From: Christopher P. Reddy – Chief of Police
To: Commanding Officers, All Divisions
Please Read at all Roll Calls
I would like to commend the following officers whose immediate response and subsequent heroic actions disrupted an armed home invasion that was in progress, and led to the arrest of a violent offender with a lengthy criminal history:
- Officer Reny Beltran
- Officer Travis Fleuriel
- Officer Brendan Hurley
- Officer Giovanna Lorenzet
- Officer Johann Marcalle
On Monday, December 18, 2023, at approximately 0340 hours, Officers Reny Beltran and Brendan Hurley (Car 16) were dispatched to a Bay View Avenue address on a report of a robbery in progress. The caller, who had fled the apartment, reported that up to 5 people were still inside the residence. Officer Giovanna Lorenzet (Car 8), Officer Travis Fleuriel (Car 9), and Officer Johan Marcalle (Car 10) also immediately responded to assist.
The officers were met out front by the caller, who directed them to his apartment; and advised that the suspects may have weapons. The officers approached the door to the apartment, announced themselves, and ordered those who were inside to come out; but they got no response. Officer Hurley and Officer Beltran then entered the apartment and moved toward a set of interior doors, while the other officers took up tactical positions behind them. Officer Hurley unlocked the doors and pushed the left door open; and saw four males prone on the floor, with one of them obviously bleeding from an apparent head injury. These people were later identified as residents of the apartment.
Officer Hurley then observed a male individual behind the partially open door, and ordered him to “come out from behind the door”. Body worn camera video from the encounter showed a green laser coming from the direction of the suspect, who was behind the door. The laser was moving back and forth across Officer Hurley’s torso and the adjacent door. Officer Marcalle observed the laser, and called out to the officers to warn them.
A moment later, the suspect ran from behind the door and headed toward the kitchen. Officer Fleuriel and Officer Beltran immediately went after him, and observed that he had a gun in his hand. The officers gave verbal commands but the suspect ignored them, as he fled through the apartment. After entering the kitchen, the suspect fell to the ground and dropped the gun to the floor.
The officers continued to pursue the suspect and grabbed hold of him as he attempted to flee through a window. At that point, the suspect had his body partially through the window, while the officers were holding on to him and struggling to pull him back, as he physically resisted their efforts.
As this was occurring, Officer Hurley and Officer Lorenzet secured the four individuals in the other room with weapons drawn, as their role in this incident was not yet clear.
While struggling with the suspect, Officer Fleuriel called out to Officer Hurley that the individual had dropped a gun on the floor. Officer Hurley was able to secure the firearm, while Officer Marcalle proceeded to clear several other areas of the apartment with his weapon drawn, to ensure that there were no other suspects hiding inside.
As additional units began arriving, Officer Marcalle completed clearing the apartment, and quickly went outside to the location where the suspect was attempting to escape through the window. He was joined by Officer Lorenzet, and they begin issuing verbal orders to the male party in order to place him in custody. The suspect continued to violently resist the efforts of the officers to place him in custody; while it remained unclear whether or not he was in possession of additional weapons.
At that point, Officer Fleuriel yelled for the officers outside to deploy their taser. Officer Marcalle then warned the suspect that he would be tazed if he did not comply. The male ignored the warnings, so Officer Marcalle delivered two prongs from his taser, causing him to react, while still continuing to resist. Officer Marcalle then delivered a third prong, and the suspect experienced Neuro Muscular Incapacitation (NMI), at which point Officer Lorenzet was able to gain control of his arm. Officer Lorenzet was then joined by Sergeant Griffin, and they secured the suspect in handcuffs.
Subsequent investigation led to the recovery of quantities of marijuana (packaged for distribution) and ammunition, in addition to the firearm, which was determined to be a ghost gun as it had no serial number. Officers also recovered a laser site capable of being mounted to a firearm from the area where the suspect’s firearm was recovered. The laser site had a green target marker consistent with what was observed in the BWC video.
During interviews with the victims, they reported that two of them had been pistol-whipped during the incident, and that two additional suspects had fled the apartment prior to the officers entering. The suspect, who was placed in custody, is a known offender with a violent criminal history.
The immediate response, coordinated tactics, and heroic actions by Officer Beltran, Officer Fleuriel, Officer Hurley, Officer Lorenzet and Officer Marcalle resulted in the disruption of a violent home invasion, and the arrest of a dangerous criminal. Despite significant risk to their own personal safety; these officers demonstrated dedication to duty and personal bravery as they pursued and apprehended an armed individual who was engaged in violent resistance during his efforts to escape.
I hereby order that Officer Reny Beltran, Officer Travis Fleuriel, Officer Brendan Hurley, Officer Giovanna Lorenzet, and Officer Johann Marcalle be commended for their actions with a copy of this Commendation placed in each of their personnel files.