Officers in North Hollywood Shootout to Get Highest Honor
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The Police Commission on Tuesday approved awarding the department’s highest honor, the medal of valor, to 17 officers involved in the Feb. 28, 1997, shootout in North Hollywood.
The nominations for valor in the harrowing gun battle had drawn criticism from some LAPD officers who questioned the omission of Sgt. Larry “Dean” Haynes and other officers involved in the televised gun battle.
“We selected the 17 we thought were most courageous,” Chief Bernard Parks said. “The judgment of the selection committee is that the actions of these 17 stood out.”
The officers were nominated for protecting the public and their colleagues against two gunmen clad in full body armor who unleashed automatic gunfire in the wake of a failed bank robbery. A dozen officers and eight civilians were injured in the shootout.
The robbers, Emil Matasareanu and Larry Eugene Phillips, died.
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