Thursday, April 30, 1998 | 10:12 a.m.
Sheriff Jerry Keller was scheduled today to recognize numerous Metro Police officers for outstanding achievement.
Metro's medal of honor was to be bestowed upon Officer Stephen D. Hammack for his professionalism in apprehending a fleeing suspect who shot him in the arm.
Hammack was attempting to stop a vehicle Dec. 9 when the driver lost control, crashed into a residential wall, ran toward Hammack's patrol car and began firing at his windshield.
Wounded in the left arm, Hammack shot back as the suspect ran off and then notified dispatchers of the man's description and direction of travel as he pursued him on foot. Arriving units were able to take the suspect and an accomplice into custody.
Sgt. Randy L. Sutton and Officer James M. Lemos will receive exemplary service awards for their lifesaving efforts Feb. 26. Sutton and Lemos responded on a call that evening where a couple's baby girl was not breathing after being shot in the face.
Holding her in his lap, Sutton removed an obstruction from the infant's mouth and administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to restore her breathing while Lemos drove the patrol vehicle to the hospital.
Exemplary service awards are also going to officers Scott A. Martine and Gregory J. Ziel for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a heart attack victim for 10 minutes until medical units arrived. The officers had been on a traffic stop at Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard South near the Barbary Coast when they were alerted the victim had fallen in front of the hotel-casino.
Metro's Narcotics Squad 8 will be receiving the department's unit exemplary award for shutting down two businesses responsible for pumping $30 million worth of methamphetamine into Las Vegas streets.
After months spent researching, working undercover and serving complex, extensive search warrants, the squad arrested numerous suspects who later were convicted.
Receiving the unit award are Lt. Steve Gammell, Sgt. L. Keith Carter, and officers Thomas Harber, James Larochelle, Leonard Lorusso, Vinten Hartung, Bret Empey, Christopher Bunn, John Turney, and Christopher Marlahan.
Officer Dale C. Toney will receive a community service award for treating 75 underprivileged children to a Christmas party Dec. 21, complete with gifts personalized to match each child's wish. The children lived within the vicinity of the Northwest Area Command. Toney was able to find sponsors to provide the gifts, found a local church to host the party, and hired a caterer to supply the food and beverages.
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