WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - The West Sacramento Police Department (WSPD) held their annual awards ceremony, naming Officer Cameron Simpson Officer of the Year for the work done with the sUAS (small Unmanned Aerial Systems, or drone) team and for the respect and dignity that is consistently shown to the community.

There were two Life-Saving Awards given out this year. One Life-Saving Award went to four officers – Ofc. Cody Coulter, Ofc. Scott Farnsworth, Ofc. Jesus Gonzalez and Ofc. Seth Killion, who saved a man from being crushed underneath a car. The other Life-Saving Award went to Mark Sawyer for administering 5 doses of Narcan before EMS arrived, to a program participant that had overdosed in the doorway of their office.

Additional awards given out included: Manager of the Year: Lt. Jason Winger; Manager of the Year: Dea Pugh; Employee of the Year: Elaine Carlton; Volunteer of the Year: Patricia McDonald; Team of the Year: Wellness Team – Lt. Ryan Lukins, Sgt. Eric Angle, Sgt. Andrea King, Sgt. Robert Schmidt, Sgt. Michelle Tate, Ofc. Erik Thruelsen, Ofc. Dan Boehle, Dea Pugh and Susan Schmidt; Exceptional Performance: Ofc. Nazarly Yakimchuk; Exceptional Performance: Veronica Garcia; Exceptional Performance: UAS team; Community Recognition Award: WSPD Chaplains; Community Recognition Award: Eli Leon, Commanding Officer’s Citation: Sgt. Ed Hensley; Commanding Officer’s Citation: K-9 Ofc. Matt Montez, Det. Nvard Avagyan; Commanding Officer’s Citation: Sandy Yim and Chief’s Citation: Recruitment Team.

The following is a news release from the West Sacramento Police Department. Congratulations to all of the winners!

Officer of the Year: Cameron Simpson

Officer Simpson, when the sUAS team was established, you were one of the first, hand-chosen, members for your experience and enthusiasm for the craft. Throughout the development process of the team, you invested not only your own personal time and equipment, but also took a leading role in ensuring the team obtained everything it needed and was as fully functioning as possible. You took on the role of developing a training program for the team and have consistently been among the first to volunteer for call outs. Your skills, knowledge and willingness to go the extra mile have made the team the success that it is today. Additionally, you are consistently recognized for treating our community members with respect and dignity, going out of your way to help wherever you can. For these efforts and more, our department is proud to present you with the 2021 Officer of the Year!

Manager of the Year: Lt. Jason Winger

Lieutenant Winger, the past two years have been particularly trying for Law Enforcement. The ever-changing civil sentiment towards law enforcement, changing laws, COVID and the like, have presented unique problems for the agency and individuals to mechanically navigate, and face the mental fatigue. Throughout all of this you have shinned. You have been positive, engaging and ever present with your team. You have made yourself available 365 days a year,24/7. During 2021, you were often tasked as the sole Lieutenant in patrol, and not only maintained your responsibilities to patrol, traffic and special events, but helped push our department to the forefront of the UAS frontier in building our sUAS Team. Your dedication to that program has made it a model for others in the region. For these efforts and more, our department is proud to present you with the 2021 Manager of the Year!

Manager of the Year: Dea Pugh

Dea, you have been the embodiment of hard work and going above and beyond. You worked tirelessly in 2021 to complete the department's Re-Accreditation, and even with your hands full, always made time for the people and staff of the department. You have been an excellent addition to the Wellness Team and have helped many employees seek the help that they need. You are established as a go to person in the department when someone has a question, and even if you don’t have the answer (which is rare) you can be trusted to find someone who does. Your commitment to this department and our West Sacramento PD family has not gone unnoticed. For these efforts and more, our department is proud to present you with the 2021 Manager of the Year!

Employee of the Year: Elaine Carlton

Elaine, you have proven to be an invaluable asset not only within the Police Department, but the city as a whole. You work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure accurate crime statistics are provided to the Command Staff and Council. Your knowledge of state of the art software has been instrumental in assisting investigations into homicides and gang crimes. Additionally, you have taken on supporting the new RMS system roll out, as well as becoming a hard-working member of the newly formed sUAS team. Despite your significant workload, you always have a positive, “can do” attitude. For these efforts and more, our department is proud to present you with the 2021 Employee of the Year!

Volunteer of the Year: Patricia MacDonald

Patricia, you have continued to be a huge asset to our department. Even in a year with limited in person outreach opportunities, you ensured that you were available, even on short notice, to support the needs of the department in any capacity. You are always around to help with events and provide encouragement for officers, professional staff and volunteers alike. Your beautiful attitude and team player spirit brings a loving presence. For these efforts and more, our department is proud to present you with the 2021 Volunteer of the Year! 

