Pictured left to right: Father Ben, mother Helen, grandmother Jenny, Amber, sister Kassandra, and wife Danielle Based on her first interaction with a police officer at eight years of age, Amber Garcia knew from that moment that she wanted to be a police officer. This was based on a “crummy interview” she had with the officer when she was interviewed as a witness to a neighborhood fight. “I was really nervous, but I felt crummy after the interview…He didn’t talk to me like a kid and I felt like I was in trouble. He didn’t come down to my level…
Author: Pall Guðgeirsson
Deputy Juan Lara…professional, dedicated, loyal, fair, and a man who loves and appreciates his job by Páll Gudgeirsson It’s been a long and winding road for Deputy Juan Lara from his childhood in San Jose to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) 2021 San Clemente Deputy of the Year. Deputy Lara has navigated the career turns along that winding road which continues to this day as he crosses the Ortega Highway from his home in Lake Elsinore to a midnight — ‘where the action is’ — shift, as a Deputy and Field Training Officer for the City of San Clemente.…
by Páll Gudgeirsson For a Police Lieutenant who had once been told by his then superiors that he had no future in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), and would retire as a lieutenant, he proved them wrong when he was sworn in as Sheriff-Coroner on January 9, 2019. This was after serving OCSD since starting his career in 1989 under the legendary Sheriff Brad Gates. As a self-described non-politician, he ran on a ‘platform’ of ‘character, integrity and experience’ with the support of prior sheriffs, elected officials, community groups, citizen advocates, and especially family support. As you will see…