unit. they were driving along pulled street when they ran the license plate of a car in front of them. the registration sticker display showed 2012, indicating car registration. their onboard computer results showing the registration expired in 2009. noting the discrepancy, the officer decided to pull the car over to investigate. as they activated the licensed siren, the car turned east and exhilarated at a higher rate of speed. suddenly the car with the driver in the front passenger pulled over just west of oregon, appearing to heat for the traffic stop. -- to he'd for the traffic stop. just as they were exiting the car for the traffic stop, the driver of the stopped vehicle abruptly took off running. he ran east along bush street and turned south on larkin

street, running in the middle of traffic. not knowing what they had, the officers a housimmediately gaind chase on foot. officers minkel and everson are gaining on a suspect when suddenly he turned and fired multiple shots from a handgun he had hidden in his possession. the officers debated around by movement in her incubating on this subject. at great risk to their own lives, these officers continue their pursuit of the now known violent subject and prepared to return fire. officer everson exercise a considerable amount of restraint as there were numerous pedestrians. he did not in gauge the suspect. officer minkel had a clear range

of fire and engaged in two rounds of fire. fearing for his partner's it did, he ordered the loan front passenger tuesday and the suspect vehicle and ran to assist. not knowing what to expect when he rounded the corner, he continued toward the danger, and ultimately ended up providing cover as officers moved into reductioa safe area. the suspect had a mind set he was not going back to prison, as he was a bird strike ended it with a long history of incarceration. even stated to the passenger he was not going to be caught. 32 caliber handgun he fired until empty of the officers had been stolen in a san francisco burglary a week prior in currently wanted on two outstanding felony warrants, including a burglary warrant from the south bay were 20 tons were stolen.

these officers made a traffic stop that turned into a life verses death situation. the fact that the suspect ran from the car and officers gave chase, not knowing what they had was not necessarily braid, it was their job. to continue the pursuit of the suspect showed an act of bravery and courage beyond active -- call of duty. they continue the pursuit of a deadly violent offender. they weighed the risks to their lives and others as they continue to move and ultimately engage the suspect in the battle. officer ever send could have fired upon the moving suspect it chose not to risk the collateral damage. officer minkel, having a clear window of virus, precisely return to rounds, neutralizing that threat to them and the public in general. based on the actions of these officers on that fateful day, officer thomas minkel and

everson will be awarded the gold medal of valor, the highest department medal of honor. [applause]

>> again, it is my honor to present you the heroic acts of officer patrick prevent and michael jersey -- patrick giffin and tursi. there were called to an apartment the man who is threatening to kill those who stood in his way. he was a former tenant. he was gone before officers arrived that day. later, friday, june 24, officers were called to the same apartment building after it was reported someone had fired an assault rifle. no suspect was present, but it was determined an assault rifle

had been fired into the sidewalk. the officer was signed -- they were assigned as members of the street crime unit. they developed information that led to the identification of the weapons owner who had an extensive criminal history. they continued their relentless investigation into this event and identified the criminal, determining an additional possible home address and weapons. on the early morning hours of wednesday, june 29, officer griffin received a phone call that provided of potential location for the now-wanted subject. officer griffin contacted a supervisor and partner. after working a leak investigation the night before, these dedicated officers return to work after just a few hours' rest in an effort to locate and arrests a dangerous criminal. and they met at the station in order to set up surveillance on the suspect in question.

they responded to the location at 7:00. officer griffin, the driver, droves through the rear garage area of the identified property. as the approach the garage as the rear, and get a slowly opened. the men saw a car pulling up to the exit, and immediately recognize the driver as the subject they were seeking. knowing his propensity for violence and the fact that he had numerous weapons, griffin and tursi made a quick decision to park the police carxgñ?ñ? to prevent the exit. they knew they put them selves at risk. officer tursi exited the car and drove his handgun. he then moved to an area of limited coverage north of the gate. simultaneously, officer griffin exited the car and tactfully moved to the tree line south of

the gate. while moving to cover, officer tursi saw the suspect moving to his we stand. he then quickly pointed a handgun toward officer griffin. officer tursi yelled gun. the return fire to stop the deadly threat. the suspect appeared to a bid struck as he stopped firing and continue to drive away from officers. the suspect drove across all lanes and struck parked cars. it took a position of cover, not knowing the suspect had been injured by returned fire. when additional units arrived, it was discovered the suspect had been seriously injured and was found unconscious. officers rendered aide, called for an ambulance, and retrieve the hand and the suspect had used. tonight officers patrick grant and michael tursi are being recognized for their efforts.

