Law enforcement employees honored at Santa Maria Police Awards

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The annual Santa Maria Police Awards Luncheon was held on Wednesday at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge.

It recognized and honored sworn and civilian members of the Santa Maria Police Department and awarded several that have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

"This is a great event because it not only highlights the wonderful work that our personnel are doing out there, it lets the officers see that they have tremendous support within the community," said Police Chief Phil Hansen. "It gives us a chance to really showcase some of the great work that is going on everyday. We select certain incidents and certain events, but really, it is very representative of what our folks do day after day and it's nice for them to see how much the community appreciates it."

A handful of awards were given out to members of the department in several categories, including Officer of the Year, Dispatcher of the Year, Life Saving Award, Distinguished Team Award and many more.

The Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award was given to Tiffanie Delaney, who was not in attendance.

Hansen noted the three-year officer made approximately 230 DUI arrests last year. He added those arrests likely saved lives.

The Support Employee Award went to Brenda Cabonce.

The 13-year police records technician was lauded for being a positive versatile team player that is capable of handing many assignments, including the processing of vehicle records.

Officer Matthew Boland was the recipient of The Lifesaving Award, which is awarded for an act of heroism in a life saving attempt in the line of duty, whether the attempt was successful or not.

Boland was credited with saving the life of a suicidal subject.

Several employees with the 2019 CAD/RMS Team shared the Distinguished Team Award, which recognizes the performance of a unit that consistently performed in a superior manner throughout the year or during an extraordinary incident or major event.

The cross-section of stage from both the Police Department and City worked together to build and implement the state-of-the-art Computer Aided Dispatch and Records Management Systems, which integrates with new Mobile Data Computers.

"They're all fine people that we're recognizing today, but in a very real way, they represent all the other officers and personnel that work here and they just do a wonderful job around here on a day to day basis," said Hansen. "Sure, we make mistakes. There are times when we don't meet expectation, but by and large, our people are doing a wonderful job out there and I think the community knows that and they shown their support because of that."

The awards are given out by the Santa Maria Police Council, a non-profit organization that was created to assist and support the Santa Maria Police
Department. 

For more information, visit the 2020 Santa Maria Police Awards webpage.