As he announced the top honors at the 43rd South Bay Medal of Valor Awards Luncheon, presenter Glen Walker paused for a moment to bring attention to retired Hawthorne Police Sergeant Donald Shrum.
Shrum, Walker said, was twice Medal of Valor. First, in 1996, for bravery in a shootout with a robbery suspect. Then in 2003, he was honored for saving a woman’s life from a fire. After Shrum stood for applause, Walker held silent for another moment.
“Now with that said,” Walker started, “would Redondo Beach Police Officer Patrick Shrum please come forward?”
Patrick Shrum was being honored for his work in disarming and subduing an armed domestic violence suspect. Don was among the first calls Patrick made that night.
“I wanted to make him sure of that, that everything’s going to be fine, then a little bit of humor,” Don Shrum said. “You’re going to be sued, but don’t worry about it.”
Don Shrum’s first Medal-winning occasion ocurred while standing side-by-side with current Redondo Police Chief Keith Kauffman.
It was 1996, and Hawthorne Police were pursuing an armed robbery suspect down Crenshaw Boulevard during the holiday season. Shrum’s car cut the suspect off, and as the suspect left his car, he fired two shots into Shrum’s windshield.
Thinking quickly, Shrum dove out of his seat and into the street.
“A bullet went into the headrest — it didn’t miss by much,” Shrum recalled. “Another day on the job.”
Shrum, Kauffman said, was his sergeant at the time.
“That guy there was a totally fearless individual who would do anything to stop the bad guy,” Kauffman said. “You know why it’s in the blood.”
Don was beaming with pride throughout his son’s ceremony, sneaking candid pictures using a vintage Canon film camera. Though his hands now carry a slight tremor, they steadied as he framed his shots.
“[Patrick] was a talented little artist…he would draw pictures of cops and robbers,” Don Shrum said. “As he was growing up, he rode with me a lot of the time.”
Patrick Shrum thought fondly of those days with his father.
“For him to see me win this is an honor,” Patrick, a Marine Corps veteran and former LAPD officer, said. “He’s the reason I got into this profession; he taught me well, how to be a good person and a good cop. He’s always been my biggest role model.”
