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Austin City Council honors retiring staff and presents new police awards program
Summary
Council recognized two long-serving employees — Patty Hamilton and Tim Hansen — and presented four officers with life‑saving and exceptional service awards as it marked Chief McKean’s final meeting before retirement.
Mayor Steven King opened the meeting by recognizing two city employees who announced retirements and by presenting a new police awards program intended to highlight outstanding departmental and citizen-nominated actions.
Patty Hamilton received a plaque in recognition of her service to the City of Austin’s Park, Recreation and Forestry Administration from May 1, 2013, to April 1, 2026. Council members described Hamilton as the department’s ‘‘glue’’ and praised her institutional knowledge and steady support. Patty Hamilton said, "That's all I want to say is thank you." The council followed with applause.
Tim Hansen was honored for his long service to the Austin Fire Department, including paid part-time service beginning in 1997 and full-time service from April 29, 2002, through April 29, 2026. Josh Kunzie summarized Hansen’s work in fire prevention and inspections and asked the council to join in congratulating him for nearly three decades of service.
The council also unveiled a structured awards program for the Austin Police Department intended to recognize exemplary performance. Four officers received honors tied to a single 2025 water-rescue incident and other life‑saving actions:
- Officer Mark Tamky received an Exceptional Service Award after helping locate and remove a suicidal individual from a local body of water, enabling the person to be transported to EMS for further care.
- Officer Ryan Hansen, a certified drone operator, received an Exceptional Service Award for using aerial drone assets to locate the person in the same incident.
- Officer Josh Bradley received two recognitions: an Exceptional Service Award for his role in the water-rescue incident and a Letter of Recognition for applying direct digital pressure to a stabbing victim in a hospital emergency room on Sept. 14, 2025, stabilizing the patient until medical staff could take over.
- Officer Ted Sherwood received a Letter of Recognition for initiating CPR, deploying an AED and using Narcan during a July 8, 2025, medical response that restored a pulse; he also received a Life‑Saving Award for a May 27, 2025, motor-vehicle-crash response in which he removed an unresponsive driver from a wreck and performed solo CPR/AED interventions that restored a pulse before EMS arrival.
Mayor King noted that this was Chief McKean’s final council meeting before his retirement effective June 20 and thanked McKean for his service. Council members praised the award program as a way to publicly recognize staff work that residents do not always see.
The council concluded the recognitions with group photographs and moved on to the consent agenda and business items.
