Policy Text
San Francisco Police Department 3.09
GENERAL ORDER Rev. 04/13/22
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DEPARTMENT AWARDS
The purpose of this order is to define formal Department awards given to Department
members , establish criteria for merit awards, and outline procedures by which awards are
processed. For purposes of this General Order, the term “days” means calendar days.
3.09.0 1 TYPES OF AWARDS
A. MEDAL OF VALOR - Sworn members of the Department are eligible to receive this
award. There are three types of medal of valor awards :
1. GOLD MEDAL OF VALOR - The Department's highest award for valor is merited
when the following elements exist:
Outstanding bravery, above and beyond that expected in the line of duty, where:
a. Failure to take such action would not justify censure .
b. Risk to life existed and the member had sufficient time to evaluate that risk.
c. The objective is of sufficient importance to justify the risk .
d. The member accomplished the objective or was prevented from accomplishing the objective by incurring a disabling injury or death.
2. SILVER MEDAL OF VALOR - The Department's second highest award for valor is
merited when the following elements exist:
a. The member manifests outstanding bravery in the performance of duty under
circumstances not within the provisions required for a Gold Medal of Valor.
b. The member risks their life with full and unquestionable knowledge of the danger
involved, or where a reas onable person would assume their life was in great
danger.
c. The objective is of sufficient importance to justify the risk.
d. The member accomplished the objective or was prevented from accomplishing the objective by circumstances beyond their control.
3.
BRONZE MEDAL OF VALOR - The Department’s third highest award for valor is
the Bronze Medal of Valor. The members of the Awards Committee shall evaluate the objective, the risk, and the degree of danger, and determine by their vote whether a bronze medal of valor shall be granted.
B. MERITORIOUS CONDUCT AWARD - Sworn members of the Department are eligible
to receive this award. The Meritorious Conduct Award is merited by making an
investigation and arrest in a serious felony case when it is shown that the arrest was made possible by diligent and painstaking research on the part of the member , and it
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clearly appears that the memb er correctly weighed and evaluated all the clues and
circumstances at their disposal. This award does not consider arrests made solely on the
information provided by an informant.
C. LIFE SAVING AWARD - The Awards Committee may confer this award to any
Depar tment member when the following criteria are met:
1. A member directly intervenes in a medical emergency by administering first aid, and
2. The intervention directly resulted in the saving of a life.
D. CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM AWARD - Sworn members of the Depart ment are
eligible to receive this award. The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Award may be granted to any member who demonstrates excellence in the use of CIT principles during an incident, and the member resolves the incident with minimal to no use of force . The
CIT Award is granted to members by the CIT Mental Health Working Group; see DGO 5.21, The Crisis Intervention Team Response to Person in Crisis Calls for Service .
E. PURPLE HEART AWARD - Sworn members of the Department are eligible to receive
this award.
The Awards Committee may award a Purple Heart to a member of the Department who is wounded or receives a serious injury while on or off duty in an incident within the course and scope of police-related functions and/or responsibilities.
In determi ning whether to grant a Purple Heart Award, the Committee must consider all
the circumstances, but primarily the degree of injury and factual situation facing the member during the incident. The Awards Committee may confer this award when both
of the follo wing criteria are met:
1.
The injury or wound must have caused a serious impairment or physical condition requiring professional medical treatment, including but not limited to loss of consciousness , concussion, bone fracture, protracted loss of any bodily f unction or
organ, extensive suturing, or serious disfigurement.
2.
The member must have sustained the injury as a direct or indirect result of action that the member believed necessary to prevent the loss of life or serious injury to members of the public or other members of the Department , and that falls within the
parameters of all Department rules and regulations.
The
Awards Committee is not precluded from awarding any other medal of valor that the
Committee believes is justified to a member who is awarded a Purple Heart.
F. POLICE COMMISSION COMMENDATION - All Depa rtment members are eligible to
receive this award. The Police Commission or the Department’s Awards Committee may grant
this commendation to members for extraordinary acts or contributions done in
the performance of their duties. Examples of these acts include, but are not limited
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to:
1. Actions performed while in a uniform or plainclothes assignment that do not fall
within the criteria of the Medal of Valor or the Meritorious Conduct Award; or
2. Employing de -escalation techniques duri ng an incident involving a subject armed
with a weapon, exhibiting violent behavior, or making a credible threat of violence; and the member resolves the incident with minimal to no use