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]

>> hello. and welcome to "need your district supervisor -- meet your district supervisor." supervisors campos is our supervisor for this week. welcome. thank you for joining us today. tell us about your background. where you grew up, went to school? >> sure.

i was born in guatemala. i was brought here by my parents. i grew up in l.a., and then moved up to the bay area, and i went to stanford. i came back after law school. my background for the first few years was as a practicing attorney. i worked in the private sector for a number of years. and then i worked for the city as a deputy city attorney and then became general counsel of the school district of san francisco and through that became involved in politics and at some point decided to run for office. >> you have lived in san francisco for awhile. why did you decide to live here? supervisor campos: i have always felt that san francisco is unique. i have always loved this city. i think that san francisco is --

it represents the best of what this country has to offer. it is a place that welcomes people from all over the world, from all over the country, and is a place that not only tolerates, but actually increases diversity. it is a place that is forward thinking in terms of how it looks at issues, and it has always felt like home. as a gay latino man, i felt this was a place where i could be happy. >> why did you get involved? supervisor campos: i think a lot of the past to do with my being an immigrant. i am very grateful for all the opportunities this country has given me. only in this country could someone like me have an

opportunity to go from having nothing to go to stanford, harvard law school, and to be an attorney. it really is a way of giving back. i really believe that when you are blessed with the opportunities that this country gives you, that you have an obligation to give back. i really believe in public service. i could be in the private sector and make a lot of money, but i believe i have a duty to try to make things better for other people and to pay back the country that has given me so much. >> looking back to your campaign for supervisor, what lesson did you walk away with after that experience? did anything surprise you? supervisor campos: the first lesson is how lucky we are to live in san francisco how lucky i am to represent district 9. as you indicated, it includes bernal heights, and it also

includes the portola. it is such a rich district. getting to know people of the district through the campaign, doing the job of a supervisor has been the most rewarding super rigid experience. -- the most rewarding experience. it is amazing how the people are. it has been a great experience. i do not know that i fully understood the richness of this district until i was actually talking to so many people on the campaign trail. now as a supervisor i see it every day. i see that. and there are challenges in these tough economic times. but i also see so much potential, so many amazing people, and we in city government have an opportunity to address so many problems and

make so many things better. the campaign was a learning experience on so many levels. beyond that, i think you've learned something about yourself when you are putting yourself out there through the political process. i was very lucky that i had that opportunity because where i come from something as basic as free, democratic elections, that is a luxury. people participate in the democratic process. that is something that is quite amazing and remarkable. i think that you do not fully appreciate it if you have had it all your life. whereas someone who came from a place where that was not possible, i think that i have a unique appreciation for it. it was really an exciting thing to do. >> where would you place yourself now on the political spectrum?

the left, the right? supervisor campos: i think the labels can mean a lot of different things. i see myself as someone who ultimately has tried to make things better for people. i have a progressive outlook in terms of how i see things. by progressive i mean the sense that we have to make government and the city work for everyone, and that means that not just those who are doing well. it is also those who are not doing so well. it also means making sure the city works for the middle class and to think of innovative ways of addressing issues and to not be afraid to think outside the box. that is what i see as being "progressive," in that sense. ultimately, there is a guiding

principle. that is how i approach government. i believe in good government, transparency, accountability. i believe in making sure that we follow best practices. i think that is something that often times transcends the left, the middle, the right. it goes beyond that. and that is why, you know, as a supervisor i focus so much on contracts and how the city spends money, which is not traditionally a progressive issue. but i believe we have an obligation to make every penny count and to make sure that we are making the most for the very limited resources we have. >> let's talk about the issues facing san francisco. what do you feel are the biggest issues facing the city right now? supervisor campos: clearly the budget and the economy is a huge

issue. it has to be a priority for everyone. we are still going through a very tough economic time. we are still not where we need to be in terms of job creation and economic development. i think we are very lucky we live in san francisco because it is a very animated place. -- innovative place. government has to work not only with the business community, but with community groups to see how we can create economic development that works for every san franciscan. i think that remains a big issue. and balancing the budget will be a priority. has to be a priority. we will do that. we have done that time and time again. public safety is also something we are very interested in. it has to be a priority, because if we do not have public safety,

nothing else works. one of the things we are focusing on is trying to focus on how policing works in san francisco. i used to be a member of the police commission, and i learned that the most effective community policing is the policing where you have the police and the community working together. it is important to have police officers on the street and have the police presence. at the same time, there has to be a connection within the police and the community. so, that requires -- also we have a focus on violence prevention. in the mission, we are focused on gang activity. we have to balance the very important work of the police would be very important violence prevention work -- with the very importance violence prevention work we're doing on the ground.

