On March 21st, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department will celebrate the 20th Annual Medal of Valor awards. At the luncheon we will recognize 35 distinguished individuals for the valor, courage and lifesaving they performed while serving the citizens of Orange County in 2007. 

For information on sponsoring a table, or to purchase individual seats, please contact Marilyn MacDougall at (714) 647-4135.

Click "more" to view a list of those being honored as well as a brief description of the incident in which they are receiving recognition.

Medal for Lifesaving

Deputy Richard Reyes

Deputy Richard Reyes will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for saving the life of a 74-year-old woman.  Deputy Reyes responded to an unconscious woman call in the City of Laguna Niguel.  Upon his arrival, he discovered an unconscious woman who was not breathing and did not have a pulse.  Deputy Reyes immediately started Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).  A short time later, fire personnel arrived and transported the woman to a local hospital where her vital signs returned to normal.  Deputy Reyes’ quick actions saved the woman’s life.    

Medal for Lifesaving

Deputy David Lee
Deputy Craig Nelson

Deputy David Lee and Deputy Craig Nelson will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for initiating lifesaving efforts on an unresponsive 17-year-old girl.  While working in the City of Rancho Santa Margarita, they were dispatched to a victim not breathing call.  When they arrived they found the young cancer victim unresponsive and not breathing.  Deputies Lee and Nelson immediately started Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and deployed an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).  They continued with CPR until fire department personnel arrived and transported the girl to the hospital.  Thanks to the efforts of Deputy Lee and Deputy Nelson, the victim’s vital signs were stabilized but unfortunately she later succumbed to her illness at the hospital.

Medal for Lifesaving

Deputy Shannon Meier 

Deputy Shannon Meier will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for saving the life of a 59-year-old man who attempted to take his own life.  Deputy Meier responded to a call in the City of Dana Point regarding a man who had slit his wrists.  He arrived on scene and found the man hanging by the neck from a tree with deep, rapidly bleeding cuts to both wrists.  Deputy Meier quickly went into action.  He cut the rope, lowered the subject to the ground, and applied direct pressure to the wounds.  Deputy Meier’s assertive and immediate actions saved the man’s life.

Medal for Lifesaving

Deputy Owen Hall
Deputy Gilbert Torrez

Plaque

Mr. Robert S. LaNier

Deputy Owen Hall and Deputy Gilbert Torrez will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for their rescue efforts on behalf of an 8-year-old child.  Mr. Robert S. LaNier will be awarded a plaque for his actions during the same event.  While patrolling in the City of Aliso Viejo, the deputies responded to a residential community pool regarding a drowning.  Mr. LaNier, who resides in the complex, responded when he heard frantic screaming coming from the pool area.  Deputies Hall and Torrez arrived to find Mr. LaNier already administering Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) by himself.  The deputies relieved Mr. LaNier and continued CPR until the paramedics arrived and transported the child to the hospital.  Deputy Hall, Deputy Torrez, and Mr. LaNier’s rescue efforts helped the child live for several days before eventually succumbing.

Medal for Lifesaving

Deputy John McCulloch
 
Deputy John McCulloch will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for saving the life of a 68-year-old man.  While working in the City of Rancho Santa Margarita, Deputy McCulloch heard other area units being assigned to a man not breathing call.  Deputy McCulloch responded without hesitation and was the first on scene.  He discovered the victim lying on the ground, not breathing and without a pulse.  Deputy McCulloch immediately began Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and continued for several minutes until Orange County Fire Authority personnel arrived and took the victim to the hospital for further treatment.  Deputy McCulloch’s actions saved the man’s life.

Medal for Lifesaving

Sheriff’s Special Officer Denise Hertsch

Sheriff’s Special Officer (SSO) Denise Hertsch will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for saving the life of a one-year-old girl.  While working at the Central Justice Center, SSO Hertsch responded to screaming and yelling coming from a waiting area.  She found a woman holding an unresponsive child who had fallen from a bench and struck the back of her head.  SSO Hertsch noticed the child was not breathing.  Carefully handling the infant in case of a possible head or neck injury, SSO Hertsch immediately started rescue breaths.  The child eventually started breathing on her own and was expected to make a full recovery.  Quick and effective action by Sheriff’s Special Officer Hertsch saved the child’s life.

Medal for Lifesaving

Deputy Ramiro Trujillo

Deputy Ramiro Trujillo will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for saving the life of a suicidal man.  While working as a motor officer in the City of Mission Viejo, Deputy Trujillo joined area units in a search of a depressed subject who had threatened to slit his throat.  Deputy Trujillo found the 52-year-old man on a slope below a park trail.  The man was bleeding profusely from a wound to his throat.  Deputy Trujillo climbed down the slope and applied direct pressure to the victim’s injury, slowing the flow of blood until paramedics arrived.  It is very likely the man would have bled to death if not for the determined efforts of Deputy Trujillo.

