Florida: Jacksonville detective receives Purple Heart after being struck by fleeing suspect's car
Sgt. Randy White says he doesn't remember much immediately after being rammed by a stolen car July 2 near the Mayfair Village Apartments on Beach Boulevard, sending him literally head over heels.
The veteran narcotics investigator was officially thanked Thursday for his drive to get back to work after that summer night where officers tended to their bleeding comrade and killed the suspect.
Undersheriff Pat Ivey gave White a Purple Heart for injury in the line of duty, thanking him for his "unwavering dedication" that included returning to work three months after doctors put 18 staples in his head wound. The medal was one of a number of commendations handed out at Thursday's Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's monthly citation ceremony.
"He worked tirelesly during physical therapy sessions and returned to full duty within a few months after the incident," Ivey said. "Randy's lieutenant said 'the incident never diminished Sgt. White's desire to lead his detectives in their daily objectives.' Since returning to work, Sgt. White has displayed the same motivation and passion that he has always expressed toward the narcotics unit and the citizens of this community."
White, who started as a corrections officer almost 25 years ago and is due to retire soon, said he has worked in narcotics for nearly 18 years to help people in the neighborhoods where they tackle drug dealers. While he appreciates the medal, he said he doesn't feel his injury warranted it.
"I don't think I did anything that the other guys wouldn't do," he said. "... We go out and do a bust or an operation for a day and we come in the next morning and someone has called in to say thank you, or that person driving by who gives us a thumbs-up smiling because that night they get to sleep, that we ran those guys off the corner. That is what keeps me and all the guys going."
White was injured at the end of an undercover drug buy operation. When police converged to arrest 23-year-old Victo E. Larosa, he drove off and hit White, who flew over the car and struck his head on the ground. Officers thought he was dead, but he struggled to continue working even as gunshots rang out and one officer shielded him, Ivey said.
"Randy attempted to get up off the ground, even though he was disoriented and bleeding profusely from the back of his head," Ivey said. "... Randy, still trying to coordinate the pursuit of the suspect fleeing the scene, even managed to make notification to his chain of command. He actually had to be held down to keep him from standing up and causing further injury."
Larosa's drive ceased when he slammed into a pole and jumped out of the car, running across Beach Boulevard and through backyards as officers chased him. In a final confrontation, he was shot and killed by police.
White remembers some of the aftermath of the impact, like feeling the injury on his head. But one thought surfaced immediately.
"I knew I had a job to do and at a certain point I heard the gunshots and I didn't know if that was one of my guys being shot or what was going on," he said. "I wanted to get back in the fight, into what I do, back in control of the scene, but I couldn't. But I have an amazing team and they filled in my role and what needed to be done."
One of the other citations awarded Thursday was a certificate of appreciation for Jacksonville Naval Hospital housekeeper Bryan Cooper, who tackled a would-be robber Sept. 3 at his neighborhood Walgreens at 7221 Normandy Blvd. At the time, Cooper said the suspect, identified later as Carl Jerome Howell, yelled at the 61-year-old cashier to “Open the register now! I got a gun! I got a gun!’” When the man reached into his pocket as if going for a weapon, Cooper tackled him to the ground, where police found them.
Cooper got a standing ovation as he received his certificate.
"We're all your fans," Ivey said.
Afterward, Cooper said it was "something that I would do all over again."
"She is somebody's mother," he said of the cashier. "She did remind me of it on Thanksgiving Day with a 'Thank you, that's why I am here because of you.' "
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