Glendale Officer Given Heroism Medal for Saving Woman From Burning Car

Glendale Police Officer Russell Hancock last week received the department’s Gold Medal for Heroism for his rescue a year ago of a woman who was trapped in a burning car, police said.

Hancock, 25, responded to a report of a car that had crashed into a house on the 900 block of East Glenoaks Boulevard last March 28. He found a woman trapped inside the burning vehicle. Hancock had to break a window to pull the driver, Amelia Angela Llamas of Los Angeles, to safety, police said.

Llamas, 25, was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, police said. Hancock received minor injuries to his hand during the rescue.

Hancock, a Glendale police officer for five years, received the medal during the department’s Retirement-Awards Dinner. The Gold Medal for Heroism is the department’s second highest award.