On February 9, 2016, your Police Department held its first annual employee recognition event at the new Double Tree Hotel in Cathedral City. City Manager McClendon, Mayor Henry, Councilman Kaplan, Councilman Carnevale and Fire Chief Wilson were all in attendance and joined me for this inaugural event.
This event was well attended by over 110 people as I recognized 28 individuals in total. All new employees hired in 2015 and all of those employees promoted were brought up on stage and a family member was able to pin their badge on their uniform as they each celebrated reaching a milestone. The following newly hired employees were recognized: Police Cadets Abraham Martinez and Anthony Becerra, Reserve Police Officer Corinna Jamail, Officers Jeff Aguirre, Rudy Castro, Steven Lara, Naddalynt Paz, Jeremy Powers and Charles Siqueiros and Public Safety Dispatchers Jordan Peterson and Stephanie Jones.
Sergeant Larry SanFillipo, Sergeant Nick Chapman and Sergeant Rick Sanchez were recognized for their promotion to the rank of Sergeant in 2015. Lieutenant Paul Herrera was recognized for his promotion to Lieutenant in 2015. In addition to recognizing all newly hired employees and promoted employees, I also acknowledged the volunteer service of the Chief’s Advisory Council which I formed in early 2015. All of these individuals have volunteered their valuable time to assist and guide me with current trends and issues facing Cathedral City. The eight members of the Chief’s Advisory Council recognized for their service were Denise Rodriguez-Bowman, Kathleen Jurasky, Karen Panico-Willis, Larry Davis, Dale Jagodzinski, Craig Loe, Victor Lupercio and Scott Robinson.
Three Police Department employees received Chief’s Commendations for their willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty during critical events that occurred in Cathedral City and Indio in 2015. Officer Luis Lomboy was awarded a Chief’s Commendation for interrupting an armed robbery at a fast food restaurant and successfully controlling and disarming the suspect while other units responded to assist. Detective Alfredo Luna was awarded a Chief’s Commendation for successfully investigating an aggravated assault case involving Outlaw Motorcycle Gang members, the gang members were apprehended and are awaiting trial. Sergeant Nick Chapman was awarded a Chief’s Commendation for peacefully ending a barricaded suspect situation in Indio. Sergeant Chapman was able to successfully negotiate the man’s peaceful surrender in his role as a negotiator on the Desert Regional SWAT Team.
Eugenia Torres and Ann Marie Quintanilla who both work at City Hall in the Human Resources Department were both recognized with a Chief’s Commendation for their support and dedication to the Police Department. Both of them have worked diligently throughout 2015 to assist the Police Department with hiring and recruiting of Police Officers, Dispatchers and Cadets. Their support has been vital for the Police Department’s ability to develop quality testing and ensure I hire the best qualified candidates.
Officer Claudiu Murzea was named Officer of the Year for 2015 and Dispatch Supervisor Gale Roberts was named Professional Staff Employee of the Year. These two individuals were chosen by me based on their overall dedication and efforts to the citizens of Cathedral City as well as the Police Department in 2015. In closing the inaugural ceremony, I dedicated two new Police vehicles in honor of Officer David Vasquez and Officer Jermaine Gibson. Each vehicle has been given a memorial decal on the side rear windows honoring both Officers who made the ultimate sacrifice to Cathedral City. With the dedication of these two vehicles in their honor, it assures their sacrifice will never be forgotten and they will always be in service in Cathedral City. In closing, I am very proud of the men and women of your Police Department and I would like to thank all of them for their hard work and dedication each and every day.
