Full Notification

 
Pictured left to right in attached photo: Chief Jon T. Lewis, Connie Frink, Brandon Rodriguez, Lauren Wyse, Jason Blakely, Marc Spiegel
 
The 47^th Annual Police Appreciation Breakfast was held this morning at the Hyatt Regency, Newport Beach.  The event was hosted by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Commodores Club, and sponsored by the Maseeh Family, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, and Newport Beach & Company.  Members of the Police Department were honored at the breakfast, which was also attended by city staff, community leaders, and members of the local business community.
 
Nominations for the Police Department Annual Awards are collected by committees for each award category.  Members of the Police Department who receive award nominations are discussed by those committees and then recommendations are submitted to the Chief of Police for consideration.  The following members of the Police Department received recognition in the listed categories:
 
Sergeant Jason Blakely, 2017 Officer of the Year
Sergeant Brandon Rodriguez, 2017 Sworn Supervisor of the Year
Records Supervisor Connie Frink, 2017 Civilian Supervisor of the Year
Dispatcher Lauren Wyse, 2017 Civilian of the Year
Volunteer Marc Spiegel, 2017 Volunteer of the Year

Additional awards were received as follows:
 
Chief’s Citation presented to Margaret “Peg” Peterson of the Orange County Healthcare Agency
For the last five years, Peg has been assigned to the NBPD in the role of Psychiatric Emergency Response Team clinician.  Peg has been instrumental in the Department’s work with the homeless population, offering her extensive experience in the mental health field and her ability to build rapport with individuals in crisis.  She is recognized for her dedicated service and for being a resource for our staff and our community.
 
Chief’s Citation presented to Reserve Officer Steve Schogel
In 2017, Reserve Officer Schogel began an innovative project, marrying his work as a part-time Reserve Officer with his profession as a Physician Assistant to create the Newport Beach Police Department Naloxone Program.  After extensive research and recommendations by Reserve Officer Schogel, Naloxone (a medication used to rapidly reverse opioid overdoses) has been issued to every field officer in the Police Department.  Use of the medication has already saved a number of lives here in Newport Beach, with a few examples appearing below as Lifesaving Awards.  Steve’s expertise in the medical field has also led him to develop an eight-hour First Aid, CPR, and automated external defibrillator (AED) training course for the Department, ensuring that our staff have the tools they need to render aid in critical situations.  He is recognized for his diligence and his dedication to these significant projects.
 
Lifesaving Award presented to Officer Mark Fasano
On October 10, 2017, Officer Fasano responded to a call for medical aid at an apartment complex.  A caller reported that his roommate, who had possibly overdosed on heroin, was no longer breathing.  The caller began CPR, but when Officer Fasano arrived he found that the man still was not breathing and that his lips had turned blue.  Officer Fasano immediately administered Naloxone, with the result that the man inhaled deeply and began to breathe again on his own.  Officer Fasano stabilized the man until Newport Beach Fire Department personnel arrived and transported him to a local hospital, where he made a full recovery.  Officer Fasano is commended for his quick and decisive action, without which this man might have succumbed to the heroin overdose and passed away.
 
Lifesaving Award presented to Officers Rachel Cox and Bill Hume
Just before 4:00 a.m. on August 26, 2017, the Department received several calls about screams emanating from the area of an abandoned building near the intersection of 15^th Street and Monrovia Avenue.  Officers Cox and Hume responded and began to search for the person in distress. By following the sounds muffled moans, they were able to locate a woman lying face down on the ground.  She breathing shallowly, her lips were blue, and her mouth was full of vomit.  The officers quickly assessed the woman and identified signs of opioid overdose.  At the beginning of that very shift, these officers had received their first training on the use of Naloxone; now, mere hours later, Officer Cox administered the medication.  The woman regained consciousness and began breathing again.  Both officers are commended for their heroic efforts in saving this woman’s life.
 
Lifesaving Award presented to Officer Ricardo Adame
On August 8, 2017, Officer Adame was dispatched to the Post Office on Riverside Avenue in response to an emergency call that a man had passed out in the parking lot.  When Officer Adame arrived, he found the victim lying on the ground between two parked vehicles.  He pulled the man (who was not breathing and had no pulse) out from between the cars, positioned him on his back, and immediately began CPR.  Officer Adame continued his life-saving efforts until Newport Beach Fire Department personnel arrived and transported the man to a local hospital, where he regained his pulse and was placed on a breathing machine.  The man ultimately made a full recovery.  Officer Adame is commended for his quick response and immediate action in saving this man’s life.
 
Award of Merit presented to Sergeants Josh Comte and Brad Miller, and Officers Jeremy Duenas, Jon Jarema, Chris Kimble, Dennis Maisano, and Steve Oberon
On the evening of February 18, 2017, a man called the Department to report that his adult son had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom.  The night before, the son had participated in a pre-arranged illegal narcotics transaction, where 60 pounds of marijuana were stolen at gunpoint.  The son was blamed for the theft and subsequently kidnapped.  The kidnappers threatened to kill the victim if a ransom of $130,000 was not paid by his family.  Working under pressure of that threat, personnel from the Detective Division (Sergeant Miller and Detective Maisano from the Special Investigations Unit along with Burglary Detectives Chris Kimble and Jon Jarema) worked alongside Patrol personnel (Sergeant Josh Comte and Officers Duenas and Oberon) to determine the victim’s whereabouts.  After an intense investigation, they determined that the victim was being held in an Anaheim apartment, but was being moved to another location.  At great risk to their personal safety, this team of NBPD sergeants and officers intervened in the armed suspects’ activities and rescued the victim, who was returned to his grateful family.  All seven of these employees are commended for their exceptional work in finding and rescuing this kidnap victim.
 
Medal of Valor presented to Officer Troy Zeeman
On October 1, 2017, Officer Zeeman was off-duty, attending the Route 91 Country Music Festival in Las Vegas with his wife.  At approximately 10:10 p.m., a gunman on the 32^nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel opened fire on the crowd of 22,000 people below.  Officer Zeeman, who was wounded by the gunfire, worked with another off-duty law enforcement officer to get more than 20 other concertgoers to safety, only receiving medical attention for his own injuries five hours after the shooting occurred.  He is commended for his heroic actions during this horrific event, which undoubtedly saved multiple lives.
 
 
At the Appreciation Breakfast, the Police Department also premiered a video entitled “A Sense of Service”.  The video can be accessed at http://bit.ly/SenseOfService.