they are being awarded the gold medal of valor. [applause] >> captain paul chignell, along

with officers tastings ahastingd lopez. >> good evening to you all. my pleasure to introduce richard hastings and that lopez. -- matt lopez. saturday, july 16, 2011, officer richard hastings and asked matt lopez were on duty and in uniform. their primary assignment was to be on a fixed post detail on the imminence of a railway platform on third street between oakdale avenue and plu avenue.

this platform and the surrounding areas are notorious for high incidence of robberies, aggravated assaults, indiscriminate shootings, gang activity, illegal firearm possession, as well as a multitude of quality of life cripes. the bayview station has dedicated a high-level police resources to this area, particularly to a recent rash of robberies on and adjacent to the platform. well on the platform, officers tastings and lopez contacted the subject later identified as kenneth harding jr.. he was on the railway vehicle. the officers determined the suspect was riding without benefit obtained. the officers escorted the subject off of the vehicle without incident and requested he sit down on one of the benches nearby. mr. harding complied with that

request well officer lopez conducted a standard warrant record check. as he heard officers radio transmission, he suddenly leapt to his feet and started to run east across third street into the crowded plaza with officers and foot pursuit. suddenly, and from a distance of 10 feet from the pursuing officers, harding a ride of the northern part of the plaza and reached his right hand under his left arm and then fired several rounds from his handgun at both of the officers. the officers immediately engaged in a firefight with the suspect. he then it fell to the ground, suffering a gunshot wounds. officers approached the suspect to taken into custody and render medical aid. numerous responding officers arrived on the scene and observed the officers surrounded by a mob, many of whom were

screaming and provoking hostility towards officers. as they attempted to secure the time seen -- crime scene, the mom became increasingly provocative with the threats directed towards officers. ultimately officers from four police stations and the tactical unit arrived to clear the plaza of the mall. in the aftermath of the shooting, it was determine the suspect was of recidivist criminal who was wanted in seattle, washington, for the murder of young, pregnant woman just one week before. this inference is the police department delayed -- delineates the criteria that must be met for an officer of the san francisco police department to be awarded the medal of valor. that includes outstanding bravery beyond that expected in a line of duty, or failure to take such action would not justify censure. with the rest of life actually existed and officer had time to

evaluate the risk, and where the objective is of the sufficient importance to the risk, and lastly and most importantly, where the officer accomplish the objective. on july 16, 2011, officer richard hastings and matthew lopez the kill each and every requested criteria for the medal of valor. they exemplified bravery of the highest level. in doing their duty and deterred by the fact that their lives were in imminent peril. they engaged in a gunbattle with a career criminal who was engaged with the ones in respect for public life and wanted to escape to not be held accountable for a vicious murder. san francisco police officers know at any time and anywhere they need to put their lives on the line to do their duty to stop a criminal. july 16, 2011, officer richard hastings and mathew lopez put

their lives on the line and did their duty. for that, they're being awarded the most prestigious award, the gold medal of valor. [applause]

>> those were the last of the nominees and recipients. the chief amount to the closing. -- will now do the closing. many of the people on the stage and an audience were present. as amazing as the stories were, you had to see it to believe it. some of the actions these officers took. we recognize the tennis solomon a moment ago, but i want to recognize something. many of officers recognize are not first generation san francisco police officers. four of the six are not first generation san francisco police officers. can i get the other generation of police officers that gave us

these police officers to stand up and be recognized. [applause] >> talk about raising your kids right. another recognition i want to make is we are going to experience in the next 30 days of record exit of police officers, especially commissioned officers due to the sun setting of the retirement program. many of the people that are going out red nominations tonight. if i could, all officers that will be retiring and leaving us, they we think you for your service by getting you to stand. [applause]

that is going to close our program. know that all of these officers when they get back to work, they will go out again looking for trouble and probably find it. i trust they will demonstrate again what these officers do every day, and that is keep this city safe. the command staff and commission will be available for pictures. family and kids for sure. if you can get your metal back from this little guy. thank you very much. hopefully we will see you all again soon. keep the officers in your thoughts and prayers. keep them safe. [applause]

