BUENA PARK : Officer’s Work With Youths Recognized

In her third year of teaching the city’s drug abuse education program to local youths, Police Officer Robin Sells hopes she has made a difference in their lives.

“You hope you instill that there’s always hope . . . that drugs and gangs aren’t the answer,” Sells said.

That dedication inspired her peers to name Sells, 38, the department’s Officer of the Year for her work in 1993.

“When you become a police officer, you think you can change the world,” said Sells, who began her career with the Buena Park Police Department eight years ago and has been a patrol officer and a burglary detective.

But Sells said that when one becomes a DARE--Drug Abuse Resistance Education--officer, “you feel you can make a difference. You’re looked up to as a role model, and there’s a good feeling. There’s nothing that can compare in police work.”

She was recognized for her efforts in teaching the DARE program to children in local schools and for her outstanding effort in working with youths in the community.

“It’s neat when the schools give recognition,” said Sells, a mother of one daughter and two stepdaughters. “But when you get it from your peers, it makes you feel like they respect the job that you’ve done.”

Sells, who worked as a police dispatcher before becoming an officer, said that through the DARE program she is able to show “that police officers are human too.”

Police Chief Richard M. Tefank said that Sells’ enthusiasm and initiative stand out among her fellow officers.

“The recognition by her peers is reflective of the quality of work that she does,” Tefank said.

At the fourth annual Police Recognition Luncheon last week, sponsored by the Buena Park Chamber of Commerce, 25 other officers were commended for their work last year.

One civilian employee was given special notice.

Myra (Myke) Spiegel, a records clerk with the department for the past four years, was given an award as non-sworn employee of the year.

“She was recognized for her day-to-day hard work and her enthusiasm for assisting officers in processing police reports,” Tefank said

The award for reserve officer of the year went to Larry Ungles, who donated more than 500 hours to the department last year. Reserve officers are required to volunteer at least 20 hours a month to the department.

Ungles, a reserve officer for 10 years, has become an experienced traffic investigator whose expertise has been a plus for the department, Tefank said.

The luncheon was dedicated to Kenneth B. Jones, a retired police sergeant and former City Council member and mayor, for his 41 years of public service.