[applause] >> next, commander dave lozar, the prior commanding officer of central station. >> if i also can ask captain pauli to come up, commanding

officer from central station to stand with their officers. good evening to all the officers and families that are here. it's my pleasure to introduce to you officers fischer and o obrochta, and others. on thursday, september 25, 2014, at approximately 5:00 a.m., a woman in richmond, california, entered and started her vehicle. the suspect approached her, armed with a handgun and told the victim that he would, quote, take her away from all of this. the suspect, fearing for her life quickly got out of her s.u.v. and began running away. the suspect took aim, and shot, missing here.

completing the carjacking, the suspect fled the scene. the victim called the police and within minutes, the officers located the vehicle and attempted pursuit. richmond police continued pursuit as the primary pursuing unit does until the pursuit was taken over by the california highway patrol. the c.h.p. pursued the violent carjacking suspect web on i-580, the southbound u.s. 101. the pursuit continued over the golden gate bridge and into the city. once the pursuit entered indivi

at the intersection on their way to work that morning. three of those workers in an effort to assist the driver of the carjacked s.u.v. approached the vehicle. the suspects, still armed with a russian revolver handgun, took

aim on one of the samaritans and fired a round at him. the victim who could, quote, taste the gun powder, was hit with a fragment. he and two of his companions he was with fled to safety. the suspect shot through a window a block away at 353 sacramento street, suite 1140, where an attorney was working in his office. officers johnson and macaluay were the first to arrive, among others. these officers were immediately confronted with a violent and extremely dangerous carjacking suspect. the suspect was moving around in the interior of the vehicle as

the vehicle rested on its driver's side. these officers, to the best of their ability, took cover with some of the officers initially out in the open. the officers were giving commands to the suspect to give up, and the suspect failed to comply, and they were giving commands both in english and spanish. sergeants fischer and obrochta, the supervisors the day shift, arrived and joined the officers. they and the officers realized the danger they were facing, knowing the suspect was involved in a carjacking where a shot was fired and had been involved in a high speed pursuit, and that prior to their arrival, had taken shots at a good samarton. sergeant fischer and obrochta

began giving commands to the officers to secure the scene and find cover. officers were ordering the suspect to give up, and put his hands where they could see them. the suspect responded by moving irrationally inside the vehicle and placing his foot outside the vehicles. officers were ordering the suspect to surrender, and the suspect was making statements like i'm irish and i'm in a movie. then you have to let me go. just let me go. the suspect's behavior on scene was bizarre, and the officers realized they were dealing with a dangerous suspect. the officers watched as the suspect produced a handgun and kept it in a position of low ready while standing in the interior of the vehicle.

as this developed, other officers were directing in the citizens in the perimeter to stay out of the area and not walk into the scene on california street. the officers behind me remained focused on this armed and dangerous suspect. the officers were in harm's way as they continued to order the suspect to surrender. they continued as the suspect continued to hold the handgun, and the officers behind me ordered the suspect to drop the gun. the suspect was smiling, shaking, and nodding his head while the officers gave commands. during this time, sergeant fischer and obrochta were directing the activity of the officers and ensuring they were behind cover and ordering some officers that were too close to the suspect to back up. after a long additional two minutes of the suspect being armed and acting irrational, he remained standing in the interior of the vehicle. he pointed the firearms at the officers behind me, he placed all of their lives in jeopardy,

and as a result, officer al have a ra a -- a -- alvarenga, using his deputy issued firearm, fired one shot. in conclusion, in an attempt to apprehend a violent felon who had travelled through three counties, officers were instantly confronted with a life threatening situation. officers were now with an armed gun man who had already fired his gun several times that morning. these officers behind me involved in this incident that are standing behind me demonstrated extreme bravery, knowing at any time the suspect could point the firearm in their direction and they could be hit.

