Sixteen Los Angeles police officers have been chosen to receive the department's Medal of Valor for bravery in the line of duty.

The civilian board that oversees the LAPD voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the department's selection of the officers, who were cited by officials for "displaying extreme courage while consciously facing imminent peril." The medal is the department's highest honor.

Ten of the officers were involved in a chaotic 2005 shootout in South L.A. between the LAPD's elite SWAT unit and a deranged man who opened fire on police while holding his toddler daughter. One officer was shot during the confrontation, and the officers killed the man and the girl. Four officers are being honored for saving people from a fire that engulfed a Chatsworth apartment building, and two others for confronting violent suspects.

The group will be awarded the medals at a ceremony in May.