“It opened my mind to law enforcement that I hadn't seen before because I had limited exposure to law enforcement growing up, ... That was the motivation that put me in that direction.”
“For me, this is an important area because I know the outcomes that do come out of establishing and maintaining good relationships in any community between law enforcement, government and the residents, ... The outcomes are very positive and beneficial to the community as a whole.”
“Within the agency, I've always been treated fairly, ... I stood out because I was the only bilingual Hispanic, I believe, for about the first 13 years in the sheriff's office in my career. I ended up getting all the high-profile felony cases -- homicides, shootings, robberies -- involving Spanish-speaking individuals. So it accelerated my training, but it put a heavy workload on me.”
“I only remember that I was asleep and when I woke up, the van was already turning over. When the van stopped, I was thrown into the grass. I turned my head, and saw that other people had been thrown out. I couldn't see whether they were OK. I couldn't move. I couldn't sit up. I couldn't walk. All I could do was wait for help to come. It seemed like forever because of the pain.”