Medal for Lifesaving

Sheriff’s Special Officer Lynne Baker
Sheriff’s Special Officer Darren Patrick

Sheriff’s Special Officer (SSO) Lynne Baker and Sheriff’s Special Officer (SSO) Darren Patrick will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for their efforts in attempting to save the life of a 61-year-old heart attack victim.  SSOs Baker and Patrick were on duty at a Social Services facility in the City of Anaheim when they responded to a report of a man in the parking lot who was not breathing.  They found the male victim lying unconscious inside his car.  SSOs Baker and Patrick immediately started Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and continued until Anaheim Fire Department personnel arrived and transported the victim to the hospital.  Sheriff’s Special Officer Baker and Sheriff’s Special Officer Patrick’s quick response and immediate action gave the man more time for additional medical treatment before he succumbed to his ailment at the hospital.

Medal for Lifesaving

Sheriff’s Special Officer Michael Baker
Sheriff’s Special Officer Ryan Vincent

Sheriff’s Special Officer (SSO) Michael Baker and Sheriff’s Special Officer (SSO) Ryan Vincent will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for their efforts in attempting to save the life of a fellow court employee.  SSOs Baker and Vincent were working at the Central Justice Center when they responded to a report of a man down in one of the elevators.  The 59-year-old victim, a long-time court employee, had suffered a massive heart attack.  He was not breathing and did not have a pulse.  SSOs Baker and Vincent immediately started Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and administered multiple shocks using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).  Because of the severe fire storms occurring at the time, fire department response was delayed and the officers continued with CPR for nearly twenty minutes before paramedics arrived.  Sheriff’s Special Officer Baker and Sheriff’s Special Officer Vincent went to extraordinary lengths while rendering aid in an attempt to save the victim.

Medal for Lifesaving

Sergeant Russ Moore
Deputy Daniel Douthitt
Deputy Daniel Flores

Sergeant Russ Moore, Deputy Daniel Douthitt, and Deputy Daniel Flores, will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for saving the life of a 37-year-old inmate at the James A. Musick Facility in Irvine.  All three responded to a medical aid request at the North Compound.  Sergeant Moore and Deputies Douthitt and Flores found the man struggling to breathe and gasping for air. As they assessed his condition, the man became unresponsive and stopped breathing.  Sergeant Moore and Deputies Douthitt and Flores began Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and continued until Orange County Fire Authority paramedics arrived and transported the man to the hospital.  The man was expected to make a full recovery and the Fire Captain credited Sergeant Moore, Deputy Douthitt, and Deputy Flores with saving the man’s life. 

Medal for Lifesaving

Sergeant Rob Gunzel
Deputy Richard Johnson
 
Sergeant Rob Gunzel and Deputy Richard Johnson will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for their actions while administering aid to a 4-year-old drowning victim.  Sergeant Gunzel and Deputy Johnson were working North Patrol when they responded to a child not breathing call in the City of Villa Park.  Sergeant Gunzel found the young girl unconscious and not breathing, surrounded by her frantic family.  Sergeant Gunzel and Deputy Johnson immediately started Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and continued it while fire personnel arrived and set up their equipment.  The young victim was transported to a local hospital for further treatment, and then transferred to Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) before eventually succumbing.  Sergeant Gunzel and Deputy Johnson’s timely response and heroic efforts sustained the young victim’s life.

Medal for Lifesaving

Deputy Spencer Muir
 
Deputy Spencer Muir will be awarded the Medal for Lifesaving for his efforts in rescuing a 20-year-old traffic accident victim. While off-duty, Laguna Niguel Deputy Muir was driving with his family in the City of Anaheim when he came upon a burning vehicle that had been involved in a severe traffic collision.  With no regard for his safety, Deputy Muir assisted a lone Anaheim officer and another bystander with extricating the unconscious driver of the burning car.  Deputy Muir’s selfless actions helped sustain the victim’s life until he could reach the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Medal of Merit

