Medal for Heroism
Officer Fabian Fowler
San Francisco Police Department
Officer Derrick Lew
San Francisco Police Department
On the night of August 27, 2006, Officers Fabian Fowler and Derrick Lew were working patrol, assigned to the Bayview Police Station five-car sector. They began their shift at 1600 hours and handled several calls for service, as it was an extremely busy night. They cleared the high volume of “calls for service” in their sector and began handling calls for service in the two-car sector.
At approximately 2205 hours, Officers Fowler and Lew were en route to a call for service when dispatch broadcasted an “A” priority, “shots fired” call in the area of Flora and Thornton. The officers were two blocks away from the intersection and delayed their call to respond. They arrived on scene in a matter of seconds and began searching the quiet residential street. They saw a black male, wearing all dark clothing, briskly walking away from the area. The Bayview District has been the scene of numerous homicides, shootings and gunfire. Based on the area’s criminal history, coupled with the nature of the call, the officers knew that there was a good chance that the male may be armed.
The officers decided to continue driving slowly up Flora Street in order to get into a position of advantage before confronting the suspicious male. They began giving the suspect verbal commands to stop walking and show his hands. They loudly called out commands numerous times with no response from the suspect. The officers continued to move slowly in their patrol car as they attempted to contact the suspect. After placing themselves in the best position possible, they again ordered the suspect to stop and show his hands. The suspect attempted to cross Flora Street in an attempt to evade the officers.
At that point, Officer Lew drove the patrol vehicle slightly forward to block the suspect’s avenue of escape. The suspect immediately turned and walked directly toward the driver’s side of the patrol car. Then, without warning, the suspect reached inside his waistband and drew a semi-automatic handgun and began firing a volley of shots into the driver’s window of the patrol car.
Officer Lew leaned forward in an attempt to avoid being struck by the rounds, shouting for the suspect to stop. One of the suspect’s rounds pierced his jacket near the rib cage area, where the bullet-proof vest’s opening was. Officer Fowler, who began exiting the patrol unit prior to the shots being fired, thought his partner had just been murdered and put out a “406” (Officer needs emergency backup). He immediately engaged the suspect in a gun battle. During the gun battle, bullets traveled back and forth across the roof of the patrol unit. With the suspect’s attention focused on Officer Fowler, Officer Lew dove over the unit’s computer, striking his thigh on the center console and crawled to the passenger’s seat in tremendous pain. Officer Lew did not know the source of the pain and believed he had been shot. Covered in broken glass from the windows of the unit being shot out and in tremendous pain, Officer Lew knew he had to assist his partner, who was still shooting it out with the suspect. Because of the abrupt attack, the patrol unit was still in gear and slowly moving forward. Because of this, Officer Fowler and the suspect constantly moved forward to maintain cover from the vehicle while exchanging gunfire.
The gun battle continued to move as the patrol vehicle continued to roll up Flora Street. It was during that time that Officer Lew managed to get out of the patrol car and move to a position of cover. Officer Lew joined his partner in the rolling gun battle. Officer Lew moved into a position where he could engage the suspect and after numerous rounds were exchanged between them and the suspect, the suspect fell to the ground mortally wounded. The officers summoned an ambulance and the suspect was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A subsequent investigation by assisting units revealed that the suspect was involved in a significant narcotics transaction further down Flora Street. During the transaction, the suspect had executed two buyers by shooting each of them in the back of their heads several times.
Officers Fabian Fowler and Derrick Lew demonstrated outstanding bravery and courage under fire during this life-threatening situation. The Golden Badge Foundation is proud to honor each of them with the Medal for Heroism.
