Wounded Vancouver police officer honored

The Vancouver Police Department ceremony included two promotions: Blaise Geddry was promoted from officer to sergeant and Troy Price from sergeant to lieutenant.

Certificate of Recognition

o This was awarded to numerous employees who are members of the Community Outreach Team for their efforts to enhance relationships between the police and the public. Award recipients were Anna Quintrell, Lt. Kathy McNicholas, Sgt. Dave Henderson, Officers Eddie Alba, Ilia Botvinnik, Gerardo Gutierrez and Rodrigo Osorio.

Life Saving Awards

o Cpl. James Burgara received the award for quickly responding to an east Vancouver house where a 57-year-old man had collapsed while playing basketball on Sept. 21. Burgara performed CPR before paramedics arrived and restarted the man’s heart.

o Det. Rob Givens and Officer Leonard Gabriel received the award for their response upon seeing a man who had collapsed on a sidewalk outside of the police agency’s West Precinct office on June 3. Givens performed CPR while Gabriel used an automatic external defibrillator on the man.

o Cpl. Drue Russell received the award for his role as a tactical medic on the SWAT team. In this capacity, Russell treated the victim of a shooting at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs building on Feb. 5, 2014.

Team Commendation

o Cpl. Greg Zimmerman and Officers Brett Bailey and Richard Rich received the award for working together to help diffuse a dangerous situation where a man was shooting a gun in a Vancouver neighborhood on Jan. 15, 2014.

Citizen Recognition

o Chandra Mathieu, Donald Lowry and Adam Sikes received the award for their actions in attempting to detain shooting suspect James Sapp and the passenger in his vehicle.

Citizen Department Citation

o Tricia Belden and David Green also received the award for their actions in attempting to detain Sapp and his passenger on June 30.

o Greg Goad and Scott Landrigan received the award for saving a woman who intentionally drove her car into the Columbia River on Jan. 22.

— Emily Gillespie

Amid a crowd giving a standing ovation, Vancouver Police Officer Dustin Goudschaal received the Purple Heart on Wednesday in one of his first public appearances since he was shot and critically injured last summer.

“Although seriously wounded and bleeding from his face, arm and legs, Officer Goudschaal returned fire with his service pistol and stayed in the fight,” Lt. Steve Neal said. “He displayed exceptional gallantry and valor in the face of a violent and unprovoked attack by a suspect with a substantial criminal history.”

Goudschaal received the rare award for recognition of his “calm, collected and determined efforts,” Neal said. He also received the Medal of Distinction.

It is the highest award given by the Vancouver Police Department, spokeswoman Kim Kapp said.

“Fortunately, we don’t give them out very often,” Kapp said.

The June 30 incident was one of the main focuses of the ceremony, where eight citizens received awards for their actions during the shooting and the manhunt that followed.

At about 11:30 a.m. June 30, Goudschaal, a motorcycle officer with the Vancouver traffic unit, stopped a black Dodge Ram pickup near Northeast 162nd Avenue and 34th Street. A dispatcher told Goucshaal that the vehicle’s license plates belonged to a stolen vehicle.

As Goudschaal was approaching, the man behind the wheel of the truck, James Sapp, leaned out the window and fired his gun several times before speeding away. He crashed the vehicle into a tree about 14 blocks west, where 34th Street dead-ends at Northeast 148th Avenue.

Goudschaal was shot twice in the leg, twice in his vest, once in the arm and twice in the face, Neil said. One of the bullets damaged the communication gear in his helmet, limiting his ability to communicate with dispatchers or other officers.

Earlene “Sam” Anderson, a passing motorist, witnessed the incident and ran to Goudschaal’s aid. With Goudschaal’s instructions, Anderson used a bandage that was in Goudschaal’s pocket to apply pressure to the gunshot wounds.

James Bridger, another passing motorist, also stopped to help and went on the police radio to tell dispatchers that the officer had been shot.

During the chaos of the shooting and crash that was reported just less than a mile away, Vancouver firefighter Joe Hudson redirected the engine he was in to respond to the shooting, which was closer, first.

Each action, Lt. Scott Creager said, helped save Goudschaal’s life. Hudson, Bridger and Anderson were awarded the Citizen Life Saving Awards.

A group of five other citizens also received awards for their efforts in detaining Sapp and his passenger, who both fled from the truck after it crashed. Sapp later killed himself while in custody.

Wednesday’s event was a reunion of sorts, with Goudschaal seeing many of his colleagues and the people who helped save him for the first time in more than seven months.

“It’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful to see him healthy and whole. I’m just so pleased,” Anderson said.

She said that she’s received a lot of praise for her actions, but said she thinks it’s really a reflection of the high regard the community has for police officers.

“He said, ‘Help me,’ so I did. Something needed to be done and so I did it,” Anderson said. “I was just being a good citizen. There aren’t as many police officers as there are bad guys, and they need all the help they can get.”

Several officers also received an award for their role in quickly detaining a man who was firing a gun in Vancouver’s Carter Park neighborhood on the afternoon of Jan. 15, 2014.

When Officer John Key first arrived on scene, the man, Devin R. Potts Tolles, 19, was allegedly pointing an assault rifle at houses in the area. Potts Tolles was not cooperative, but Key left the safety of his vehicle and approached him anyway, Lt. Kathy McNicholas said.

Tim Thomson was the second officer on scene and, after seeing the situation, drove his patrol car between Key and the suspect to provide cover.

Potts Tolles eventually put his weapons on the ground but continually did not listen to police commands, and officers used a Taser to subdue him.

Key was awarded the Medal of Distinction and Thomson was awarded the Meritorious Service Award. Three officers who responded to the incident and worked in concert to control the situation also received awards.