Metro cop honored by national magazine

Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2000 | 11:03 a.m.

Metro Police Officer Dennis Devitte can add another award to his mantle for his actions in a Dec. 5 gun battle in a local bar.

Devitte was named police officer of the year by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Parade magazine. This award comes after he was named the Top Cop by the National Association of Police Organizations and received the police department's Purple Heart and Medal of Valor.

About 1 a.m. on Dec. 5 the 41-year-old was talking with friends at Mr. D's Sports Bar, 1810 S. Rainbow Blvd., when he noticed a ruckus, as he put it, at the other end of the bar.

Three men with guns who were masked by bandanas were trying to rob the watering hole of its cash.

He decided to act after one of the gunmen shot a man sitting in a wheelchair.

Devitte was among a group of several off-duty officers at the bar that evening, including members of the band Pigs in a Blanket.

He was the only one, however, who was armed. Devitte was carrying his off-duty weapon, what he described as a small .25-caliber gun.

Due to its size, Devitte said, it wasn't very accurate at a distance, so in order to hit the robbers without hitting any of the patrons, he would have to get close.

As he made his way toward the gunfire coming from a .40-caliber semiautomatic being used by one of the robbers, he was shot eight times.

Despite his wounds, he managed to fire eight shots at one of the robbers. All eight hit 19-year-old Emilio Rodriguez.

Rodriguez stumbled out of the bar, then collapsed and died just outside. During the exchange Rodriguez's cohorts escaped.

Metro Officer Curtis Willis was at the bar that night and rushed to aid Devitte when the gunfire stopped.

Devitte's actions saved others in the bar, Willis said. It was one of the most courageous things he had ever seen.

Despite losing six pints of blood, and undergoing reconstructive surgery on one knee, Devitte was back with Metro in less than six months.

He will receive a plaque and diamond-studded lapel pin at a ceremony in San Diego on Nov. 14.

Parade, which has 37 million subscribers, has been working with the International Association of Chiefs of Police since 1966 to give the award.

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