numerous gunshot wounds. After obtaining information from
witnesses, Stefanec was led to the suspect, who was walking away
from the scene. After Stefanec ordered him to stop, the suspect
turned and fired at the officer, who then returned fire. Further
investigation revealed the victim and suspect were husband and
wife and had an ongoing domestic dispute. The subject was arrested
for homicide and aggravated battery.
-
While
off duty and shopping for Christmas gifts for needy families in
his district, Chicago Police Officer Emmett McClendon was told a
robbery was taking place. The offender, armed with a fully loaded
handgun and wearing body armor, had entered the store with the
intention of robbing an employee of an armored-car company. The
subject approached the employee, disarmed him, took a bag
containing over $73,000 and began running toward the front of the
store. As the subject approached the front door of the store, he
turned toward his pursuers and fired a shot in the direction of
McClendon and a store employee. McClendon returned fire, striking
the offender once in the side, where he was unprotected by his
body armor. The subject was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
- Responding to a call at a bank
located inside a food store, Homewood Police Officer David L.
Tobin and a fellow officer found an armed male who had forced a
teller into the vault. The officers approached the bank counter
area when the offender started to exit the vault with the bank
teller. After being ordered to drop his weapon and release the
teller, the offender returned to the vault room with the hostage.
After a hostage negotiator began negotiations, the offender
stepped out of the vault with the hostage and a handgun. Tobin
attempted to disarm the offender by grabbing the handgun, and a
struggle ensued, resulting in the handgun discharging. A bullet
hit Tobin in the finger and then struck the left upper arm of the
offender, who was subsequently taken into custody.
2003 Medal of Honor recipients
-
While
working an undercover narcotics detail, Chicago Police Department
Officers Federico Andaverde and Andrew J. Dakuras heard gunshots
emanating close to West Belden School. Responding to the location
and positioning themselves between two offenders and numerous
elementary school children on the playground, the officers ordered
the men to drop their weapons. Both suspects immediately fired on
the officers, who were still in their vehicle, and a bullet struck
Andaverde in the upper right leg. After a return of fire, one
subject fell to the ground and the second subject fled. As
Andaverde approached the wounded offender, he realized his weapon
was empty and in the slide-lock position. He quickly placed his
thumb on the lever and released the upper slide, giving the
impression he had reloaded his weapon, and pointed it at the
suspect while disarming him. Meanwhile, Dakuras, while pursuing
the second offender, was fired upon and returned fire, striking
the subject, who fell to the ground in the middle of the
intersection. Both suspects were subsequently arrested.
-
Chicago
Police Sgt. Christopher D. Fletcher, while off duty and with a
companion, was entering his personal vehicle when approached by
two armed suspects. One subject pressed a handgun to Fletcher's
chest and took his personal belongings. While the subject was
pointing his weapon at the companion, Fletcher was able to
retrieve his weapon and fire at both offenders, resulting in a
continuous exchange of gunfire, during which Fletcher was wounded
in the hip. Both suspects were also wounded, one fatally.
[to top of second column in
this article] |
-
In August 2003, an ex-employee of Windy
City Core Supply auto parts entered the warehouse with the intent to
kill every owner and employee present. For more than an hour he lay
in wait, shooting employees as they entered, one at a time. Instead
of shooting at one worker, he tied the person's wrists to a ramp
railing, which enabled the worker to escape and alert citizens, who
called the police. Chicago Police Department Officer Luis M.
Maldonado was the lead member of an emergency entry, assault and
rescue operation assigned to locate, isolate and neutralize the
offender in the warehouse, which was approximately 50,000 square
feet in area and contained more than 2,000 crates, bins, boxes and
barrels that provided hiding places. While about two-thirds of the
way through the warehouse, Maldonado saw the suspect with gun in
hand, hiding in ambush behind a series of crates and parts bins.
Maldonado maneuvered himself into a position to block any escape
route and placed himself in the direct path of the gunman, who once
again jumped from his ambush position and aimed his weapon at the
officer. Consequently, Maldonado fired multiple times at the
offender, fatally wounding him.
