Topanga Police Station Employees of the Quarter

It’s always a privilege and an honor to have the men and women police officers from the Topanga Police Station to visit our Club and receive their awards for the first quarter of 2015.  Captain Maureen Ryan thanked the Club for recognizing her officers and staff. The recipients were acknowledged at the April 29 Club meeting.  They were:

 

Detective of the Quarter – Detective I Timothy Wolleck – The difficult part of Detective Wolleck’s job is to find out the truth with sex crimes and domestic violence. Victims don’t see themselves as victims, and they don’t talk about it because the offender is usually someone they love the most. Emotions are involved and the offender must be prosecuted. Tim deals with bad people and he is grateful for Rotary’s support.

 

Supervisor of the Quarter – Vice Unit – Sergeant I Celeste Thiel – A 20-year veteran, Thiel was promoted to supervisor of the Vice Unit and addresses the issues of gangs and human trafficking. She’s organized and a good time manager. Celeste also works closely with gang officers to help them in solving crimes they are handling.

 

Field Training Officer of the Quarter – Police Officer III Brian Harris – Brian teaches officers how to do real police work and solve crimes. He uses tools to address risk problems, such as videos on speed driving to prevent accidents and use of seat belts as well as PowerPoints presentations in training the officers at the Topanga Station.

 

Police Office of the Quarter – Police Officer III Jorge Esquivel – Jorge has worked a variety of assignments from patrol at Topanga, Crime Task Force at Mission, and parolee intervention. When he wakes up in the morning he wants to make the world a better place. Jorge grew up in a rough neighborhood and was bullied and attacked by gang members.

 

Special Civilian Honoree – Deputy City Attorney Karine Phillips – Karine works tirelessly files cases for senior officers, vice, and narcotics. She has seen a 40% increase in her workload and sometimes is at the office until 9 p.m. Karine works hard because the officers work hard.