LAPD Chief Charlie Beck recognizes 27 officers for heroic acts

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- LAPD Chief Charlie Beck recognized 27 of the department's officers for their acts of heroism during the Above and Beyond Awards ceremony at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel Thursday.

Honorees received the Purple Heart, the Preservation of Life Award and the Medal of Valor.

With friends and family in the audience, officers Garrett Brooks and John Carlyle were two awarded the Medal of Valor. On March 28, 2016, the two officers responded to a fiery crash in South Los Angeles after a Mercedes struck an MTA bus.

As Good Samaritans also tried to help, Brooks and Carlyle rescued the passenger and the driver in the Mercedes seconds before an explosion.

"It seemed like it was just a movie. Like maybe 10 seconds later, 10-15 seconds later, the car just became fully engulfed in fire," said Brooks.

One father received the Preservation of Life Award on behalf of his daughter, Heather Monroe. In 2016, she and a group of officers helped take an armed suspect into custody; Monroe used her Taser.

Police said the suspect later admitted he was trying to commit suicide by having officers shoot and kill him. Monroe was off duty when she was killed in a car crash early this year.

"When we give Preservation of Life awards, when we give Purple Hearts out and especially the Medal of Valor, these are the values of this organization," said Beck.