13-Year Veteran Is Officer of the Year

Senior Officer Lisa Ragone was selected Wednesday as officer of the year by the Oxnard Police Department, the first woman to receive the honor.

A 13-year veteran of the department, Ragone is coordinator for the Domestic Violence Unit. She helped implement the domestic violence grant, which includes coordinating volunteers to help victims and provide crisis intervention.

“I was surprised, very surprised,” Ragone said. “I’m jazzed still.”

The award has been presented by the Kiwanis Club for the past 32 years. The selection criteria include rank, outstanding performance for the department, a commitment to community service and accomplishments in education and training.

Since 1990, Ragone has been the advisor for the Oxnard Police Explorer Post, which has 28 student members. In 1997, she was chosen as the Ventura County Law Enforcement Explorer Advisor of the Year.

“Watching a young person grow up to be an officer and having an influence on that, that’s rewarding,” she said.

Ragone, 40, also served as a patrol officer, field training officer, motorcycle traffic officer, traffic accident investigator, beat coordinator and detective.

She serves on the board of the Ventura County chapter of the American Autism Society and the board of the Ventura Independence Program.

Ragone has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana. Before coming to Oxnard, she spent three years with the Missoula County Sheriff’s Department in Montana.

Ragone has been nominated three times for officer of the year. The other finalists this year: Officers Jason Benites, John Loredo, Jeff Shelton and Senior Officer Jim Stallings.