Today, the men and
women of the Redwood City Police Department will honor Officer Gerardo Silva on the one year anniversary of his passing. All
ranks of sworn officers will be out on patrol, working the Detective Bureau,
and running every operation in the organization in their Class "A"
uniforms to honor the End of Watch (EOW) anniversary of Officer Silva's
death. The flags in front of our building will be flown at half-staff and all
of our shifts will be briefed by Command Staff sharing the story of Gerardo's death.
Thank you Officer Silva for your service and sacrifice--you will not be forgotten.
Your Redwood City Police Family
Officer Gerardo A. Silva
Tour of
Duty: March 15, 1999 – January 20, 2017
Officer
Silva began his patrol shift on Friday, January 20, 2017, at 0600 hours. At 0857 hours, Officer Silva was dispatched
to the front lobby of the police station to meet
the victim of a property theft and conduct an investigation. When Officer Silva did not return to service
after an extended period of time, a search for his whereabouts began. Dispatchers and Supervisors called him on the
radio and checked the GPS location of his assigned patrol vehicle. When the search revealed Officer Silva’s patrol vehicle was parked at the police department
a physical search of the police facility for Officer Silva was initiated. At 1240 hours, searchers discovered the door to the second floor single-use
bathroom locked and no response was received from inside. The door was forced
open and Officer Silva was found unresponsive on the floor. Officers initiated immediate life-saving
measures, to include CPR and the use of an automatic external defibrillator. Redwood City Fire Department and emergency
medical personnel arrived and began advanced life support measures. Officer Silva was transported via ambulance
to Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City where he continued to receive advanced medical
treatment in the Emergency Room. Despite
the extensive efforts of all personnel involved, Officer Silva died at 1330
hours.
Officer Silva began his career with the Redwood City Police
Department as a Reserve Police Officer in 1993.
He served briefly as a Parking Enforcement Officer before being hired
full-time as a sworn Police Officer in 1999.
Officer Gerardo Silva will always be remembered for his perpetual
kindness, his easy-going and good natured demeanor, and especially his devotion
to his community in which he lived his entire life and patrolled the majority
of his career.
On this date, we
remember and honor our Brother Officer Gerardo Silva.
