City Honors 'American Ninja Warrior' Host for Helping Catch Hit & Run Driver

By ELIZABETH HSING-HUEI CHOU

LOS ANGELES, CA - Former NFL defensive end and "American Ninja Warrior" co-host Akbar Gbaja-Biamila received a commendation from the City Council today -- not for his career achievements but for coming to the aid of a motorcycle officer who was struck by a hit-and-run driver in his South Los Angeles neighborhood.

On June 5, 2015, the football player turned TV host and sports analyst saw an SUV slam into and throw Los Angles police Officer Henry Colebrooke from his motorcycle at the intersection of Vernon and Denker avenues.

The driver took off, leaving Colebrooke seriously injured. Gbaja-Biamila stopped to check on Colebrooke, carrying him out of the street, out of the way traffic.

After checking that Colebrooke was stable, Gbaja-Biamila got back into his car to chase the hit-and-run driver, eventually managing to take pictures that helped authorities apprehend and successfully prosecute the perpetrator.

Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson said during the City Council presentation that due to Gbaja-Biamila's swift action "Officer Colebrooke is OK, and we just want to celebrate this kind of heroism."

Harris-Dawson noted Gbaja-Biamila's roots in South Los Angeles, which includes being a member of the Crenshaw High School basketball and football teams.

Colebrooke, who has since recovered from the collision, was joined by his family today as he publicly thanked Gbaja-Biamila for his help and the information he was able to obtain about the hit-and-run driver.

"I was very appreciative of what he did because if it wasn't for him I had nothing," Colebrooke said. "All I could see was that it was a Pontiac with no license plate, and the city of Los Angeles would have never been able to hold accountable the person who did this."

Colebrooke said he was impressed that Gbaja-Biamila refused to accept thank-you gifts, saying it was enough officers like him were serving his community.

"It shows his true character, and I really appreciate what he did that day," Colebrooke said.

Gbaja-Biamila said he was especially struck by the many people who drove off without stopping to help Colebrooke.

"It was just people not getting involved, it was people driving by," he said. "For me, I saw a father. Even though I had never met his family, I knew that was potentially somebody's father, he's somebody's son and just seeing that officer down, I just thought it was important to give a lending hand."

He also referred to the sometimes uneasy relationship between police and South Los Angeles residents, saying that "obviously with all the stuff in the media, there is this distrust between officers and the community."

"Hopefully this recognition will help to bridge the gap between the community and police officers," he said.

City News Service; Photo: Wikimedia Commons