Long Beach Police Dept. Honors its heroes

The Long Beach Police Department honored its members during their annual awards ceremony on Memorial Day. Awarded and recognized were:

Distinguished Service Medal

Police Officer Rocco Walsh and Police Officer Kelly Graham were awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, for their actions on July 22, 2009. They safely subdued and arrested a subject wielding a loaded gun. The subject was charged with multiple weapons offenses.

Commendation

Police officer Joseph Wiemann and police officer Darren Brennan were honored with the Commendation Award for their actions and the arrest of a defendant who was charged with robbery with a handgun on July 1, 2009.

Det. Lieutenant James Canner, Det. Sergeant Howard Domitz, Det. Jose Miguez and Detective David Williams were honored with the Commendation Award for their investigation and arrest of a defendant who was charged with first-degree criminal sexual act and first-degree sexual abuse on Sept. 9, 2009 .

Police officer Eric Irizarry, police officer Darren Brennan and Det. John Sharpe were honored with the Commendation award for their actions and the arrest of a defendant who was charged with a first-degree forcible compulsion rape on Dec.16, 2009.

Excellent Police Duty

Police officer Andy Ng and police officer Darren Brennan were honored with the Excellent Police Duty award for their actions on January 1, 2009, where a shotgun was seized at a domestic incident.

Det. Lieutenant James Canner, Sergeant Edward Ryan and police officer David Walpole were honored with the Excellent Police Duty award for their actions on involving a fatal road rage incident on May 15, 2009.

Det. Michael Corbett and Det. Orlando Garcia were honored with the Excellent Police Duty award for their investigation and the arrest of a defendant charged with first-degree robbery with a handgun on July 1, 2009.

Det. Michael Corbett and Det. John Sharpe were honored with the Excellent Police Duty award for their investigation and the arrest of a defendant charged with a first-degree rape on August 24, 2009.

Police officer Brian Wells was honored with the Excellent Police Duty award for the arrest of a defendant who was charged with attempted robbery with a handgun on Dec. 7, 2009.

Sgt. Mark Stark, police officer Joseph Wiemann, police officer Darren Brennan and police officer Kelly Graham were honored with the Excellent Police Duty award for the arrest of a defendant charged with first-degree rape on August 24, 2009.

Lt. Michael Tangney, police officer Lee Nielsen, police officer Paul DeMarco, police officer James Larson, police officer Joel Abramson, police officer Brian Perinchief and police officer Gary Murphy were honored with the Excellent Police Duty award for a volatile crowd of over 1,000 high school students on the Ocean Beach Park May 22, 2009.

Letter of Recognition

Police officer Bonnie Gerth was awarded the Letter of Recognition for the arrest of a fleeing subject who was charged with larceny from a cash register on Feb.24, 2010.

Police officer Joseph Garofalo was awarded the Letter of Recognition for an arrest involving a domestic incident in which a victim was menaced and a handgun was recovered on June 3, 2010.

Civilian Recognition

The LBPD also honored civilians during the Memorial Day Awards ceremony. The following civilians were recognized and awarded a certificate of recognition:

Scott Howard was recognized and awarded a Certificate of Recognition for his actions on September 15, 2009. Howard apprehended a 15-year-old who had committed larcenies from automobiles. Police dispatcher Jean Marie Fitch and Police dispatcher Donna Wildes were recognized and awarded a Certificate of Recognition for their actions on May 22, 2009 for a volatile crowd of over 1,000 high school students on the Ocean Beach Park.