the officers new the risk as they had plenty of time to evaluate it, as the four-minute standoff, which probably seemed forever, was a dangerous situation. they risked their lives that day, knowing if the suspect escaped his containment, he would continue his attempts to kill or injure other innocent bystanders and others who were traveling to the city's financial district. the officers stood their ground and were not going to give up until the situation was resolved safely, doing everything in their power to ensure there, and having no choice but to stop the threat of the suspects. for their heroism and their acts of bravery, these officers have been awarded the silver medal of

valor. congratulations. [applause] >> next, can captain steve ford, the commanding officer of bayview station, and officer ochoa please come to the stage. >> good evening. on november 6, 2016 at 1952 hours, plainclothes officer edward ochoa and his partners observed a narcotics transaction in the vicinity of 900 connecticut. most of us know that that area is plagued, unfortunately with violence, crime, and poverty. ultimately, the officers split up with officer ochoa taking the lead to approach the suspect. officer ochoa identified himself with his star visible around his neck, and directed and told the suspect to show your hands.

at this point, the suspect reached into the front of his waistband and produced a firearm, pointing it in his direction. officer ochoa, thinking quickly and fearing for his life and that of his fellow officers, fired at the suspect, discharging his firearm, and striking him with a nonfatal wound. ultimately, the suspect was taken into custody and transported to the hospital. for this display of extreme bravery, officer edward ochoa, star number 1317, is being awarded the silver medal of valor. i sincerely congratulate you for your continued dedication to safety, service, and commitment. i present to you officer edward

ochoa. >> and next, captain gironi again for the commander of mission station, please come up.

>> good evening again. try using my glasses this time, too. on april 16, 2017, at approximately 1100 hours, officer tracey turner and her partner, officer r -- ronna kuchak received a call about a possible suicidal suspect. two other offered arrived, and they responded to apartment number 9. they made contact with the suicidal male in the narrow hallway just outside the apartment on the third floor of

the building. the hallway was boarded up by a wall on one side, and a wooden banner on the other side, so it's such a small stairway. the suspect was immediately verbally confrontational to the officers as they attempted to speak to him. he began to leave and was told by officer turner that he could not do so. he then reached his right hand behind his back. officer turner, fearing that the subject was reaching for a weapon in his rear waistband, immediately grabbed the suspect kazz hand. the suspect immediately pushed away from turner's grasp and postured aggressively, ready to fight. officer turner told the subject to place his hands behind his back so he could be handcuffed. he told the -- the suspect told them, don't touch me.

leave me alone. the suspect told he was going to be handcuffed and told if he was going to get touched, there was going to be a fight, and he was going to get hit. officer kuchak and turner tried to arrest him, and he immediate turned around and tried to get out of their grasp. officer kuchak tried to perform a bar arm takedown which caused the officers to fall to the floor. officer kuchak ended up behind the subject, who was on top of the -- on top of officer turner. officer laokwansathitaya landed behind the officer on the right side. she struck the suspect multiple times with hierfists and elbows

in order to gain control over him. officers kuchak, turner, and laokwansathitaya then released that the suspect had his right-hand side around officer turner's threat and was rendering her unconscious. the suspect was suspect in the head with closed fists, and the blows had no effect. kuchak grabbed one of the fists and was able to successfully pry it off of turner's threat. officer laokwansathitaya punched the subject in the head and face multiple times to force him to get off of officer turner's neck. he still had a grasp on officer turner's neck. the suspect released his grip on officer turner, and officer kuchak used his forearm to pull the subject by the neck away from officer turner.

officer turner regained consciousness, drew her department issued o.c., and pepper sprayed the subject in the face, however, it seemed to have little to no effect on him. officer gaston was also sprayed by the o.c. but continued to help try to contain the subject. officer gaston held onto the suspect's legs, stopping him from falling 15 to 20 feet to the first floor below. the struggle continued, the suspect fell backward on top of officer kuchak, landing with his head against officer kuchak's stomach. as he had the subject pinned against him, he felt the subject pulling on his holster. officer kuchak believed the subject was attempting to unholster the weapon to use it