so, public safety is something we will keep pushing on. we are trying to create a definition of community policing the recognizes that policing should change depending on the neighborhood, but also have key components throughout the city. we talk about community policing without no -- knowing what it means. another challenge is transportation. as the city, you are defined by how well your public transportation works or how well it does not work. even though we have had improvements in muni, i think we have to do a lot better. and i think there are issues in terms of the services that are provided, the reliability of the system. i think the ridership is rightly frustrated they have been asked to pay more for less. i do not think that is right.

we have focused on the operational and management fees. we tried to make public transportation acceptable to people. i have worked with the other supervisors to provide -- other supervisors supervisor mirkarimi and mayor lee. this allows us to make an investment in public education, but also a long-term investment in public transportation, because as young people from an early age to use the system, the public transportation system, they are going to be committed to public transportation for years to come. >> do you feel additional issues that are facing your district -- that there are additional issues that are facing your district that are unique to your district that you have not mentioned? supervisor campos: there are issues that come up, whether you're talking about the mission, bernal heights,

portola. one of the issues we have worked on in bernal heights is the issue of protecting a mural around the public library, which is an issue that raise a lot of other things. it led to a larger discussion in terms of who we are as a community. some people wanted to preserve the mural. others wanted to get rid of the mural. and we believe in a dialogue. so we brought together in mediation everyone so we could come to an understanding of what our common ground was and to see if we could agree on certain basic things, and we were able to come up with a solution that makes sense for the entire community. in a sense, it reflected larger issues that are impacting the city as a whole.

so, there are issues like that that would require a knowledge of the neighborhood, and knowledge of what is happening on the ground, and knowing the difference is of how all bernal heights may look at an issue vis a vis the mission or portola. as a supervisor, i do have to be able to balance managing citywide issues, which is very important, but at the same time, focusing on the specific needs of your neighborhood. that is really important to us. one of the things we need to prioritize is that making sure we focus on the nuts and bolts of government. a lot of the calls we get involved fixing alights, replacing a pothole. i think it is really important to make sure we get those things right and we try to work very closely with the city agency to make sure government is

responsive. if we do not do those things right, those little things, which are big things in life of a neighborhood. >> how you reconcile the needs of your district with the needs of the city? supervisor campos: i think it is possible to do that. even though we have these great districtwide elections, i think district election still allow you to deal with larger issues. we feel that we certainly have demonstrated that as a board. individual supervisors have demonstrated that. one of the pieces of legislation we worked on last year that we are very proud of is the health services master plan, which is legislation that for the first time has a city like san francisco thinking about the health needs of the city of seoul.

-- cities as all whole. it is good for us to know what the health care needs of the city are going to be in the next couple of years or long term. so, making sure those who do planning and other things, that we think strategically about the need citywide and also neighborhood by neighborhood. and we were able to do that and pass that legislation as a district-elected supervisors, even though this is legislation that impacts the entire city in the future of health care in san francisco for many years to come. i think it is possible to do both. it is definitely possible. >> let's talk about budgets. the city is faced with tough budget decisions. including where to make cuts and whether or not to increase taxes. how will he make these tough choices -- will you make these

tough choices? supervisor campos: the budget is the most important policy document that the city can pass. it reflects the priorities of city government. i believe we have to be creative in how we look at the issue of the budget. it is important for me that certain things happen. i think that public safety has to be a priority in the budget, the public safety cannot be compromised to save a few dollars. but i think the public safety goes beyond funding the police department and the fire department, as important as that is. it includes funding violence prevention programs, after- school programs so someone has -- and people have something to do after school, funding our department for recreational opportunities for young people during the summer or after school.

if you do not do that, that will have implications on public safety. the safety has to be protected, because if we do not do that, we are creating more problems that will be even more costly in the long run. i think that we have to think about it in a very strategic way. i think it is important to protect the safety net. i think we have to find efficiencies in terms of where we can do things better. i think the issue of overtime is something we have to continue to monitor and make sure we reduce overtime costs as much as possible. but i also believe that there is only so much that you can cut in terms of balancing this budget. that you have to think of creative ways, innovative ways to inject revenue into the system. and i think we need to think about options, and is a conversation we need to have with all of