Los Angeles Police Officer Danielle Lopez and her partner were driving to a South L.A. jail when they spotted a man in the middle of the street pointing a semi-automatic rifle at other cars.
The officers jumped out and drew their guns.
LAPD Honors Officers for Bravery and Restraint
On Thursday, Lopez and Officer Bryan Waggener were recognized for their judgment and restraint, joining a group of 25 officers who became the LAPD’s first recipients of a new award: the Preservation of Life medal.
September 9, 2016
1 min to read
“Drop the gun!” Lopez remembers shouting at the man. “Drop the gun!”
It was a tense moment, a potentially life-or-death scenario that police train for but hope to avoid: one that could have ended in gunfire.
Instead, Lopez and her partner were able to persuade the man to drop the rifle and step away, arresting him without firing a single bullet. After taking him into custody, the officers realized that the gun he was carrying was, in fact, a fake.
On Thursday, Lopez and Officer Bryan Waggener were recognized for their judgment and restraint, joining a group of 25 officers who became the LAPD’s first recipients of a new award: the Preservation of Life medal, the Los Angeles Times reports.
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