against himself and others. officer kuchak hit the subject in the head and shoulder area with a closed fist, causing him to let go of the firearm. officer laokwansathitaya tried to pull the subject's arm behind his back but was unable to do so. officer wheeler had responded to the call for assist, deployed his department issued baton, delivered multiple baton strikes to the suspect's neck and shoulder in order to make him let go. the officers were able to gain control of the subject and were eventually able to handcuff him. the bravery and the efforts, even at the point where one was rendered unconscious and they continued the fight to apprehension an individual that wanted to hurt himself and at the same, hurt the officers,

officer tracey turner, rhonda kuchak, carolyn gaston, kwanje laokwansathitaya have been awarded the silver medal of valor. officer tracey turner have been also given the purple heart award. i commend all of these officers and are very proud to serve with

them. [applause] >> next, captain joe mcfadden, the prior commanding officer of ingleside station and sergeant dominguez, officer chew, and trail. [applause] >> my absolute pleasure to present this to these fine

officers. i do want to thank the person that wrote up this gold medal of valor, sergeant lloyd martin. and before i could even ask him. he had it write and on my desk, so lloyd, thank you. [applause] >> this incident occurred right in this district a few blocks away, and everyone knows about it. on friday, october 14, 2016, officer dominguez, now sergeant dominguez, nate chew, and james trail were partners assigned to the ingleside housing team. at approximately 2015 hours, the three officers returned to the ingleside police station to end their tour of duty. as they were in the locker room, getting ready to go home, they heard a gut wrenching emergency communication on their radios of

shots fired. several police officers subsequently trns mied that police officer kevin downs had been shot and severely wounded by a suspect who was at large and unconfined. as a result, the officered responded to the scene, and a broadcast 406, officer needs emergency help. it's the most danger call any officer goes to. without any hesitancy, chew, dominguez, grabbed their vests. as the three officers arrived at the super hectic scene, the perimeter around the grove was setup to contain an arrest of the suspect. officer trail was driving and parked his marked sfpd vehicle on 28 avenue just south of

vicente street and subsequently informed dispatch of their location. due to the fact that it was dark with zero or no lighting, officer trail drove to an incline area near the baseball field adjacent to 28th area and vicente and illuminated the playground on the south side. it certainly helped officer trail, having grownup in the city and gone to high school, was very tfamiliar with stern grove. moments there after, sergeant chew, dominguez and trail heard the suspect was last seen running through back yards. officers chew and dominguez were approximately 15 feet apart and were looking down the hill. they subsequently saw the

suspect running in their direction and pointing a firearm directly at them. officer chew and dominguez confronted the suspect and ordered him to drop the firearm. the suspect then proceeded to shoot at officer dominguez. fearing for their safety and the safety of his colleagues, trail, jimmy trail, ran toward the gunfire. it's a very exceptional point. you know, in this time this week with all the smoke, people worried about having the right mask on, he's running toward gunfire, and bullets are zipping by his head. he still ran toward his partners. officer chew dove from the line of fire and into some vegetation that was there. officer dominguez returned fire to the suspect, and officer chew got up from jumping in the vegetation to assist his partner

and triangulated his position. the suspect refused the commands of both dominguez and chew to drop the firearm, and without any second thought, pointed the weapon at officer chew. officer chew pointed his firearm at the suspect and fired, incapacitating him. officers chew, dominguez and trail, selfishly attempted to contact and arrest an extreme violent suspect who had no regard for life. they were ultimately placed in approximate a life and death situation. these three officers, facing this life threatening and life altering situation, did so freely while sacrificing their own safety to contact and arrest a homicidal suspect who had critically shot officer kevin downs. i just want to say you guys are

more than co-workers, fellow officers, you're my brothers, and i love you. because of their brave actions, sergeant paul dominguez, nate chew -- officer nate chew, and officer jimmy trail have earned the highest honor we can give, the gold medal of valor.