Team of the Year: Wellness Team- Lt. Ryan Lukins, Sgt. Eric Angle, Sgt. Andrea King, Sgt. Robert Schmidt, Sgt. Michelle Tate, Ofc. Erik Thruelsen, Ofc. Dan Boehle, Dea Pugh, Susan Schmidt

The Wellness team has been a welcome addition to the department. During the year, the team has shown up to high profile calls to provide assistance to employees who may have experienced trauma. Even if they aren't used in a peer support capacity, they have stayed and helped to provide food to teams who have been stuck, not able to leave their posts for extended periods. Additionally, this team organized a family focused event allowing employees to being their families together to have fun and feel included in the work being done here. Events like this, and tokens of recognition and appreciation organized through this team have gone a long way in increasing employee morale. For these efforts and more, our department is proud to present The Wellness Team with the 2021 Team of the Year! 

Life Saving Award: Ofc. Cody Coulter, Ofc. Scott Farnsworth, Ofc. Jesus Gonzalez, Ofc. Seth Killion

On December 11th, 2021, Officers Coulter, Farnsworth, Killion, and Gonzalez were dispatched to a residence regarding a frantic woman who called 911 and screamed for help. Officers received further information that a vehicle had fallen off stands and trapped the owner who was working underneath the car. Officers Coulter, Farnsworth, Killion and Gonzalez all responded code-3 and arrived before fire and AMR personnel. When the Officers arrived on scene they could only see the person’s feet and shins as his whole body was underneath the sedan. The man was no longer conscious and responding. His head was pinned under the exhaust and the car was on his chest.

There were no suitable jacks nearby or other conventional means of lifting the car. The quick-thinking officers located some 4x4 wood posts lying in a yard nearby. They used several of the posts and worked together to create a fulcrum point to raise the car from the front and side, just enough to allow two other good Samaritans to pull the man free. As the man was pulled free, one of the posts actually broke in half.

Once removed from under the car, the man slowly came back, only screaming at first. West Sacramento Fire Department arrived on scene and began to treat the man as he screamed in pain. The ambulance arrived and took the man to the hospital. By the time they were loading him up, the man was fully conscious. If it weren’t for the quick thinking and ingenuity displayed by our officers, the man would likely have died. The shift Sergeant stated, “It was a truly humbling and proud moment to see these guys come together and save this man’s life.” For their heroic efforts we present these 4 Officers with the Lifesaving Medal.

Life Saving Award: Mark Sawyer

While working in the office at the Rodeway, a program participant ran to the office to tell Mark that a visitor was non-responsive in the doorway. Mark immediately ran over as office staff called 9-1-1; he checked for a pulse but couldn’t find one, the individual was however still warm. Noticing drug paraphernalia nearby, Mark deduced that there had likely been a drug overdose. He located at Narcan and delivered two doses with no response. He was able to request an additional Narcan and delivered two additional doses with slight movement after. He delivered a fifth dose of Narcan as paramedics arrived. Paramedics were able to deliver a sixth dose of Narcan which she responded to. Paramedics confirmed that she had in fact overdosed, and the Narcan she received saved her life. The individual has since made a full recovery. For your quick thinking and ingenuity, you are presented with the Life Saving Medal!

Exceptional Performance: Ofc. Nazariy Yakimchuk

Officer Yakimchuck you are being recognized for your strong work ethic and relentless pursuit of criminal activity. In 2021, you made many proactive arrests for stolen cars, gun possession, drug sales, and violent criminal warrant apprehension. Some notable cases have also involved the location of loaded firearms in the possession of known felons. Officer Yakimchuk, you’ve shown a high level of community policing, assisting SIU with various operations and developing valuable information through the course of his work as a patrol officer. You are a fair teammate and an extremely hard-working Police Officer. For these reasons, the department is proud to award you the Exceptional Performance Ribbon for 2021!

Exceptional Performance: Veronica Garcia

Veronica Garcia has been with the West Sacramento Police Department for 13 years. Throughout her time here with the Department, Veronica has continued to grow and shine. Veronica has supervised the Records Unit for the past 7 years and as its leader has created a very cohesive and efficient environment. She has worked tirelessly, sometimes with little to no staff, to keep things running within Records. Veronica has been heralded as a hard-working, dedicated leader. She is also an adept trainer, a strong teacher and has a great attitude when it comes to working with her team.

This past year, Veronica has worked tirelessly to prepare the department for a major change in the Records Management System. This conversion is no small undertaking and Veronica met this challenge head-on. She has included department staff in every aspect of building the new system, seeking input from employees to ensure the final product is perfect for all. She has been seen at all hours working tirelessly on this project, all while still managing the Records Unit. For all of these reasons, Veronica Garcia is awarded the Exceptional Performance award for 2021.

