HPD Officers recognized at the South Bay Medal of Valor Awards Ceremony

Daily Breeze article HERE

Officer Gomez Live Saving Award

On August 5, 2021, at 1306 hours, members of the Hawthorne Police Department were dispatched to the area of Crenshaw Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue in regards to a stabbing victim. Officers arrived on scene within minutes and began to canvass the area, looking for the involved parties. After an exhaustive search of the area, officers were unable to locate any victims. Prior to leaving the scene, police dispatch advised that Gardena police officers were responding to the 14700 block of Crenshaw Boulevard for a battery victim.

Believing that the calls might be related, Hawthorne police officers began responding to the area to determine if the calls were related. Officer Gomez was the first to arrive on scene. Upon arriving on scene, Officer Gomez located the victim of a stabbing. After determining that the scene was safe, he began rendering aid. Officer Gomez assessed the victim for injuries. He found that the victim had two significant stab wounds to the upper right portion of his back. Since the victim was suffering from difficulty breathing and due to the location of the injuries, Officer Gomez determined that the injuries would benefit from medical intervention. Officer Gomez cleaned the area around the wounds and placed chest seals over the injuries to help prevent any additional air from going into the pleural place and further compromising breathing.

Based on the injuries and symptoms, it was clear the male was suffering from a life-threatening medical emergency and required emergent medical intervention. Had Officer Gomez had not responded in such a timely manner and had he not provided such rapid medical treatment, it is possible that air would have continued to enter the pleural space through both the penetrating injuries. Left untreated these injuries would likely have fatal consequences.

The actions of Officer Gomez are noteworthy and it reflects great credit upon himself as well as the Hawthorne Police Department. Officer Gomez should be commended for his quick and decisive action and exemplary during a tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving incident.

Officer Luttenbacher Life Saving Award

On February 6, 2021, Officer Bearet Luttenbacher responded to a call of a gunshot victim behind an illegal gambling casino. On arrival, Officer Luttenbacher quickly checked the scene to ensure that he and others there were safe. Based on the initial search and the reports from witnesses that the shooter had fled, he turned his attention to the gunshot victim who appeared to be shot in the leg.

As other officers arrived on scene, Officer Luttenbacher determined that the subject might have a life threatening bleed. He did not notice a large amount of blood on the ground, but based on the location of the injury in the upper thigh and the grotesquely swollen thigh, he concluded that he might be bleeding into his thigh without obvious external bleeding.

Luttenbacher exposed the victim’s wounds and applied a tourniquet to the injured leg, slowing or stopping the bleeding. He also noted that the leg itself appeared to be unstable, suggesting a femur fracture due to the impact of the bullet.

Luttenbacher’s quick assessment and decisive application of the tourniquet very likely resulted in saving the victim’s life. Despite not seeing a large amount of blood externally, he realized that the bleeding into the thigh, which is dangerous in and of itself, presents a greater threat because it is easy to overlook. If the tourniquet was not applied, it is likely that the victim would have continued to bleed due to the femoral artery injury and possibly expired.

Life Saving Award

Hawthorne patrol officers John Yoshida, Jesse Lopez, and Richard Valadez were dispatched to the Courtyard Marriott located at 4427 W. El Segundo Blvd in regards to a juvenile who possibly drowned.

Upon arrival, officers immediately noticed a crowd of frantic people in the pool area of the hotel. As they approached the scene, they noticed that several people were providing CPR for a 5-year-old female who was pulseless and apneic, with only intermittent agonal breaths.

Officer Yoshida, who is a department EMT, along with Officers Lopez and Valadez immediately recognized that their training and experience far surpassed the civilians who were providing aid for the child and they took over the responsibilities of CPR. Officer Yoshida began administering high quality chest compressions for the victim while Officer Lopez recovered his department issued medical bag from his police vehicle. Officer Lopez retrieved the AED from the medical bag and Officer Valadez simultaneously grabbed the bag mask valve (BMV) and immediately began rescue breathing for the victim.

Due to the child still not responding, all three of the officers determined that it would be advantageous to quickly dry the victim off and place the AED pads on the victim in case the situation became worse, remembering to place them correctly for a child's small frame. After placing the AED on the child, they continued with CPR and were advised by the AED to continue with the CPR since the child was "not shockable". The officers preformed life saving measures for a total of three minutes before the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived on scene and relieved them.

Shortly after the fire department arrived, the child began to breath and regurgitated the water she had in her lungs. When the child began to cry it was an overwhelming sense of satisfaction for Officers Yoshida, Lopez, and Valadez. Prior to transporting the child, the firefighters and paramedics on scene turned to all three of the officers and told them they did a great job and thanked them for their quick response.

Officer's Yoshida, Lopez, and Valadez should be commended for their quick response, remaining calm during a highly stressful situation, and great communication/teamwork while saving the life of a 5-year-old child.

Distinguished Service Award

Doctor Joe Nakagawa began his service with the Hawthorne Police Department as a volunteer in 2007. Although a fulltime emergency room physician, Doctor Nakagawa volunteered his time with the Hawthorne Police Department’s SWAT Team. Whenever the team had training, warrants or call-outs, Doctor Nakagawa ensured that he made himself available to provide any assistance as needed.

Almost instantaneously, he felt at home within the organization and understood the innovative vision of the organization. Within just a short time, the Hawthorne Police Department Tactical Medicine Program was changing the way medical services were provided to the citizens of Hawthorne.

