California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer James Haynes will be posthumously awarded a Gold Medal of Valor at the Malibu City Council’s Jan. 11 meeting for an act of heroism he committed over 60 years ago.
On April 3, 1951, Haynes dove over 25 feet from the Malibu Pier into rough ocean to save a woman who was attempting suicide in the surf. After being continuously buffeted against the pier pilings by the heavy swell, he was finally able to bring the woman to safety on the beach.
CHP representatives will present the Medal of Valor to Haynes’ family to honor the act in which he risked his life to save another.