>> good morning, everyone. thank you for making this a reality. without you, it would not have happened. let's hear it for the volunteers. [applause] >> i have organized this for 17 years. together, we are the friends of the pink chronicle. we are trying to get the message out of what can happen. we are all wearing our print -- pink triangle t-shirts income

robbery with those who were in it in concentration camps. there are reminders of hate and intolerance and an appreciation of what we -- of where we stand during pride weekend. it is to remind you of the hatred and prejudice of the past and that it still exists in some parts of the world. while we have a wonderfully tolerance city, it is not as tall or elsewhere. i would like to welcome congresswoman democratic leader nancy pelosi. [applause] the mayor of santa francisco, the honorable ed lee. [applause] former mayor and lifetime

achievement grand marshal, brown jr. [applause] senator mark leno. [applause] assemblyperson tom amiano. [applause] san francisco treasurer jose cisneros. [applause] the recorder of the city, phil. [applause] the president of the sentences court of supervisors, david ch iu. [applause] supervisor campos. [applause] supervisor wiener.

[applause] supervisor cohen. [applause] and we're thrilled to have so many of the grand marshals at the parade. [applause] carmen carrera of ru paul's drag race. [applause] global grand marshal bishop christopher. [applause] [applause] gilbert baker award recipient, gilbert baker himself.

he is the creator of the international symbol, the rainbow flag. [applause] individual community grand marshals rebecca, gary -- i do not know if he is here today because he has a very busy day. he hosts the pride run that is gone on in about 30 minutes. -- that is going on in about 30 minutes. and we are thrilled to once again have the san francisco lesbian and gay bad, the official bant -- band, the official band of pride week. [applause]

we have the board chair, lisa williams as well as the executive director. [applause] the sisters of perpetual indulgence skerrit -- of perpetual indulgence, the castro alliance club, thankyou all. [applause] thanks to danny for the website and d.j. josh, one of the community grand marshals. [applause] and i would like to thank all of you for your help, especially my sister colleen and my partner,

jose. [applause] and my mother. everyone is so lucky to have you. we start off the program each year with a reminder of what the pink triangle is about. to tell the history of the pink triangle, please welcome the star of greece. -- of grease. [applause] >> good morning writ -- good morning. this is too much to take in this early. you guys are amazing. the history of the pink triangle. the pink triangle was used by

nazis in concentration camps to identify and shame homosexuals. this symbol, which was used in an attempt to label and shame, has been embraced by the gay community as a symbol of pride. [applause] that is right. however, in the 1930's and 1940's, there was nothing to celebrate. gays were forced to wear the pink triangle on their pockets in the concentration camps. to identify them as homosexuals, to set them apart from the other prisoners. triangles of various colors were used to identify each category of undesirable. yellow for the jewish, brown for gypsies, red for political prisoners, green for prisoners, black for anti-socialist, purple for jehovah's witness, blue for immigrants, and tank for

homosexuals. the pink triangles were slightly larger than the other triangle'' so that the guards could identify them from a distance. it is said that those who wore the pink triangles were singled out by the guards to receive harsher treatment and when the guards were finished with them, some of the other inmates would harm them as well. at the end of the war, when the concentration camps were finally liberated, virtually all of the prisoners were released except for those with the pink triangle. many of those with pink triangles on their pockets were put back into prison and the nightmare continued. it is the same kind of senseless, irrational hatred that still haunts days, jews, blacks, and other minorities today. the taliban in afghanistan required non-muslims to wear

identifying badges on their clothing, just as the nazis required their undesirables to wear those logos so long ago. history repeats itself. that is why 26 -- excuse me, that is why the twin peaks this play is so important. -- display is so important. we have to help educate others and present -- and prevent it from happening again. what happened during the holocaust must never be repeated. [applause] >> to illustrate that that same kind of it hatred -- same kind

of hatred exists, we would like to welcome mr. christopher to talk about his efforts in uganda, where they try to have legislation to execute days. [applause] -- execute gays. >> what has been happening in you gonjeh. -- in uganda, in the old days of the yemen persecution of the homosexuals. homosexuality in uganda can be punished by death, hanging. and imprisonment for life. and for