Deputy Craig Lang
Deputy Joe Sandoval

Deputy Craig Lang and Deputy Joe Sandoval will be awarded the Medal of Merit for the dedication and skills they displayed while developing and implementing Orange County’s first civil gang injunction to simultaneously target two rival gangs.  This injunction encompassed over 600 pages of documentation for each of the two affected gangs; Varrio Viejo of San Juan Capistrano and Varrio Chico of San Clemente.  Two hundred and thirty-nine gang members were found to have sufficient documentation to be included in the injunction.  Deputy Lang and Deputy Sandoval combined their extensive knowledge and their tireless efforts to help create one of the largest and most successful gang injunctions in the state thus bringing significant credit and recognition to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Medal of Merit

Captain Tim Board
Lieutenant Roland Chacon
Lieutenant Librado Trujillo
Sergeant Mark Daigle
Sergeant Jason Stothers
Investigator Hector Huerta

Captain Tim Board, Lieutenant Roland Chacon, Lieutenant Librado Trujillo, Sergeant Mark Daigle, Sergeant Jason Stothers, and Investigator Hector Huerta will be awarded the Medal of Merit for their outstanding dedication and hard work as the primary contributors to the design, creation, and implementation of the Orange County Sheriff’s Cross Designation Program.  The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Cross Designation program allows state and local law enforcement agencies to perform immigration law functions while focusing on legal and undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.  Captain Board, Lieutenant Chacon, and Investigator Huerta were tasked with taking the concept of the cross designation program and bringing it to fruition.  Lieutenant Trujillo was selected as the Program Manager and assigned the duty of recruiting personnel to assist him with putting the program into effect.  Sergeant Daigle and Sergeant Stothers were named as supervisors of the program’s personnel and were instrumental in the completion of the project.  Captain Board, Lieutenant Chacon, Lieutenant Trujillo, Sergeant Daigle, Sergeant Stothers, and Investigator Huerta successfully created and implemented a program that has been nationally recognized as being a model for future programs to emulate.

Medal of Courage

Deputy David Leathers

Deputy David Leathers will be awarded the Medal of Courage for the valiant actions he took at an eight vehicle traffic collision.  Following an overtime shift, Deputy Leathers was driving home on the 22 Freeway through the City of Garden Grove.  It was late at night and visibility was severely limited because of extremely heavy rainfall.  As Deputy Leathers slowly proceeded, he saw a man walking near the center median.  The man said there was a multiple vehicle collision just ahead with people in need of medical attention.  Despite the conditions, drivers recklessly drove by without slowing down; creating a dangerous and potentially deadly situation.  Disregarding his own safety, Deputy Leathers turned on his hazard lights, blocked the carpool lane with his own vehicle, and began checking the involved vehicles for injured subjects.  He found two seriously injured victims still trapped in their pick-up truck.  Using his flashlight, Deputy Leathers directed traffic around the disabled vehicle until help arrived; reassuring the injured subjects and helping them remain calm.    Deputy Leathers selfless and courageous efforts helped ensure the safety of the injured victims and prevented further collisions from occurring.

Medal of Courage

Deputy Ash Abdelmuti
Deputy Mike Thalken

 Deputy Ash Abdelmuti and Deputy Mike Thalken will be awarded the Medal of Courage for their bravery while rescuing an unconscious man from a burning vehicle.  Deputies Abdelmuti and Thalken responded to a traffic collision in the City of Lake Forest.  Deputy Thalken arrived first and found the crashed vehicle on fire with the unconscious driver trapped underneath the steering wheel.  He tried to remove the man, but was unable to free the man’s legs as the fire grew and the heat intensified.  When Deputy Abdelmuti arrived, Deputy Thalken quickly retrieved a fire extinguisher from his patrol vehicle and used it to reduce the spreading flames, allowing Deputy Abdelmuti to enter the passenger side of the vehicle, free the driver’s legs, and remove him from the burning vehicle.  The deputies carried the man to safety so that fire personnel could safely treat him when they arrived.  Deputy Abdelmuti and Deputy Thalken fearlessly risked their lives to save the life of the unconscious driver.

Medal of Courage

Sergeant John Carpenter
Deputy Brett Gardner
Deputy Chris Ledbetter
Deputy Frank Smith

Sergeant John Carpenter, Deputy Brett Gardner, Deputy Chris Ledbetter, and Deputy Frank Smith will be awarded the Medal of Courage for their heroic actions while rescuing people from a building fire.  Deputies in the City of Dana Point responded to an apartment fire in the early morning hours.  Deputies Gardner and Ledbetter were first on the scene, quickly followed by Sergeant Carpenter and Deputy Smith.  Disregarding the danger, they entered the blazing apartment building and rescued injured and sleeping victims from the burning, smoke-filled apartments.  The quick response and daring efforts of Sergeant Carpenter, Deputy Gardner, Deputy Ledbetter, and Deputy Smith insured the safety of the residents.