WHITTIER, California, United States?Two Filipino Americans were presented with official badges of the Los Angeles County Sheriff?s Department marking their new careers as deputy sheriffs.
Michael Camacho and Manolo Afable, both originally from Manila, were among 40 men and women who received certificates of completion of the Deputy Sheriff Academy Class 379 on October 9. The ceremony was held at the Stars Center in Whittier, California.
In his address, Sheriff Leroy Baca exhorts the new officers to bear in mind that save for some, most people are overwhelmingly good; that they must always seek to find goodness even from those they may have to arrest.
?Strength is what you have now but strength without kindness is empty,? Baca said.
It may be recalled that only last month a native of Pampanga, Sheriff Deputy Jose Nanquil, was among the recipients of the Medal of Valor bestowed yearly by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department. The event was held at the Quiet Cannon Restaurant in Montebello, about 9 miles east of Los Angeles.
The medal is the department?s highest honor awarded only to those displaying great bravery above and beyond the call of duty with full knowledge of the risk involved to personal safety in order to save the lives of others.
Nanquil joined the sheriff?s department in 1989 and has been assigned at the Industry Station since 2001.
According to Wikipedia, the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department is the seventh largest law enforcement agency in the United States and since 1996, has also been the largest sheriffs department in the world. It provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of the county as well as incorporated cities within the county who have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services.
It also holds primary jurisdiction over facilities operated by Los Angeles County, such as local parks, marinas, and government buildings (but delegates much of that authority to the Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety); provides marshal service for the county?s Superior Court of California; operates the county jail system; and provides services, such as laboratories and academy training, to smaller law enforcement agencies within the county. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is sometimes referred to as the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office.


