terrible station confronted a deadly situation on the 1800 block of urban street. 1800 block of urban street is a light commercial corridor, starts on 19th avenue and runs nw. it contains many restaurants and businesses and is surrounded by residents. in many of the businesses, they are owned by business owners -- they are owned by asian business owners. this was the beginning of the lunar new year. when they arrived to work, they decided to walk a foot speed on irving street. as they arrived on 1800 block, unbeknownst to them, two men with violent criminal histories or having an argument inside one of the restaurants. these men were career criminals with asian gang affiliations. their arrest histories include robbery, carjacking, trafficking, assault weapons.

this argument escalated and moved out onto the street, growing heated, just as sergeant gordon pulled the car to the curb approximately 10 feet from the restaurant. the string of four parking spaces next to his vehicle were empty, so he had a clear, unobstructed view of the two men as they came out of the restaurant arguing. sergeant gordon saw one man pushed the other backwards and told lt. parra there was a fight in progress and both police began to exit their car. in that instant, sergeant gordon saw that one man now have a revolving in his hands and was shooting in down irving street in the direction of the other man. surgeon court and chatted to lt. parra that they now had an argument that had escalated to a shooting. both officers sprang into action without hesitation. sergeant gordon, while driving his firearm, alerted dispatchers

and other officers that a shooting was in progress. lt. parra, while drawing his fire arm, and exited the passenger side of the vehicle, move to the sidewalk, and john for pedestrians to get off the street. in those put seconds, the victim fell to the ground and the suspect fired additional shots in a denver direction, executing him. sergeant gordon and lt. parra were now within 10 feet of an armed murderer. there were no vehicles behind which they could take cover. their field of fire was the backdrop of a busy irving street. it was packed with pedestrians, class storefronts, passing motorists, and an armed killer. these officers knew that they had to end the deadly threat posed by this man. yet, they knew any rounds fired on that street, whether by them or the suspect, who had the potential to kill or individual

victims. they knew they had to draw the attention of this suspect and gain control of him to prevent any further loss of life. sergeant gordon and lt. parra did not hesitate. they confronted the suspect, shouting out that they were the police and ordering him to drop his weapon. with nothing between them and this murder, they used their tactical expertise to triangulate on the suspect. they chose to close the distance between them. advancing on the murder in a purposeful manner. they knew every foot of sidewalk or st. they could close would reduce the number of pedestrians and civilians exposed. the suspect turned toward them with gun in hand. lt. parra and sergeant gordon were no more than 5 feet from the man. both had that split-second to realize that they were on the brink of using deadly force with

all of its consequences. once again, the officers ordered the suspect to drop his gun. staring down officers, the suspect raised the gun and then tossed it to the ground. lt. parra and sergeant gordon maintained control of the scene. they directed the subjects -- suspect to the ground and directed him away from the gun, handcuffing him. they also rendered aid to the victim in an attempt to save his life. they turned their attention to isolating other potential suspects. they directed the arriving units to secure the suspect, perimeter, murder weapon, to locate witnesses, they ran a textbook investigation and follow-up. we are tremendously fortunate that these two officers were on that street that night. their outstanding bravery and ability to respond without hesitation, there's protection

decision making to assess, tactically respond to, and control the immediate deadly threat, their willingness to put their lives at risk, knowing it was necessary to save the lives of others, their control and disciplined response initially and managing the resulting homicide scene, for these actions, the arabs each being awarded the gold medal of valor. [applause]

>> commissioner dejesus wanted to say a few words. >> i also want to thank all of the awardees tonight. i also want to acknowledge our officers give time, energy, and oftentimes money in the community they live in, as well as to the children in those communities. lt. henry parr is the coordinator of the housing authority but is also active in the operation dream, which gives toys to children in the housing -- over $25,000. they will start distributing those toys december 20 through december 23. we are going to post and on the website.

i just wanted knowledge, in doing your everyday work, they give so much time to our community, and this is a wonderful thing to do to give toys to the children of those in the housing authority. thank you. [applause]

>> now we will have the medal of valor presentation for sgt timothy paine, sergeant james o'malley, sgt gregory kane, officer william eleiff, and officer steven stearns. [applause]

