The Los Angeles Police Department hosted its Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on Thursday, and Police Chief Jim McDonnell presented officers with the department’s highest honors — the Medal of Valor, the Purple Heart and the Preservation of Life Awards.
The awards honored 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. And one officer will be honored posthumously.
Thursday’s event, emceed by actor and comedian Howie Mandel, took place at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
LAPD Purple Heart Awardees, L to R; Nancy Riley, accepting for her husband Phillip Riley, Officer Anthony Diaz, Chief Jim McDonnell, presenter, Officer Melissa Salinas, and, officer Joseph Gall. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
According to the LAPD, the actions they honored include:
— On Oct. 7, 2024, while off duty at his home, Officer Kenneth Hurley heard an explosion erupt from his neighbor’s property, shaking the walls of his own residence. He ran outside and discovered his neighbor’s accessory dwelling unit engulfed in flames. Hurley climbed a wall and balanced himself atop it to scan the wreckage for survivors, spotting a man buried in debris, disoriented and struggling to move. Hurley recognized his neighbor and called out to make sure no one else was there. With flames advancing, the officer pulled his injured neighbor from the wreckage to safety.
— On the evening of July 3, 2024, Officers Stefan Carutasu and Joshua Rodney conducted a traffic stop. As the patrol car came to a stop, a suspect unleashed gunfire with a fully automatic AR-style rifle, striking before the officers could even open their doors. Confronted with sudden violence, the officers exited the vehicle and responded, returning fire despite being injured by shattering glass and sustaining graze wounds to the head. Despite their injuries, Carutasu and Rodney re-entered their vehicle to pursue the suspects until their vehicle became inoperable.
— 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. Avila then pulled the injured father to safety. The suspect was taken into custody, and both victims were rescued from further harm.
— 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.
— 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 broadcast an “officer needs help” call, drew his weapon and began engaging the suspect while patients were evacuated to safety. As the subject advanced and refused commands, Guenther, repositioned 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.
— 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 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 lunged toward Salinas with an eight-inch kitchen knife, thrusting directly at her face. Salinas raised her left hand to deflect the deadly strike, the blade piercing her palm. Though seriously wounded, Salinas broadcast for assistance and continued to engage, as her partner attempted to subdue the armed assailant.
— On May 30, 2020, Officer Anthony Diaz was assigned to respond to the rapidly unfolding events related to the 2020 civil unrest. While responding, an unknown suspect hurled a brick through the rear passenger-side window, striking Diaz in the head. The impact rendered him briefly unconscious and caused a cranial fracture. He was quickly transported to a local hospital, where he underwent emergency neurosurgical intervention to evacuate a hematoma and relieve intracranial pressure.
— 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 Sept. 20, 1980, Officer Kenneth Osmond pursued a stolen taxicab in the Rampart area. The chase ended in a narrow alley, where the suspect opened fire on officers. During the gunfire, Osmond’s motorcycle collided with his partner’s, and he was struck three times, one to his ballistic vest, one deflected by his belt, and one grazing his abdomen. Despite being dazed, Osmond remained in the fight until his partner subdued the suspect, who was ultimately taken into custody.
— On Oct. 22, 1971, Officer 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 shot him twice in the chest before fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle.
The Above & Beyond Ceremony is hosted by the Los Angeles Police Foundation, an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides funding for equipment, state-of-the-art technology and upgrades, specialized training, and community outreach and youth programs that would otherwise not be funded. Since its founding in 1998, the Los Angeles Police Foundation has awarded more than $58 million in grants to help the LAPD.
Originally Published: September 25, 2025 at 5:15 PM PDT