12/22/2009 12:00:00 PM Briones receives Medal of Valor
Christopher Briones, Ironwood State Prison Correction Officer gets a handshake from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger when Briones received the Gold Award at the Governor's Medal of Valor Ceremony on Dec. 10 in Sacramento.
BLYTHE - Christopher Briones, an Ironwood State Prison correction officer, was the recipient of the Gold Award on Dec. 10 during the Medal of Valor ceremony held in Sacramento.
At the ceremony, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger awarded 27 state employees who demonstrated extraordinary acts of bravery and heroism.
Established in 1959, the Governor's Medal of Valor is the highest honor California bestows on its public servants.
Over 400 medals have been awarded to state employees since the program began. In a public ceremony every December, the Governor awards the Medal of Valor to those state employees whose extraordinary acts of bravery and heroism saved human lives. This was the 50th Anniversary ceremony.
Briones was one of those individuals chosen to receive the state's top Medal of Valor honor. He was a Gold Award recipient, the state's highest honor. Briones was a recipient of the CDCR Medal of Valor for actions during 2008, at the CDCR MOV Ceremony in May 2009.
Briones arrived at an uprising in one of the prison's dining halls, where a fellow officer had been knocked down by rioting inmates on Oct. 24, 2008.
He shielded that officer from repeated assaults. At that time, there were more than 300 rioting inmates in the dining hall. Both Briones and the fellow officer he was rescuing were being pelted by food trays, cups, kicked and assaulted by inmates.
In the 50-year existence of this award, Briones is only one of six CDCR employees to receive this award.
Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, December 24, 2009
Article comment by:
Bill King
What about CHP Officer Jackie Rice. He received the award also, and he is a Blythe native.
Copyright 2010 Western News&Info, Inc.® Palo Verde Valley Times is the information source for Blythe, California, Quartzsite, Arizona and surrounding area communities. Original content may not be reprinted or distributed without the written permission of Western News&Info, Inc.® Palo Verde Valley Times Online is a service of WNI. By using the site, you agree to abide and be bound by the site's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which prohibit commercial use of any information on the site. Click Here to email your questions or comments to the Webmaster. Palo Verde Valley Times Online is a proud publication of Western News&Info Inc.® All Rights Reserved.
