San Francisco Police honor 16 officers with Medals of Valor for multiple life‑saving actions

Sergeant Rachel Kelshaw, the Police Commission secretary, opened the San Francisco Police Department’s Medal of Valor ceremony at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center, where 16 officers were recognized for acts of bravery and lifesaving interventions.

The awards cover a range of incidents, from an entry into a burning multiunit building to rescue residents to the apprehension of an armed serial robber. Commission President Susie Loftus said the medals honor "extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty," and Chief Gregory P. Sir praised the officers as "ordinary people doing the extraordinary."

Captain Daniel Perea read a citation for a Dec. 11, 2013, fire at 2911 Sixteenth Street in which Sergeant Julian Dembski and a group of officers entered a smoke-filled building without protective gear to evacuate residents. According to the citation and a San Francisco fire inspector cited by the presenter, the officers’ actions prevented further destruction; the presenter also stated the fire was deliberately set. "Not a single person perished in this fire. Not a single person," Captain Perea said as he described the rescue.

In a July 21 incident at Fourth and Sanchez, Sergeant Jessica Nantroupe and Officer Nicholas Buckley confronted a bleeding man who was holding a large knife and posing a threat to onlookers. Buckley used an extended‑range impact weapon to subdue the subject, and both officers provided first aid until paramedics arrived; the subject required surgery and later was transported to the hospital. Both officers were awarded a bronze medal and a lifesaving award.

Captain Jerome DeFilippo presented a Sept. 6, 2014 rescue in which officers pulled Walter Brown back from a seventh‑floor emergency fire escape; Brown was later taken to San Francisco General Hospital and placed on a psychiatric hold. The presenting captain said the coordinated actions prevented a likely fatal fall and the officers received bronze medals and lifesaving recognition.

Captain Greg McEachern described a Nov. 26, 2014 surveillance operation that led to the arrest of an armed suspect tied to a series of pharmacy and market robberies. Officer Michael Terce maintained a foot pursuit of the armed suspect and, with assisting officers, took him into custody after the suspect discarded a revolver; Terce was awarded the department’s silver medal of valor.

The ceremony closed with all recipients standing for recognition. Chief Gregory P. Sir thanked the department and fire‑service partners and offered his congratulations to the awardees and their families. After the retrieval of the flags, members of the command staff and police commissioners were available for photos and attendees were invited to a reception in the adjoining auditorium.

The citations read at the ceremony list dates, locations and the officers involved; the event does not record formal departmental disciplinary or policy actions arising from the incidents described.