[applause] >> next, commander gregory yee, the commander of the airport bureau, and can officer serrano please come up. [applause] >> good evening. i'm honored and humbled to share with you tonight the heroic and self-less actions of officer renationr re -- reynaldo serrano who issy

a 24 year veteran of the san francisco police department. on september 26, 2017, officer serrano was working uniformed patrol on a segway at the san francisco international airport, and he was assigned to terminal one. at approximately 2:25 p.m., officer serrano responded to a call of a suspicious person walking in traffic and pushing a luggage cart. after units were unable to locate this person, officer serrano diligently continued searching the area. officer serrano located the person, later identified as mr. johnson. mr. johnson was located outside the terminal in the smoking area. mr. johnson fits the description of the person who had been walking in and out of traffic on

the roadway. officer serrano approached mr. johnson and asked him if he was traveling, and mr. johnson replied yes. officer serrano then asked which airline he was flying and mr. john did not answer. mr. john then stood up and walked into terminal one, baggage claim area. the baggage claim area was filled with approximately 50 people waiting for their luggage. in addition, there were numerous people waiting for the arrival of their loved ones and airport workers onto their breaks and/or heading to their work sites. as mr. johnson walked away from officer serrano, officer serrano told mr. johnson that he just wanted to help him. mr. johnson continued to remain silent and attempted to avoid officer serrano by attempting to walk away from him. officer serrano followed mr. johnson on his patrol segway and continued speaking to him to

offer assistance. suddenly, mr. johnson pushed his smart cart into officer serrano's segway and then continued to walk away. mr. johnson now displayed violent behavior, which officer serrano was now unsure of his intentions and his state of mind. and that officer serrano was now concerned about the public in this crowded baggage claim area. as officer serrano continued to attempt to engage mr. johnson one more time to officer assistance, officer serrano walked up behind mr. johnson, and that's when mr. johnson turned and yelled you're going to die. he probably didn't say it like that. mr. johnson produced a sharp tooth push dagger, which he produced in his right hand.

this sharp tooth push dagger is a handheld sharp edged weapon, commonly used in combat for stabbing or thrusting. the fixed blade on this dagger was approximately 1.25 inches in length, and the handle can be held in your fist, with the blade protruding between your miding finger and ring finger. mr. johnson pushed at officer serrano with the dagger, causing a laceration near his carotid artery. officer serrano, understanding the dangerous situation he was in, and the potential for mr. johnson to attack the surrounding public, realized he needed to defend himself so that

he'd protect the public. officer serrano immediately backed away from mr. johnson in an effort to create time and distance from his attacker. however, mr. johnson violently closed the gap by swinging at mr. serrano while holding the dagger in his right hand. while attempting to create time and distance between himself and mr. johnson, officer serrano held up his bare hands to defend himself against johnson's violent on slaught. knowing that he had already been slashed in the face by john's dagger, officer serrano continued to assess the danger not only to himself but to the numerous people around him. as mr. johnson quickly gained ground on officer serrano, officer serrano kept his tactical edge by kicking mr.

johnson in his left leg, all the while knowing he could be stabbed at any time. when mr. johnson came close enough, officer serrano kicked at mr. john's left leg. the well placed kick struck mr. johnson near his knee and caused mr. johnson's leg to buckle as he fell to the ground. however, when officer serrano kicked mr. johnson, mr. johnson brought his fist down with the carved dagger and dug deep into officer serrano's left leg, stabbing him above his knee. after being stabbed and wounded, officer serrano quickly evaluated the situation and realized the imminent danger this man continued to pose. without regard for his safety, and for concern of the safety of the surrounding public, son serrano continued to engage mr. johnson to stop his violent attack. when mr. johnson fell to the ground on his stomach, officer serrano bleeding from his face,

his hands, and his leg, quickly positioned himself on top of mr. johnson's back to control him while awaiting back up. mr. johnson continued to hold the dagger in his outreached right hand at his side. seeing that officer serrano needed assistance and without due regard for his own safety, an unarmed t.s.a. security agent responded to assist officer serrano. the agent was able to restrain the hand holding the dagger by pressing down on mr. johnson's wrist and left arm with his weight. at this point, mr. johnson released the dagger. seeing this, the agent picked up the dagger and threw it away from johnson and towards another airport employee. with the assistance of passengers in the area, airport employees, police service aides,

