Officer

California Highway Patrol

10/17/1989

Special Act Award (Gold)

On October 17, 1989, at 5:00 pm, Officer Arnold Stamps was on routine road patrol duty in the area of the Cypress Freeway structure at the time of the Loma Prieta earthquake. Officer Stamps immediately responded and provided assistance to the numerous injured people on the ground. Frequent aftershocks were occurring and the structured continued to settle. With no regard for his own safety, Officer Stamps climbed onto the unstable freeway structure and crawled between the collapsed decks through a two foot opening to search for survivors. Officer Stamps located a crushed vehicle among the broken glass and rubble containing a seriously injured, semi-conscious victim who was lying on his back and having difficulty breathing. He eased the victim’s breathing by clearing the blood from his nose and face and then dragged him to an opening to facilitate his removal by other rescuers. Extreme heavy smoke from a burning vehicle on the lower deck was causing breathing difficulties for Officer Stamps so he climbed to the top of the freeway deck to search for other survivors. In his search for other victims, he came upon fellow officer James Goodman who was attempting the rescue of a victim trapped in a crushed pickup truck. With no regard for his own safety, Officer Stamps climbed through a two foot opening of the collapsed freeway structure and maneuvered through broken glass, rubble and spilled gasoline to assist Officer Goodman in his attempt to free the trapped driver. Three hours later, firefighters arrived with the Jaws of Life. Officer Stamps continued to provide assistance by shoring up the continually settling upper level using large blocks of wood and remained at the site until the trapped driver was freed from the wreckage.