Stephen Sean Madrigal
Program Technician II
Covered California
12/24/2015
Special Service Award (Silver)
On December 24, 2015, around 6:00 p.m., Stephen Madrigal and his wife, Rosalie, were heading home from work at the Covered California Service Center in Fresno. They decided to stop at 7-Eleven to get a movie for their children from the Redbox located there. As they were leaving, they noticed a man punching another man who had stumbled onto the road and fallen down. It was dusk and drizzling and cars were driving around the man. Worried that he was going to be run over, Mr. Madrigal jumped out of the car and ran over and grabbed the assailant from behind in a bear hug. While restraining the assailant, Mr. Madrigal lost his footing on the wet pavement and fell backwards while still holding onto him. While they were on the ground, the victim pulled out a knife and began stabbing the assailant who was on top of Mr. Madrigal. Mr. Madrigal was inadvertently stabbed during the chaos but remained calm. He tried to reason with the man holding the knife, telling him that whatever they were fighting about was not worth spending his life in prison. Shortly thereafter, the man dropped his knife and waited with Mr. Madrigal for the police to arrive. It wasn’t until the fight had ended that Mr. Madrigal realized his thumb had been cut to the bone. Mr. Madrigal was transported to the hospital, where he received stitches to his thumb and was placed on antiviral medication for six months to treat the injuries for his selfless act.
With no regard for his own safety, Mr. Madrigal’s heroic service saved two men involved in a street fight.
The State of California takes great pride in presenting this Silver Medal of Valor to Covered California Program Technician II Stephen Madrigal.