-
Chicago
Police Officer David M. Sepulveda, while off duty and in a bank's
back room, was advised by a teller that a robbery was taking
place. When Sepulveda exited the back room and announced he was a
police officer, the suspect left the bank. Sepulveda, with his gun
drawn, followed the suspect, who turned and grabbed the officer's
gun. The men fought for control of the weapon and a shot was fired
into the air. While struggling with the suspect, Sepulveda managed
to take the magazine out of the weapon. A witness helped the
officer contain the suspect while he was handcuffed.
-
While
driving by a restaurant in an unmarked police car, Officer
Wilfredo Torres and his partner were flagged down by a patron who
said a man was holding a gun to the head of a waitress. The
waitress was later identified as the suspect's ex-girlfriend. When
the woman locked herself in a back office, the suspect kicked down
the door and dragged her out. After being ordered to drop his
weapon, the suspect fired at Torres, striking him in the left leg
with a bullet that passed through into his right leg. Torres
pushed a patron out of the way and fired one fatal shot, striking
the suspect once in the head.
-
While
initiating a traffic stop involving a vehicle with two occupants,
an Illinois State Police District 17 trooper noticed that the
driver was behaving abnormally, and the driver eventually fled on
foot. The trooper pursued and tackled him to the ground, but the
driver was able to disarm the trooper and said he was going to
kill him. Trooper Joseph J. Savitch arrived at the scene and
observed the struggle. The first trooper yelled to Savitch that
the subject had his gun and for Savitch to shoot him. Savitch
fired his service weapon once, striking the driver. The suspect
later died at the hospital as a result of the gunshot wound.
-
After
responding to a 9-1-1 call concerning a vehicle that had left the
roadway and gone into the Illinois River, Peru Police Officer John
Atkins found the vehicle almost completely submerged approximately
20 feet from shore. A civilian who had witnessed the accident was
in the water attempting to rescue the occupants when Atkins also
entered the chest-high water to attempt to rescue anyone in the
vehicle. Peru Officer Adam Conness also arrived at the scene and
entered the water to assist with the rescue. Because the water
pressure did not allow the doors to open, the officers broke the
driver's-side front window and found an individual in the driver's
seat. Three people were located in the vehicle and transferred to
the shore, where additional officers and rescue workers began
performing CPR. None of the recovered victims survived the crash.
-
After
being dispatched to a house fire, Rockford Police Officers Amado
Soria and Juan A. Tapia were advised that two elderly people were
trapped inside the house. Soria kicked the front door multiple
times to force it open while Tapia attempted to find another
entrance to the house. When Soria entered the residence, a bedroom
was totally engulfed in flames and visibility was near zero. He
was able to see an arm extending from the bedroom into the living
room and called for assistance from Tapia. The officers re-entered
the building and grabbed the victim's arm, pulling him from the
burning house. The officers then returned to the house in an
effort to save the other victim but were driven back by smoke and
flames. The second victim died in the fire. Both officers were
treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation injuries.
- Springfield Police Officer Brian
L. Graves, while on routine patrol, observed a residence on fire
and two individuals covered in ash exiting the house. When Graves
asked if everyone was out of the house, he was advised there were
others trapped in the basement. After removing the boards from a
basement window, Graves found thick glass blocks and could hear
people inside yelling for help. He then proceeded to crawl into
the window well and break out six or seven of the window blocks
with his flashlight, only to find another piece of wood, which he
also removed. After seeing the silhouettes of two adults and
hearing them yell, he proceeded to climb halfway into the window
and was handed a small child, whom he handed to someone outside.
He then reached back into the window and assisted the two adults.
The victims were treated for minor burns and smoke inhalation,
while Graves received a minor laceration to his head and was
treated for minor smoke inhalation.
The Law Enforcement Medal of Honor
Committee, created by statue, reviews nominations submitted annually
from incidents occurring during the preceding year. The committee is
chaired by the director of the Illinois State Police. Other
committee members consist of the superintendent of the Chicago
Police Department, the executive director of the Illinois Local
Governmental Law Enforcement's Training Board and the following
individuals appointed by the governor: a sheriff, a chief of police
other than Chicago, a representative of a statewide law enforcement
officers organization and a retired Illinois law enforcement
officer.
[News release from the
governor's office] |