In addition to donating his time for the department’s operational needs, Doctor Nakagawa began instructing department members and teaching valuable medical skills. These skills have been taken to the streets and has been credited with saving the lives of countless citizens. In 2010, Doctor Nakagawa became a reserve officer, where he was able to bring his expertise to the streets of Hawthorne as a peace officer.

Although extremely active within the police organization, Doctor Nakagawa was still trying to find ways to better amalgamate law enforcement and medical services as a means to better serve the citizens of Hawthorne. Furthermore,

Doctor Nakagawa wanted to bring a focus to employee health. In 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Doctor Nakagawa was hired as a fulltime police officer. Although a capable sworn peace officer with the City of Hawthorne, Nakagawa also became the Hawthorne Police Department’s Medical Director.

This proved to be a critical asset to the Hawthorne Police Department, as we, like the rest of the world, were learning how to navigate the pandemic. Doctor Nakagawa’s expertise and leadership through the pandemic helped mitigate the effects of the virus on our organization and staff, while it raged through society. Over the course of the pandemic, Doctor Nakagawa has overseen the recovery of our staff, continually assessed for any further need of treatment and coordinated over six hundred inhouse COVID-19 tests.

Doctor Nakagawa has also aided in the City’s response to the pandemic by coordinating testing and vaccine clinics for citizens and employees alike. Doctor Nakagawa made himself available to all staff, answering phone calls and emails at all times of day and night. Doctor Nakagawa’s office door is always open and he is always available to talk with. His presence within the department has also proved priceless, with his active engagement and readiness to aid. He has recognized critical medical emergencies occurring amongst our department staff members.

On one occasion, Doctor Nakagawa reviewed a diagnostic exam performed by a Hawthorne Police Department paramedic. Upon reviewing the results of the exam, Doctor Nakagawa recognized and confirmed that a medical emergency was occurring. He was able to activate the emergency medical services at a local hospital to expedite the treatment and care of the individual in need; all while he was across the globe. This rapid recognition and expedient treatment of a life- threatening medical emergency ultimately saved the employee from lifelong impairment.

Doctor Nakagawa’s influence does not just stop at the walls of the Hawthorne Police Department and with medical engagement of employees and their family members. Doctor Nakagawa also goes out on the streets and proactively engages with some of society’s less fortunate to ensure that they are receiving medical treatments that they need. He enters into unhoused communities around the city and provides medical services otherwise not available to them and ensures that these individuals are never overlooked. They are offered free COVID-19 tests, open wounds and sores are cleansed and bandaged. Their medical complaints/aliments are acknowledged and assessed for any further need of treatment.

Through his instruction, engagement and dedication to the employees and citizens, Doctor Nakagawa’s influence has reached thousands of officers and citizens from around the City of Hawthorne and the world alike.

He is to be commended for his selfless acts and distinguished service to law enforcement and the City of Hawthorne.

From the Daily Breeze article:

When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, Dr. Joe Nakagawa just started a new job: the former emergency room physician had become a police officer.

Drawing on his medical background, Nakagawa taught other officers how to provide health care, visited homeless encampments to tend to the sick, and set up coronavirus testing and vaccination sites.

His work saved countless lives, Hawthorne Police Chief Michael Ishii said Thursday at an awards banquet for South Bay first responders who’ve gone beyond the call of duty.

“(Nakagawa) changed the way we look at policing, and his expertise helped train our officers to act quickly when life-saving measures are needed,” Ishii said.

Nakagawa was one of 11 South Bay first responders honored for their bravery at the 46th annual Medal of Valor Ceremony hosted by South Bay Police and Fire Memorial Foundation, which represents the cities of El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Redondo Beach and Torrance.

Three officers — including Nakagawa — received the Distinguished Service Award, and eight the Lifesaving Award.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented to first responders whose efforts exemplify the finest standards of the police and fire departments, while the Lifesaving Award goes to those who take extraordinary action to save lives. Only police were nominated this year.

Officer Broc received the EMS Recognition Medal

Life Saving Award

On November 3, 2021, Officer John Broc was working a uniformed patrol shift in the city of Hawthorne when he was dispatched to investigate an unknown issue in the parking lot of a laundromat. When he arrived, he was confronted with a special needs man who was crying and distraught over his brother, who appeared to have died.

Broc simultaneously comforted the special needs family member while assessing his brother, who was blue and apneic. He was able to involve the family members in the rescue and redirected them while he retrieved his medical bag. While the person appeared to be deceased, he did have a pulse and Broc correctly surmised that due to the person's young age, his apnea, and constricted pupils, that he may have suffered an overdose from an opioid.

Without hesitation, Broc deployed two doses of naloxone, which resulted in the person making a complete recovery, going from apneic, blue, and unresponsive to speaking normally. Broc was able to establish rapport with the distraught family member while simultaneously managing an opioid overdose alone until relieved by fire department paramedics who arrived later.

Due to Broc’s quick actions and communication skills, he was able to prevent anoxic brain injury and minimize the impact to the victim’s family, particularly, the special needs man who he cared for. His actions demonstrate the deep caring law enforcement has for the community and the importance of training officers to initiate care in the critical minutes before fire department medics arrive.

Of note, his clear and rational thought processes were narrated by Broc in real time to the Axon body worn camera, giving us insight into his mindset and decision-making. He was correctly able to verbalize the indications for naloxone administration prior to deploying it, demonstrating his understanding of what he was doing and why.