6 LAPD Officers Honored at Fund-Raiser for Youth Center

Six Los Angeles Police Department officers who work on the Eastside have been honored at a fund-raising dinner that generated nearly $300,000 for the El Sereno Youth Center, a facility that has been credited with helping to lower the number of gang killings.

“I hate fund-raisers, but when it comes to this one, it’s a commitment I am glad to make,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre, who created the annual City Angel Awards to support the youth center. “El Sereno really needs this place. I’ve heard too many kids tell me all they want to do is live ‘til they’re 18. Too many never made it.”

Alatorre and his wife, Angie, started the awards in 1993 after the Los Angeles riots to boost Police Department morale in his 14th council district and fund the center.

This year’s honorees are Detective John Spreitzer of the Hollenbeck Division, who has investigated 253 homicides; Officer Randall McCain of the Central Division’s bicycle patrol; Officer Glen Marezinko, who watches over the city in a helicopter from Air Support Division; Detective Maria Elena Foster, who is assigned to the Northeast Division but was instrumental in starting the LAPD’s domestic violence policy; Officer Richard Arciniega, a senior officer in the Newton Division’s CRASH unit, and Sgt. Thomas Tavares of the Central Traffic Division.

“It still gets to me every time I see a dead kid,” said Spreitzer. “Even after all the killings I’ve seen, I never get used to it. Every kid has a right to grow up.”

One of the speakers at the awards dinner, held at the Biltmore Hotel, was Alex Casillas, 18, a youth who was headed for a gang life until Raul Caiz, director of the El Sereno center, helped straighten him out.

Once fighting every day, Casillas is getting good grades at Wilson High School and playing on the varsity basketball team.

“If it wasn’t for the youth center, I’d still be a mess-up. Or maybe I’d just be dead,” said Casillas.

The former street fighter drew the evening’s biggest laugh when, during a speech, he looked at Alatorre and said, “I don’t care what they say about you. I like you anyway.”