>> on may 5, 2004, a round in o'clock p.m., there was an attempted kidnapping of strangers of a woman and her son. the suspect proceeded in a chevy trailblazer and used a large caliber gun and fled westbound on any street. the suspect's description was broadcast five minutes later at 8:05. two minutes after that, officer eleiff saw the suspect vehicle and paged and began following it. as he broadcast, holding a court microphone, his location, the vehicle sped off at a high rate of speed. opposite the live activated his lights and sirens and pursue the

vehicle. the suspect drove west on haight and then northwest on the visitor. the suspect drove northbound in the southbound lanes of the visitor. of azeri live broadcast a license plate as the suspect turned west on hayes. the suspect drove north on broadway and fired one shot at officer eleiff. , -- stearns, and kane. those shots can be heard of the recording of the night. the suspect headed north and again leaned out the window to fire at the pursuing officers. the suspect then turned eastbound on to turkey into

oncoming one way traffic. officers paine and o'malley saw the vehicle traveling up a high rate of speed on to oncoming traffic. officer pain is a specialist. they are more heavily trained in these types of situations. knowing the information, he attempted to halt the suspect by firing at the suspect. the round, but officers hearing the shot at the suspect had fired at them. officers o'malley and paine, knowing that officer eleiff was a single unit, decided to pursue the suspect. the suspect continued into oncoming traffic until he turned north on webster and the east oneddy, sot on buchanan. during this pursuit, officer you

lift prop broadcast the suspects route while driving, holding the microphone in one hand. once in large rally, the suspect drove along the block calling for residents of the housing project to come out and stop his car. officers paid and o'malley not arrived at the other end of the alley. officer of valley got out of his car and ran down the building line toward the vehicle. the vehicle started again. fear of the suspect might get into another altercation with civilians, as this was mayor of the scene of the initial incident, or leave the alley to in danger citizens and officers, officer of valley stopped -- officer o'malley shot one shot. the suspect fired a round at them through his back window. officers came, stern, and the live, returned fire without hitting the suspect. the officers continued their verbal commands to the suspect

to put up his hands and leave the vehicles. the suspect got out of the driver's door, raised his hands, took off his shirt doing a full circle. the suspect then dropped his hands to his waist and took a few steps toward the officers who did not fire at these provoking actions. the suspect then returned to his car and sat on the running board. officers kept up a stream of commands for the suspect to surrender which he ignored. officer pain move down the alley toward the alley, warning people to get out of the street. sgt. paine had arrived at a position parallel to that of the subject -- suspect. the suspect turned in the car and appeared to be getting something. he turned back toward the officers who again held their fire. the suspect turned back toward the inside of the vehicle, appeared to shield his movement. officer -- sgt. kane saw the suspect reached under his driver

seat. the suspect then spun around toward the officers. sgt. paine, believing the suspect would again opened fire, fire three shots. the suspect fell to the ground. officers called for an ambulance and administered first aid. the suspect was pronounced dead at the same. the suspect's gun was recovered in the driver's door. the suspect was initially wanted for attempted to kidnap a stranger and alison son using a gun. this heinous crime testify the pursuit of the subject. the suspect's crimes showed a gravest threat to public safety. the suspect then fired repeatedly at officers. each of these officers had time to make a decision to put their lives at risk for the public safety. each of these officers could

have made decisions to not join in on the efforts or to abandon their attempts to take the dangers of its critics suspect into -- custody. officer eleiff could have backed off the chase as a 1 person unit. officer stearns and sgt. kane could have done nothing. officer came and started o'malley also could have decided not to. each of these officers showed restraint in not firing their weapons where a suspect provocative action would normally end in shooting. these officers were awarded the gold medal of valor. [applause]

>> a sgt. paine, who could not

be here tonight, was also awarded the gold medal of valor. >> it is with great pride that

we honor these individuals for their valor. every day, officers put their lives at risk and do very good police work and we do not do enough to thank them for that. i am brought to be part of a ceremony where we can point to these heroes and thank them publicly, the way that we should do so every day publicly. so thank you again. [applause] the police commission and the park would would also like to think the diversity of california's san francisco for its generous support in co- sponsored tonight's event. we would like to single out the

community relations office and the conference center office for putting tonight's ceremony and their generous support. i also want to thank ms. tom. she is the one that put the packs together and organized the event. she did a lot of work and happy that she could be here tonight. this concludes our ceremony. there will be refreshments out in front. there is a photographer. you want to take pictures. i am going to go outside and shake the hands of some heroes and thank them. i hope that you will do the same. thank you for coming again.

