Recipients
The Gold Star medal is awarded for heroic deeds under extraordinary circumstances. The employee shall display courage in the face of immediate peril in acting to save the life of another person.
Tracy Master, Parole Agent I, Division of Adult Parole Operations
On February 7, 2020, Agent Master was on duty and driving when she saw a fight between two people in the middle of an intersection in Sacramento.
After stopping her vehicle, she saw one of the suspects had a knife and another suspect was bleeding. She immediately called local law enforcement and emergency medical personnel to the scene.
Agent Master then exited her vehicle, drew her firearm, and ordered the armed suspect to throw down the knife, to which he complied. After Agent Master gave orders for the suspect to kick the knife away, he picked the knife back up. Agent Master repeated her orders to the suspect to drop the knife, eventually getting him to comply.
Because of Agent Master’s actions, both suspects were quickly detained at the scene by responding law enforcement. The stabbing suspect was immediately transported to a local hospital and survived his injuries.
Greg Williams, retired Information Technology Specialist, formerly with Central California Women’s Facility
On Dec. 10, Greg Williams was spending a quiet day with his granddaughter, watching cartoons and sorting through Christmas ornaments. Then, he heard a man next door screaming for help.
Mr. Williams made sure his granddaughter was safe, then went to check on his neighbor. The neighbor told Mr. Williams that an armed man had broken into the house and was holding his wife at gunpoint in the backyard.
Mr. Williams told his neighbor to call 911, retrieved his gun from the safe, and quietly made his way to his neighbor’s backyard. There, a man was holding the woman in a headlock, the gun aimed at her head. The man looked up and saw Mr. Williams was only a short distance away and pointed the gun at him.
Mr. Williams remained calm. He let the man know that he was armed. He also let him know that the woman he was holding was the mother of two young children – children who were terrified and didn’t want to see her hurt.
After what seemed like forever, the police arrived. The armed intruder was taken into custody and no one was injured.
