Campbell, a Marine veteran, and Pavelka approached a Cadillac Escalade, a luxury SUV, at about 6:30 p.m. in front of a hotel. The gun battle began after the driver failed to produce a license and car registration.The gunman fired about 30 rounds at the officers, striking each several times. Campbell was struck in the stomach and neck.Burbank police are still seeking 19-year-old David Garcia, identified as a known gang member associated with the Mexican Mafia.A member of the SPPD from 1985 to 1989, Campbell was awarded a Medal of Valor and was known as a hardworking officer and was considered a role model for other officers.Campbell is the second former SPPD officer to be wounded in the line of duty.The first loss of a law enforcement officer in Burbank was in 1920 when City Marshall Robert L. Normand was shot and killed by three men he arrested for suspicion of robbing a local store. The first officer killed in the line of duty in Ventura County was Santa Paula City Marshal Henry Norman, who was investigating a complaint of desperadoes in the riverbed south of the city. Norman was shot and killed on Nov. 25, 1913, almost100-years-ago.
Campbell: Critically wounded Burbank officer former SPPD
November 21, 2003
Santa Paula News
An officer shot and critically wounded in Burbank in a gunfight with suspected gang members that left his partner dead is a former Santa Paula senior police officer and recipient of a Medal of Valor.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesAn officer shot and critically wounded in Burbank in a gunfight with suspected gang members that left his partner dead is a former Santa Paula senior police officer and recipient of a Medal of Valor.Gregory Campbell, 41, remains hospitalized in Burbank after two gunman fired on him and his partner, Matthew Pavelka, 26, outside a hotel. Pavelka, a former Simi Valley resident who joined the Burbank PD about 10 months ago, died from his wounds.One of the gunmen also died in the Nov. 15 shootout and a second gunman is being sought.SPPD Chief Bob Gonzales told the City Council at the November 17th meeting that “Greg was here for about four-and-a-half years when he left in the late 1980s and pursued his career in Burbank.”Chief Gonzales said a “delegation of SPPD officers,” visited with Campbell and the wounded officer is “doing well, resting. . .I’m not sure what the prognosis is but he is recovering,” from his gunshot wounds.“Greg was a fine officer and a very nice man,” said former Mayor Carl Barringer. “I hope he recovers fully.”