and police officers, mr. johnson was restrained and taken into custody. officer serrano was transported by ambulance to san francisco general hospital emergency room, where he was treated for two looserations to his -- lacerations to his left cheek and ear, two lacerations to his hand, and one deep laceration to his left knee and leg area. the laceration to officer serrano's leg required extensive suturing, totaling 14 stitches. mr. johnson was arrested and charged with attempted murder of a police officer. on this day, officer serrano displayed outstanding bravery above and beyond that is expected in the line of duty, where the objective to protect the public from a knife wielding attacker was attorney to justify risk. -- important to justify risk, where the risk of life actually existed, and officer serrano had

sufficient time to evaluate that risk to formulate a plan to create time and distance and use other means besides deadly force. if it was not for his quick thinking and his actions, there is no doubt that officer serrano would have sustained more severe injuries, even life threatening, additionally due to mr. johnson's proximity to the public, officer serrano was able to protect many people from attack. this incident unfolded very quickly in an area that was densely populated. officer serrano, in fear for his life, would have been justified to shoot the advancing armed suspect. however, officer serrano showed restraint and excellent judgment by creating time and distance so that this incident would not end in the loss of life. officer serrano's injuries required extensive treatment and subsequent follow up appointments and rehabilitation. officer serrano has since

returned to work providing excellent, compassionate and empathetic service to the community. due to his brave, heroic and self-less actions and the injuries sustained during this incident, the san francisco police department is proud and honored to present officer reynaldo serrano with the gold medal of valor and the purple heart award.

[applause] >> next, commander these -- teresa ewings and joe mccloskey

please come forward. >> first ever all, i'm amazed that all the kids are like -- there's been no melt downs. i'm going to knock on wood right now because this is the last one. this is a story of courage and trust between two brave men that exemplifies of men and women of sfpd at tenderloin station. they're incredible human beings that want to make a difference and each day make it back home to their families. sergeant joe mccloskey and mike gutierrez are two of the best in the police department. they're very effective at apprehending some of the most violent criminals we have in the tenderloin. on that day, october 15, 2015,

at 1206 hours, they were flagged down by a citizen in need of their assistance. a man was throwing battles near a construction site, and the reportee believed that it was going to damage the trucks. the sergeants were unaware of when they exited the vehicle and approached this man was they were going to have to fight to save their lives and to make it home that day. sergeant mccloskey approached the individual from the driver's side of the vehicle. due to his experience, sergeant mccloskey saw that there was something not right. seeing that the suspect appeared aggressive due to his demeanor and behavior, he placed him into custody to investigate the situation. as he placed his hand on the individual, immediately, the individual immediately turned on the sergeant, grabbing the front of his shirt and bulletproof vest, placing sergeant mccloskey

off balance. the subject violently twisted sergeant mccloskey and slammed him viciously to the ground, causing a bruised rib, shattered knuckled, with a torn tendon and displaced hip. the suspect was now on top of sorge mccloskey, continuing his violent abeing at thatted, which results in sergeant mccloskey suffering a broken nose. he could only defend himself with one arm due to the other one being pinned against a parking meter. seeing that his partner was in trouble, sergeant gonier attempted to remove the subject from sergeant mccloskey. the subject had incredible strength to fend off both of the sergeants attempting to stop his escalation of the violent

attack. the subject's attention was now turned to sergeant mccloskey's gun. he violently and without any hesitation was attempting to remove it from the holster. sergeant mccloskey realized he was attempting to remove the weapon by chopping it with his hand. sergeant mccloskey was know yelling to his partner, sergeant koniaris, he's got my gun. sergeant koniaris tried to remove the suspect from sergeant mccloskey, but to no avail. the subject was relentless. now sergeant mccloskey was looking down the barrel of his own weapon. having only one hand and in

