Officers, citizens recognized at Metro Police commendation ceremony

By Jeff Pope

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 | 6:57 p.m.

Metro Police honored several officers today at a commendation ceremony for actions above and beyond the call of duty. But two of the awards didn’t go to people who wear a badge.

Susie Johnson and Manuel Yalinkatian received Certificates of Appreciation as regular citizens who assisted officers involved in a gun fight in their west valley neighborhood on Feb. 28.

Sheriff Doug Gillespie recounted the incident.

Officers Robert Bradley, Brian McKearney, Michael Torsiello and Sgt. Tom Melton were responding to a domestic violence call on a cul-de-sac off Rainbow Boulevard near Alexander Road.

According to the caller, her sister’s boyfriend was holding a knife to her sister’s throat and had several guns. There was an 8-month-old boy in the house also, Gillespie said.

The officers took positions around the house and shortly thereafter a woman brought the baby out and laid him on the porch. The boyfriend pulled her back into the house and fired on police, Gillespie said.

Melton and Bradley moved from a safe position to recover the infant and, as they did, the gunman fired on the two officers from an upstairs window, striking Melton in the left arm, the sheriff said.

Bradley grabbed the baby while Melton and McKearney returned fire.

The suspect killed his girlfriend and himself, Gillespie said.

Before the standoff ended, Johnson and Yalinkatian would play a part in helping the officers.

After he was shot, Melton made his way out of the line of fire to Johnson’s nearby home. Johnson said she had heard noises but didn’t know what was going on until she looked out the window and saw the injured officer.

She grabbed several cold compresses from her freezer and held them on Melton’s bleeding arm.

After rescuing the child, Bradley knocked on Yalinkatian’s door and handed him the child. The neighbor cared for the child for about two hours until the incident ended.

Gillespie praised them both for their bravery and assistance to the officers and the child.

“I can tell you that when police cars show up and gun shots are heard, not too many people ask what they can do to help,” he said. “We get so wrapped up in our jobs sometimes that we forget what it must be like for the general public to have a police situation on their street.”

Johnson said Melton has been by to thank her for help and she’s met his family.

“I think that every citizen should help when they’re needed and no reward is needed,” she said. “I’m just so proud to have been able to do it.”

For their actions, the four officers received Medals of Valor and Melton, a 15-year veteran with Metro, also was awarded a Purple Heart for his injury.

Melton said Johnson was upset that day because the ambulance seemed to take awhile to arrive.

“She didn’t hesitate to get my blood on her and help me out as much as she could,” he said. “There’s a lot of good people in this community that will step up. It means everything.”

Several officers also received the Lifesaving Award, which goes to a department member for saving or preserving a human life.

Dave and Lisa Townsend drove from Lake Havasu, Ariz., for the ceremony. It was the also the first time Dave Townsend saw officer Robert Hindi — the man who helped save his life.

It was the day after Christmas 2008 and Dave Townsend suffered a heart attack at the ticketing counter at McCarran International Airport.

Hindi, who was walking his airport beat, saw Townsend on the ground unconscious and started CPR. When medical support arrived, they instructed Hindi to continue with CPR as they hooked up their equipment. A defibrillator was used twice, and while Hindi continued CPR, the patient suddenly began breathing on his own.

Townsend said he remembers nothing from that day or the next month he spent in the hospital suffering a series of health setbacks.

Hindi said Townsend died three times that day. Each time the CPR or defibrillator brought him back, his heart would stop again.

“I remember the moment when his heart was starting to go pretty normal and the paramedic yelled his name real loud,” Hindi said. “When he yelled ‘Dave,’ he opened his eyes and took in the deepest breath. It was like he had come out of a sleep from another world.”

Townsend’s fiancee at the time, Lisa, said she said a prayer just before he woke up.

Townsend spent the next 10 weeks in the hospital, where he and Lisa married on Feb. 24.

Already a devout Christian before his heart attack, Townsend said he spends even more time praying, thankful for his second chance.

“I feel like there’s a reason for me to be here,” he said.

Being that close to death inevitably makes people reflect on their lives and potential afterlife, Hindi said.

“Words cannot express the thought of actually being involved in saving somebody’s life,” he said.

Gillespie also presented the following awards:

• Sgt. John Pelletier received the Medal of Honor, which is awarded for “a distinctive act which extends far and above the normal call of duty, or a service performed at a risk to personal safety or life, in an effort to protect property or save human life.” Pelletier missed several ceremonies and was recognized for an event that took place on July 19, 2007.

He was off duty and witnessed a sport utility vehicle lose control on Summerlin Parkway and roll numerous times. He stopped to provide aid to the lone female occupant who was unconscious and restrained by her seatbelt.

As Pelletier approached the vehicle, it burst into flames. He retrieved a knife and cut the seatbelt. With the assistance of an unidentified good samaritan, Pelletier pulled the female to safety seconds before the vehicle exploded.

• Officer Dustin Butler received the Medal of Valor, given “for an extraordinary act of heroism which extends far and above and beyond the normal call of duty, or a service performed at great risk to personal safety, in an effort to save a life.”

On Feb. 6, officers Butler, Pete Friday and Jason Leavitt assisted U.S. marshals, who were trying to stop a robbery suspect. The suspect led officers on a vehicle pursuit until crashing at Eastern Avenue and St. Louis Avenue. The robber fled the vehicle on foot armed with a handgun.

Butler chased the suspect, who fell to the ground and concealed his arms. Butler tried to grab the man’s left arm. Leavitt arrived and tried to grab the right arm.

The suspect rolled onto his left shoulder and fired a hidden handgun at officers, striking Friday in the leg and injuring Leavitt’s hand with a powder burn.

The three officers returned fire, killing the man at the scene. Friday and Leavitt received their awards at previous ceremonies.

• Officer Zachary Johnson, corrections officer Wilbur Lasane and corrections officer Randall Brown also received the Lifesaving Award.

On Jan. 20, Johnson was dispatched to a home on Silver Birch Lane, near Boulder Highway and St. Louis Avenue. A 3-year-old child had been found in a pool and was not breathing.

When Johnson arrived, he began CPR on the boy, who was bluish-purple and cold. A second officer soon arrived and assisted in keeping the child’s airway clear until paramedics arrived. The child was transported to Sunrise Hospital Pediatric Unit where he made a successful recovery.

Lasane saved the life of an inmate while in a courtroom on Feb. 11.

Lasane saw the inmate have a seizure and stop breathing. He immediately requested medical assistance. While waiting for paramedics, Lasane provided CPR to the man who began breathing again. He was taken to the University Medical Center and survived.

Brown was off duty at home on Feb. 6 when he heard a female neighbor screame. Brown ran outside to find his neighbor’s son on the ground unconscious, not breathing and with a weak pulse. He initiated CPR.

After two minutes, the boy regained consciousness and was breathing on his own. Brown stayed with the victim until paramedics arrived.

• Detective Joe Kelley received the Exemplary Service Award, which is presented for “a singular accomplishment of substance, without risk to personal safety, but under adverse and difficult conditions.”

Between July 2006 and December 2008, Kelley logged more than 4,000 work hours, some undercover, and documented $1 million in fraud related crimes that led to the arrest of 25 people.

• The Unit Exemplary Award went to electronic surveillance technician Scott Barnes, Detective Mike Correia, Detective Chris Gandy and Lt. Gawain Guedry.

The four men created a wireless crime-camera system in use on Fremont Street downtown. The system has helped control crime along the Fremont Experience and has been adapted for the Special Weapons and Tactics Team.