Battlion Chief

Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

1/10/2001

Special Act Award (Gold)

At approximately 11:36 a.m. on January 10, 2001, while responding to another shooting involving three known victims, Battalion Chief (BC) Robert Paulus heard the CDF Command Center report a new incident of shots being fired at the Lyon's Restaurant in Grass Valley. Knowing that most other county law enforcement agencies were committed to the first incident and because he was close to Lyon's Restaurant, he responded to the incident, arriving immediately after a CHP unit. Together they were the first officers to arrive at this incident. Arriving approximately 30 seconds after the initial broadcast, and finding people in panic still fleeing from the building, there was good reason to believe the shooter was still inside the building. Concerned about the immediate threat to the lives of the patrons still inside the restaurant and the likelihood of victims needing emergency medical care, without hesitation Chief Paulus armed himself with his shotgun and made the conscious decision to enter the building, placing himself in immediate peril. Upon entering the building, he observed several patrons hiding under tables and shortly thereafter met with CHP Officers David Qualls and Troy Marks. Together they then made a room by room search of the building in search of the suspect and victims. Upon entering the kitchen they discovered the body of the Manager who Chief Paulus determined had succumbed to his gunshot wounds. While Officers Marks and Qualls finished the search of the building, Chief Paulus went to the rear of the building and requested the staged ambulance and fire/rescue units for the treatment and transport of a cook who had sustained serious gunshot wounds. After the transport of the victim, Chief Paulus continued to assist local law enforcement in securing the scene.