SFPD Officer Receives Award for Off-Duty Action to Foil Armed Robber

On July 8th of this year, at approximately 11:00 PM, off-duty San Francisco Police Officer Riley Bandy was in the area of Oakland’s Lake Merritt when he saw an armed robbery in progress. Officer Bandy saw the suspect pointing a rifle at the victim and heard the suspect tell the victim to hand over his cell phone.

Officer Bandy, who was unarmed, approached the suspect and asked him what he was doing. The suspect pointed the rifle at Officer Bandy who identified himself as a San Francisco Police officer and told the suspect to drop his gun. The suspect fled on foot with Officer Bandy in pursuit. During the foot pursuit, the suspect pointed his rifle at Officer Bandy several times. Officer Bandy took cover and used his cell phone to update Oakland Police on the suspect’s location. As Oakland Police units converged on the scene, Officer Bandy heard the sound of a heavy metal object hitting the ground. Believing the suspect had dropped the rifle, Officer Bandy found an opportunity to tackle the suspect as he continued to flee on Lakeshore Avenue. Officer Bandy assisted Oakland Police officers in taking the suspect into custody.

The victim later identified the suspect (a 16 year-old male) as the person who had pointed the rifle at him and attempted to steal his cellphone. Officers also recovered the rifle, which upon closer inspection, was determined to be a “BB” gun.

On September 2, 2016 at 12:00 PM, San Francisco Police Acting Chief Toney Chaplin was joined by Oakland’s Acting Assistant Chief David Downing to present Officer Bandy with the Oakland Police Department’s Silver Star for bravery. The ceremony took place in the SFPD Headquarters Building. In attendance were members of Officer Bandy’s family as well as his current Commanding Officer, Captain Paul Yep of Richmond Station and his former Commanding Officer, Captain David Lazar of Central Station. Officer Bandy’s commanding officers have nominated him for an SFPD Medal of Valor.