Medal of Valor for Simmons

As a barrage of bullets were exchanged between Los Angeles police officers and a barricaded gunman who had killed several family members in Winnetka, Officer Randal David Simmons, a 27-year veteran, became the LAPD's first SWAT officer to die in the line of duty.C.J. Lin in the Daily News.

His fellow SWAT officer, James Veenstra, was shot in the face. He later recovered after undergoing extensive surgery.

Thursday, Simmons and Veenstra, along with more than a dozen officers, will each be honored with a Medal of Valor, which is awarded to officers who knowingly and willingly place themselves in harm's way whether they are on duty or not.