Police, civilians honored for service

Gretchen Hoffman

GLENDALE -- Hundreds of people met at the Hilton Glendale Thursday to

show their appreciation for those who serve the city.

Thirty-five officers and 10 citizens were honored at the Glendale

Police Appreciation and Awards Luncheon, hosted by Glendale Citizens for

Law and Order.

“Frankly, after 30 years in law enforcement, I’m personally very much

in awe and still inspired by their activities,” Chief Russell Siverling

said. “[They] make all our badges brighter.”

Sgt. Mario Marchman, who serves as president of the Glendale Police

Officers Assn., was named Officer of the Year. Over the past year, he has

served as the lead tactical instructor for the department, training

officers in rapid-deployment response, officer-down rescues and more.

The 2002 Reserve Officer of the Year title went to Gary Dunger, who

worked more than 480 hours in 2001 -- essentially staffing a patrol car

for 48 days. Reserve officers receive just $1 a year for their service.

Mary Velasquez and Evelyn Dizon were selected as co-recipients of the

Civilian of the Year for their commitment to the department and the

community.

Dick Kemp, a retired architect, was named Volunteer of the Year for

his work on the new police headquarters, which is set to open this fall.

Officer Stephen Clough was awarded the Gold Medal of Heroism for

apprehending an armed robbery suspect. Sgt. Todd Anderson and Officer

Patrick Richardson were awarded the Distingushed Service Award for their

heroism in the same incident.

Members of the Efren Saldivar investigation and prosecutors were

granted Distinguished Service Awards: Capt. Jerry Stolze; sergeants John

Todd Anderson, John McKillop, Randy Osborne, Dennis Smith and Todd

Stokes; investigators Will Currie, Anthony Futia, Dan Hinojosa, Maribel

Ortega-Sumner and Mario Yagoda; Dr. Brian Andreson; forensics technicians

Renee Freeman and Gilbert Rodriguez; deputy district attorneys Al

MacKenzie and Karla Kerlin; Deputy City Atty. Carmen Merino; retired

Capt. Mike Post; officers Patrick Richardson, Michael Toledo and Tigran

Topadzhikyan; secretary Louise Saiz; Carlos Santos of Information

Services; and Lt. Donald Shade.

Divisional Commendations went to Community Service Officer Farah Leon,

Agent Dan Johnston, and officers Lola Abrahamian, Dean Bowman, Jim

Flores, Michael Glassick and Tim Spruill.

Citizen Commendations went to Michael Henderson, Sergio Olivarez, Ric

Nesmith and Kevin Rindner.

Marksmanship awards were granted to Marchman (first place); Ernie

Garcia (second place) and Gary Montecuollo (third place). Garcia took the

honor of No Second Chance Top Shooter.