Exceptional Performance: UAS Team

The UAS team has developed themselves into a necessity. Rather than being something that is just nice to have, it is almost expected that UAS will be a part of critical incidents and special deployments. While the team has only been available for a short time, the operators of the UAS team have shown their value and commitment time and time again by being available for special circumstances and responding whenever called to critical incidents such as SWAT call outs, Missing Person Searches, Fires and Homicides. The UAS Team has quickly become a standard in our department, not due to administrative directives, but due to the dedication and commitment of the individuals involved.

Community Recognition Award: WSPD Chaplains

The position of Chaplain is truly under recognized and underappreciated. Throughout the year, chaplains respond to numerous calls throughout the city and county with no recognition, and often without the knowledge of the agency they represent. In this past year, our Chaplains responded to an incident involving two of our officers directly and more indirectly the rest of the shift. Our chaplains responded to this incident and were there with our department through that evening into the following days. This demonstrated extreme devotion to the department and the community in which we voluntarily serve. You all have helped our department navigate difficult terrain in this past year, especially through COVID. For these efforts, and many more, the department is proud to present you with the 2021 Community Recognition Citation.

Community Recognition Award: Eli Leon

Eli, you have been an invaluable asset to the Community Outreach and Support Division, and our Department as a whole. Your connection with the youth in our community has served as abridge to help connect our officers and department with some kids we may not otherwise have an opportunity to create positive touch points with. Whether it is referring kids to a spring break camp, signing kids up for the Annual Toy Drive, or jumping in to help out with Shop with a Cop; our efforts would be significantly diminished without you. For these efforts, and many more, the department is proud to present you with the 2021 Community Recognition Citation.

Commanding Officer’s Citation: Sgt. Ed Hensley

Sergeant Ed Hensley exhibited outstanding leadership through the difficult year of 2021. He successfully managed resources on modified scheduling to ensure crimes were investigated to the furthest extent possible with what limited resources the department had during COVID. Sgt. Hensley mentored many new detectives during his time as the Investigations Sergeant, establishing himself as reliable source of knowledge and guidance for his unit. Though Sgt. Hensley has since retired, we would like to honor him with the Commanding Officer’s Citation.

Commanding Officer’s Citation: K-9 Ofc. Matt Montez, Det. Nvard Avagyan

In February of 2021, Officer Matt Montez responded to a report of a battery. He contacted the victim who reported an extensive domestic violence situation to include strangulation, felony domestic violence, and credible death threats. Officer Montez established rapport with the victim and obtained a detailed initial statement, conducted extensive follow-up at the victim’s residence and obtained photographs and evidence to include a spent cartridge casing. He also obtained an emergency protective order for the victim. Later, Officer Montez also worked with the victim to collect vital digital evidence in the case. 

Detective Avagyan was later assigned the case to conduct follow-up as requested by the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. She obtained detailed witness statements from multiple different witnesses that provided substantial information relevant to the case. Detective Avagyan authored search warrants to obtain necessary evidence from cell phone involved in this case and conducted an analysis of the phones contents which revealed additional significant evidence. 

Based on the extensive work conducted by Officer Montez and Detective Avagyan. The suspect received 25 years and 4 months in State Prison. Based on the hard work of these two officers, this victim was protected and will remain safe, while the suspect remains in custody.

For their performance Officer Matt Montez and Detective Nvard Avagyan are awarded the Commanding Officer’s Citation.

Commanding Officer’s Citation: Sandy Yim

Sandy, you have continued to be a joy to the department. You have gone the extra mile to make sure that our department and community feel loved. The masks and treats you made and delivered frequently for officers and professional staff have become a hot commodity around the department. And your efforts in coordinating support to bolster our existing outreach efforts has been hugely beneficial to the community, adding food bags to our Toy Drive and Shop with a Cop events to provide some much-needed assistance to local families. Your selflessness in caring for everyone, in addition to your family is admirable and much appreciated. Thank you for all you do!

Chief’s Citation: Recruitment Team

The Recruitment Team for West Sacramento Police Department serves a vital function. It is because of their efforts that we are able to hire employees, primarily sworn officers, during a time that hiring has proven complicated for Law Enforcement agencies nationwide. Our Recruitment Team is a diverse group comprised of officers, one Sergeant and a Lieutenant. Their typical approach is to set this department apart from others because, here in West Sacramento, we are a family. Many of our employees have remained long-term because of the people they work with and the close dynamic that our agency has maintained. The Recruitment Team has worked hard to establish a personal connection with every applicant, keeping contact with them before, during and even after the process. This approach has allowed the department to obtain high quality employees during the hardest times. For their efforts we are proud to award the members of the Recruitment Team the Chief’s Citation.