Medals of Valor Awarded to Bay Area Officers

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday awarded California's highest public safety award to six law enforcement officers, including three from the Bay Area, for showing extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty.

Among the six recipients of the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor were San Mateo police Sgt. Dave Peruzzaro, as well as Officers Bryan Paul and Joe Romeo of the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department.

Peruzzaro played a critical role in the rescue of two children shortly before a tragic murder/suicide in San Mateo on Nov. 25, 2008.

Nguyen Truong, 24, and her two children, a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old, were held against their will by an armed suspect, 22-year-old Raymond Gee.

Truong spoke with negotiators on a cell phone and said the suspect was trying to break down the door to the bedroom and that she was going to drop her two children to safety from the bedroom window.

Peruzzaro climbed onto the roof of an armored rescue vehicle that was driven to a spot directly below the window, leaving him in a precarious and defenseless position while he accepted the children.

Truong handed the first child to Peruzzaro, who safely handed the child to other officers on the ground. However, as the second child was being handed to Peruzzaro, Gee went to an adjoining bathroom and, through a small window, saw what was happening.

He then fired seven shots through the wall at Truong and her children.

Three rounds struck the victim while four struck the frame around the window where Peruzzaro was accepting the second child. Peruzzaro held onto the child, but fell to the ground from the roof of the vehicle while twisting his body to protect the child from the fall.

Peruzzaro and the children were not struck by a bullet, but Truong was fatally wounded by the shots. Gee was soon located in the bathroom suffering a single gunshot wound to the head.

The other two Bay Area police officers that received the Medal of Valor today were Paul and Romeo of the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department.

On Oct. 17, 2008, the two officers received a call that a vehicle had left a driveway and had gone backwards down a steep embankment. The two people in the vehicle were found to be uninjured, but the driver was holding the brake to prevent the vehicle from sliding further down the hill.

Paul and Romeo had to scale a locked gate and search for the vehicle in the dark, and when they found it, Romeo had to hold the driver's door while Paul pressed on the brake with his hands to relieve the exhausted driver.

The officers held those positions for more than 30 minutes while fire crews worked to set up rigging to stabilize the vehicle. As the officers began to tire, they decided to extricate the victim by suddenly pulling him free.

As the plan was deployed, the driver was rescued, but Romeo was dragged down the hill by the vehicle as he continued to hold the door. Both officers managed to escape injury in the incident.

Schwarzenegger said all officers awarded the medal today "are true heroes and serve as an inspiration to us all."

Since 2003, the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor has been given by the governor to officers cited by the state's attorney general for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty.

Attorney General Jerry Brown said in a statement that the six officers awarded the medals Thursday "exhibited extraordinary bravery in the line of duty when they risked their lives to protect their fellow officers and members of the public."