By Daniel Larios
Staff Writer

September 17, 2014 – Three law enforcement officials from Santa Monica were honored Monday by Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris for their part in ending a shooting spree that took five lives in June of 2013.

Officers Jason Salas and Robert Sparks from the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) and Sergeant Raymond Bottenfield from the Santa Monica College (SMC) Police Department were among 14 officers presented with the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, the highest public safety award in the State.

“It’s always an honor to be here as we award the Medal of Valor,” said Governor Brown at Monday’s ceremony. “It’s really about recognizing the absolute human necessity of duty, of courage and of solidarity so that our community, from the bottom up, gets stronger and stronger.”

The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2003 gives the Governor the authority to award a medal to public safety officers who are cited by the Attorney General for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty.

The Attorney General’s Office receives nominations from public safety agencies, which are reviewed by the Medal of Valor Review Board, which makes its recommendation to the Attorney General.

“Today’s recipients of the Governor’s Medal of Valor Awards represent the very best of California’s public safety officers,” said Attorney General Harris. “Each showed extraordinary bravery in the face of grave danger, and each did so without any expectation of reward or recognition.

“I thank them – and all of California’s public safety officers – for the sacrifices they and their families make every day to keep our great state safe,” she added.

The Santa Monica officers were recognized for their role in ending a shooting spree on June 7, 2013 that began at 11:52 a.m., when 23 year-old John Zawahri shot and killed his 55-year-old father Samir Zawahri and 24-year-old brother Christopher Zawahri in their home in Santa Monica.

He set fire to the building and left the burning residence armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, a .44 caliber handgun and 1,300 rounds of rifle ammunition, according to police officials.

He shot at a passerby and carjacked passing motorist Laura Price, forcing her at gunpoint to drive to Santa Monica College. Along the way, he fired at other vehicles, including a municipal city bus, injuring several passengers, none critically

Zawahri then ordered his hostage to drive to the SMC campus lot at 20th and Pearl streets, where he shot at a sport utility vehicle driven by 68-year-old Carlos Navarro Franco, who was an off-duty groundskeeper employed at the college. He and his 26-year-old daughter, Marcela, who was a passenger, were killed.

The Santa Monica Police Department’s 911 Call Center received many emergency calls from frightened students and citizens. After entering the college campus, Zawahri shot and killed 68-year-old Margarita Gomez.

Sergeant Bottenfield, in plain clothes and not wearing any body armor, raced to the area of the shootings when he heard an SMC police officer broadcast that the shooter was headed toward the campus library.

Zawahri entered the library and began firing at a group of employees who were barricaded in a storage room.  SMPD Officers Sparks and Salas arrived on scene, and along with Sergeant Bottenfield, quickly formulated a plan.  

Salas, Sparks and Bottenfield approached the gunman, telling him to drop his weapon. As Zawahri turned toward the officers, he aimed his assault rifle. The three officers fired, killing Zawahri and ending the incident.

The ordeal lasted approximately thirteen minutes, according to officials.

In addition to the three Santa Monica law enforcement officials, this year’s recipients of the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor included four officers from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, one from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office and six from the Los Angeles International Airport Police Department.