Gov. Gavin Newsom Honors 13 CDCR Employees At State Employee Medal of Valor Ceremony

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Eleven CDCR employees were honored with the Gold Star and two with the Silver Star at the State Employee Medal of Valor ceremony, the highest state award presented to a public safety officer. Recipients performed extraordinary acts of heroism, including rescuing a 94-year-old woman from her burning home and shielding youth baseball players from nearby gunfire.

Gov. Gavin Newsom honored the following CDCR employees:

GOLD STAR

SILVER STAR

WHAT THE SECRETARY IS SAYING: "We celebrate the brave and selfless acts of our employees. When they were needed most, they courageously risked their own safety to help others. Today's awards are a celebration of their bravery, selflessness and unwavering dedication to community."

GOLD STAR HONOREES

Johnny Huynh and Sgt. Alesandro Padilla stopped a violent assault in a crowded public setting

On Dec. 16, 2024, Huynh and Sgt. Padilla were volunteering at a church in Elk Grove when they were approached by a woman who was screaming in fear. She was being chased and pleaded for their help.

The man who was pursuing her paused when Sgt. Padilla told him to stop, but moments later he became violent. He struck Sgt. Padilla before grabbing a chair and raising it like a weapon. Sgt. Padilla acted and pulled the man to the ground. Without regard for his safety, Huynh took control of the man's legs as they worked to de-escalate the situation.

Lt. Raymond Siordia risked his life to save a driver whose truck flipped in the middle of a foggy freeway

On his way to work early on New Years Day 2024, Lt. Siordia found a pickup truck turned sideways in the middle of the highway. Visibility was near zero in a thick fog on Highway 101. Lt. Siordia narrowly avoided a collision himself.

The driver of the truck was a fellow colleague who was dazed and disoriented after striking the median barrier and spinning out of control. Vehicles, including a semi-truck, were skidding and swerving to avoid hitting them.

Lt. Siordia assessed the driver's health and attempted to move the truck. When it wouldn't move, he pulled the injured man from the truck and guided him to a safer area as more vehicles spun out nearby while they waited for emergency medical services.

James Jones and Sgt. Jose Navarro pulled victims from the wreckage of a freeway crash

While driving through dense fog on Dec. 4, 2024, Jones and Sgt. Navarro came upon a head-on crash with a car on fire. They stopped and rushed toward the danger. They worked alongside a local police officer to pull several victims to safety.

Sgt. Navarro stayed with one of the victims who was pinned in a vehicle and in critical condition. He spoke to her in a calm and steady manner, letting her know help was on the way. Sadly, she would later succumb to her injuries.

Lt. Dana Boggs rescued a driver and their dog from a violent crash

On his way home from work on Dec. 12, 2024, Lt. Boggs witnessed a terrible accident on Highway 50. A vehicle swerved through traffic at high speed before crashing violently into another car. The struck car veered up an embankment, then rolled over multiple times before landing upside down with its roof crushed between a barricade and oncoming traffic.

Lt. Boggs immediately activated his emergency lights and pulled over before running to the smoking wreckage. The driver was trapped and hanging upside down and his dog was also in the mangled car. Lt. Boggs asked if the driver was OK, and the driver pleaded for his dog's safety. Lt. Boggs was able to free the dog first through a narrow point of entry and get it to safety. Next, he extracted the driver and guided him away from the road.

Correctional Officer Sandra Mendonca saved a car accident victim, carrying her to safety across active lanes of traffic

Officer Mendonca came upon a catastrophic crash on along Interstate 80 on Oct. 8, 2024. A car had struck the center divider, leaving a young woman pinned inside a smoking, totaled vehicle.

Officer Mendonca pried open the damaged car door and pulled the woman from the wreckage. She carried her over her shoulder across active lanes of traffic before administering tactical first aid. She stopped the woman's bleeding, stabilized her injuries and kept her calm until emergency responders arrived.

Parole Agent Michael Dilger guided a youth baseball team to safety when shots rang out from a nearby brawl, using his own body to shield them

Agent Dilger was volunteering as a substitute youth baseball coach for a youth team in Barstow on April 17, 2024. Without warning, a large, violent brawl erupted with 20 to 30 people armed with pipes and sticks just 50 yards from the field.

Agent Dilger quickly directed the children to the concrete dugout, the safest place for the children to go. As he guided them to safety, gunshots rang out, striking multiple people in the brawl. One child was frozen in shock on the field, and Agent Dilger threw himself on the child, shielding him with his body. Once the gunfire stopped, he pulled the child to cover in the dugout.

He positioned himself as a barrier between the children and danger, even as stray bullets struck the concrete blocks around them.

SILVER STAR HONOREES

Correctional Officer Michael Miranda Saves Family After Truck Rolls Down Embankment

On Dec. 5, 2023, Officer Miranda came upon an oversized truck that had rolled down a steep embankment in the fog on Highway 101 near Willits. A woman was desperately trying to free her children from the truck that was teetered against a manzanita shrub.

She was able to get one of her injured children through the window of the truck to Officer Miranda, who got the boy to safety with a bystander. With the help of another bystander, they broke the windshield of the truck to free the woman and her infant child from the wreckage.

Lt. Robert Smalley Helps Deputy Defuse Potentially Dangerous Situation

Lt. Smalley was off-duty at his niece's graduation at Sutter Union High School when he saw a fight break out in the bleachers. A lone sheriff's deputy tried confronting the group, but they were outnumbered and in danger.

As the deputy pursued one of the suspects, Lt. Smalley intercepted the suspect and brought him to the ground. He helped the deputy put the suspect in restraints, ending the threat.

ABOUT THE GOLD STAR: This honor is awarded for an extraordinary act of heroism by a state employee extending far above and beyond the normal call of duty or service, performed at great risk to his or her own life in an effort to save human life.

ABOUT THE SILVER STAR: This honor is for an act of heroism by a State employee extending above and beyond the normal call of duty or service performed at personal risk to his or her safety to save human life or State property.

ABOUT THE CEREMONY: The California Department of Human Resources sponsors the Governor's State Employee Medal of Valor Award.The employee's department makes the award nominations. The statewide Merit Award Board reviews the nominations.

The Director of CalHR selects the awardees. Since the program began in 1959, over 800 state employees have received Medals of Valor. The Governor's State Employee Medal of Valor Award is the highest honor California bestows on its public servants.

Photos available for download.