extreme pain from his injuries, he continued his fight to survive. he was fending off the subject and pointing the gun at his face and being killed by attempting to move it away from his head. facing the reality that he was about to be killed, he yelled to sergeant koniaris, but he has my begun. sergeant mccloskey, fearing for his life and that of his partner made the ultimate decision to tell his partner to shoot the subject. sergeant koniaris was unaware, due to his position, to understand the extreme circumstance that his partner was facing, which was fighting for his life, was fighting for life or death. sergeant mccloskey yelled to sergeant koniaris, he's got my gun. he's got my gun, shoot him. sergeant koniaris, without hesitation knew what he had to do what he had to do, and he did it. he saved the life of sergeant mccloskey that day. i believe this story does not end with the heroic actions of

sergeants mccloskey and koniaris. having been at the scene, i knew that sergeant koniaris did not only saved a life that day, but sergeant mccloskey saved the life of sergeant koniaris that day. if sergeant mccloskey had not instructed his partner to shoot, i believe the subject would have taken the life of sergeant koniaris as well, with the incredible strength that the suspect displayed, i believe that sergeant koniaris would not survive that day, for these acts of outstanding bravery and courage, these sergeants are being awarded the gold medal of

valor. [applause] >> can i ask all of tonight's award recipients to stand and face the audience, please.

[applause] >> thank you, and you can take your seats. chief scott would like to say a few closing remarks, and then, i have some final announcements. >> so to all the honorees of tonight, your courage, your bravery, is inspiring to us all, and i don't know what else to say except for thank you for

your service to this city and this county, to each other. you make us all proud. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, chief scott, and thank you to everyone who came here tonight to honor these courageous officers, and a special thank you to these family and friends who honor these officers on a daily basis. offer the presentation of the colors, the chief, command and officers will be available for photos with their family and friends, and please join us in the room to your right for snacks and refreshments. we have tons of food. and please stand for the retrieval of the colors.

on behalf of the police commission, chief scott, the staff, and the commanding officers of these brave women and men of the san francisco police department, thank you for joining us

>> hi. my name is carmen chiu, san francisco's elected assessor. in our seven mile by seven mile city, we have over 210,000 properties and close to 90% of

their are residential like the homes you and i live in, so you might ask, how can we possibly value all these properties? well, to better understand our work, we need to explain the state's proposition 13 law. in 1978, california voters passed proposition 13. under prop 13, we value your property at market value when you first buy it. every year after, that value goes up by the c.p.i. or the california consumer price index. but if the c.p.i. is more than 2%, prop 13 caps the increase at 2%. we'll walk-through the maximum increases prop 13 would allow. let's take a home with initial value of $400,000. in the second year your assessed value grows by a maximum of 2%, growing from $400,000 to $408,000. in year three, that $408,000 is increased by 2% to roughly

$416,000. every year, the value grows by the maximum rate of 2%, and that is called your prop 13 value. keep in mind as time goes by your prop 13 value may not be the same as market rate. what do we mean by that? let's say over the last ten years, home prices in san francisco have gone every roughly 10% every year. despite that, your prop 13 value is capped at 2% growth creating a difference between your market value and prop 13 value. know that the value recessed when there's a change in ownership. a change in ownership means that the property has a new zoner. maybe through a -- new owner. maybe through a sale, a gift or adding or dropping names through title. at that time the home will be assessed a new market rate. that value becomes a new starting point for the property. just like before, the growth continues to be limited at 2%

until the next transfer happens. remember, the new owners are responsible for paying taxes at the new level from the first day that they own it. value might also be added when construction happens on your property. that would be another instance when growth in your value might exceed 2%. here, we would add the value of construction on top of your existing prop 13 value. every july, we'll let you know what your assessed value is by sending you a letter called a notice of assessed value. you can use that information to estimate your property taxes early. please note that a separate office called the treasurer tax collector's office will send you a letter in october and they're responsible 230r collections. for more information, visit our website,