>> welcome to "culturewire." since december 2005, the museum of the african diaspora, known locally,moad, has presented programs that celebrate and explore the culture, history, and art of people with african descent throughout the and added states and throughout the world.

the director of cultural affairs recently met with the museum director. to learn more about the current expedition, textural rhythms, constructing the jazz tradition, contemporary african american quilts. >> welcome to "culturewire." today, we are at the museum of the african diaspora, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary occupying one of the premier cultural district in the world, the yerba buena cultural arts center in san francisco. joining me is the cultural art director. tell us what moad's mission is. what does it do? >> the museum of the african diaspora showcases the history,

art, and cultural richness that resulted from the dispersal of africans throughout the world. we do that through compelling and innovative exhibitions, public programs, and education programs. our goal is to celebrate and present for appreciation to our broad and diverse public the controversial energy contributions of people of african descent to world culture in all aspects in all areas, including politics, culture, economics, education, just in all aspects of cultural forms of expression. >> one of the fascinating things since 2005 when the museum was established, is that it has become clear from science that all of humanity originates in africa. how does that influence the education programs or presentation here at moad? >> obviously, being able to attenuate that, and there is a sign at the door that says,

"when did you know that you were african?" our point is that we share a common dna, and it connects us on a number of different levels. this institution is an institution available to everyone, a resourced for everyone. >> you have both permanent and temporary exhibitions, right? >> we do. our temporary exhibition program is one that we are restructuring. i have been here now for about a year and a few months, and as a former curator, i'm very interested in this aspect of developing the visual arts program. part of what we are looking at is using the four core seems that define our program -- origins, migration and movement, transformation, an adaptation -- as a framework for our thinking about the kinds of exhibits we present. >> we want everybody to come and see the permanent exhibition.

there might be a special opportunity to visit with the current show that you currently have, which is constructing the jazz tradition, which is a very striking exhibition of quilts. >> it is a compelling exhibit on a number of different levels. visually, it is compelling. in terms of the subject matter, in terms of the approach to materials, it is so rich and diverse. it is a colorful show, a show that is deep in content, and we know something of the history of the "'s tradition within the african-american community. it is a tradition that came from africa, has its roots in africa, but during slavery, this was a combination of things. one was a way to be able to communicate with each other, a way to create beautiful objects, and a way to create functional, utilitarian objects for the family and community. the other part that makes it so interesting is the focus on

jazz. there are two attritions being celebrated here. certainly, the tradition as we know it -- these are not traditional quilts. they have their roots in traditional aspects, but what you will find in this exhibition are works that include materials on the surface, new processes, copying, and putting photographic images on the surface. you will find packets sewn onto the surface, so the methodology from traditional " making has changed from how traditional quilt makers use the medium. >> our visitors can visit the web site, which we will be showing on the segment, so follow the link to the website, and get all of the latest information about all these events related to this exhibition, and, of course, you guys are very active. throughout the year, with all

kinds of special programs. >> yes, we are. this is what i'm so excited about. >> this may take us off track a little bit, but a couple of things i wanted to highlight is that the creation of moad is one of the flagship creations of the redevelopment of san francisco. it is housed inside -- what is the building? the regency, right? >> the st. regis museum tower. >> the st. regis museum tower, which is one of the development projects that was promoted by the redevelopment agency is what allows the city to -- and the development agency to give form and establish moad in the yerba buena cultural district. now, we are looking at governor brown oppose a proposal, which means that in the future, it he is successful, they would not

have had the rebel the agency to promote these economic and cultural projects. it is something that has relevance today in terms of public policy today, what is going to happen in the future if we do not have a redevelopment agency to promote this development. >> yes. moad is the result or culmination of a public/private partnership that included the redevelopment agency and former mayor brown, and included the developer of this area. we had an opportunity to develop, create important cultural components of this public/private partnership. i understand the concern. i'm delighted they are here and will continue to be here and will continue to do the good work we are doing. >> absolutely. thank you so much for being part of "culturewire."

>> thank you for having me. >> for more information about the museum of the african the museum of the african diaspora, visit moadsf.org.