HAPCOA Assists with the US Attorney General’s 2nd Annual National Awards Program for Distinguished Service in Policing

(Washington, DC) HAPCOA National President Richard Rosa and HAPCOA NCR Chapter President Joe Perez attended the award ceremony on Wednesday, September 18^th.  The event was held at the Department of Justice (DOJ) where Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Phil Keith, Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) recognized and honored twenty-five officers and deputies, for their extraordinary actions and outstanding contribution to law enforcement in the following areas:  Innovations in Community Policing, Criminal Investigations and Field Operations.

Background:  Several months ago, HAPCOA was asked by DOJ/COPS to assist, 21 law enforcement organizations and associations, with the evaluation of nominee packets received from individual State, Local, and Tribal law enforcement departments.  HAPCOA National Board members – 1^st VP Teresa Ramon, 2^nd VP Steve Noquera, 4^th VP Ivan Acosta and I successfully evaluated at least two hundred packets in just over a two-week period.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein

Chief J. Thomas Manger (Montgomery County, MD

HAPCOA NCR Chapter President Joe Perez
HAPCOA National President Richard Rosa

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LAPD Officers recognized by AG Jeff Sessions for their outstanding efforts in improving the quality of life for the residents and businesses in MacArthur Park.

(Excerpt from DOJ program narrative)

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart Area Special Problems Unit (SPU), MacArthur Park Task Force (MPTF) was formed in September 2017 to help restore order to the community around MacArthur Park using a full-spectrum approach by directing constant law enforcement to the area in and around MacArthur Park.  This is a coordinated effort using all available law enforcement and community-based resources to combat crime and quality of life issues in the area.

Recognized LAPD Officers included: Jose Arriaga, Ruben Avalos, Carlos Escobar, Randy Jreisat, Arthur Meza, Ashley Mitchell, David Nick, Jr., Adrian Nunez, Christina Salas and Solly Samara.

HAPCOA extends its congratulations to these fine LAPD officers for being proactive and helping to restore the MacArthur Park community to its residents by reducing crime, providing resources to the homeless and getting treatment for drug addicts.