Full Notification

On May 15, 2010, while off duty, Reserve Chief Michael Leum and his family were traveling on the 210 freeway, near La Cresenta when he and his wife noticed an adult male, with blood all over the front of his clothing, running in traffic lanes. The man had previously been a patient at Olive View Hospital and had just attempted to kill himself by cutting his neck several times.

After narrowly missing the man with his car, Reserve Chief Leum pulled his vehicle off to the side of the freeway to see if he could be of assistance. As vehicles sped by, Reserve Chief Leum realized it would just be a matter of time before the man was hit and possibly killed.

Although oncoming traffic was quickly approaching, Reserve Chief Leum carefully ran into the lanes of traffic and pulled the man to safety toward the shoulder of the road, narrowly escaping being struck by oncoming vehicles. He directed his wife to call 911, and while they waited for emergency aid to arrive, Leum noticed the man was extremely agitated and still armed with the knife. He engaged the distraught man in conversation, then quickly disarmed him. Leum also had to physically restrain the man from running back into traffic lanes.

An officer from the California Highway Patrol arrived and with Reserve Chief Leum’s assistance, they took the man into custody. While securing him in the vehicle’s back seat, the man once again tried to run out into oncoming traffic and again had to be physically restrained.

Had Reserve Chief Leum not stopped and pulled the distraught man out of traffic lanes, the man most certainly would have been gravely injured or killed, or potentially caused injury or death to others by causing an accident.

For his quick actions and decisiveness under life-threatening danger, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, Reserve Chief Michael Leum is awarded the Meritorious Conduct Medal, Gold.

Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau – Newsroom
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
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Leroy D. Baca, Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

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