Each year, the Newport Beach Police Department honors members of the department in various categories. Nominations for the Police Department Awards are collected by committees for each award category. Members of the Police Department who receive award nominations are discussed by those committees and then recommendations are submitted to the Chief of Police for consideration.
On Thursday, April 22, the following members of the Police Department received recognition in the listed categories:
- Detective Jonathan Jarema, 2020 Officer of the Year (Awarded Posthumously).
- Sergeant Randall Parker, 2020 Sworn Supervisor of the Year
- Civilian Supervisor Connie Frink, 2020 Civilian Supervisor of the Year
- Police Mechanic Alex Perez, 2020 Civilian Employee of the Year
- Volunteer Lori Hayden, 2020 Volunteer of the Year
Additional awards:
Lifesaving Award presented to Officers Brandon Boehme-Decew, Shay Brackett, and Heather Thomson.
On November 29, 2020, Officers Heather Thomson, Brandon Boehme-Decew, and Shay Brackett were dispatched to a home on Promontory Drive, where a man had accidentally discharged a round into his leg while cleaning his gun.
Officers found the man, who was bleeding profusely, lying on the ground just outside the home. They immediately applied a tourniquet to the man’s upper thigh, successfully stopping the bleeding from his femoral artery, and monitored him until Newport Beach Fire Department personnel arrived. The man was then transported to a local hospital with a full expectation for his recovery.
Lifesaving Award presented to Sergeant Justin Morouse.
On April 15, 2020, Sergeant Justin Morouse was off-duty at his home when his neighbors discovered their two-year-old daughter face-down in their backyard spa. Hearing their cries for help, Sergeant Morouse went outside and found the distraught father running towards him, holding the girl in his arms. Sergeant Morouse, seeing that the girl’s skin was blue and that she appeared lifeless, immediately performed life-saving measures and instructed the father to call 911. After Sergeant Morouse held the child at an inverted angle and administered several pats to her back, the girl coughed up water from her lungs and began to breathe normally on her own. Sergeant Morouse continued to monitor the child until medics arrived and transported her to a local hospital, where she made a full recovery.
Award of Merit presented to Community Services Officer Cheyann Mish
On September 11, 2020, Community Services Officer Cheyann Mish was working at the Police Department’s front desk when she noticed a man on the ground just outside the lobby doors, struggling to stand up. CSO Mish rushed to the man’s aid while her coworkers called for paramedics. As he lost consciousness and began to fall again, CSO Mish was able to grab ahold of the man and assist him to the ground. She continued to monitor the man until Newport Beach Fire Department personnel arrived to transport him to a local hospital, where he received further treatment.
Award of Merit presented to Community Services Officer Kaitlin Greathouse
In February 2020, the Crimes Against Persons Unit of the Detective Division was tasked with the monumental process of updating and adding over five decades’ worth of violent- and sex-related-crime information into the ViCAP (Violent Criminal Apprehension Program) database. CSO Greathouse took on the project, meticulously researching and entering the data over the course of six months. The ViCAP Unit of the FBI maintains the largest investigative repository of major violent crime cases in the county; through CSO Greathouse’s efforts, NBPD crime data can now be used by law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Award of Merit presented to Officer Kyle Markwald
Throughout 2020, a home in the Cliff Haven community became a hub of illegal activity, centered on the use and sales of narcotics. Despite officers’ best efforts to provide concentrated coverage in the area, and multiple arrests for felony and misdemeanor violations, the location remained a public nuisance for nearby residents. Intent on finding a solution, Officer Kyle Markwald worked with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office on a criminal filing for Health & Safety Code violations, and with the City’s Code Enforcement Department and City Attorney’s Office to address California’s Health & Safety Civil Code violations. These efforts were successful, leading to a significant reduction in crime and calls for services in the neighborhood.
Award of Merit presented to Sergeant Gary Clemente and Officers Lucas Bondi, Kyle Cameron, Christopher McMurray, Zachary Michael, and Beau Rains
On September 18, 2020, Sergeant Gary Clemente and Officers Lucas Bondi, Kyle Cameron, Christopher McMurray, Zachary Michael, and Beau Rains responded to a report of vandalism and domestic violence at an apartment complex. (One week earlier, officers had responded to the same location after a man threatened his girlfriend with a knife.) On arrival, officers found that the same man had now barricaded the front door of the apartment with a large dresser and had dragged his girlfriend onto the balcony. The man then wrapped his arms around the woman’s neck and began choking her. Officers responded immediately, using a ramming tool to defeat the barricaded door and making their way to the balcony. Although the man tried to use his girlfriend as a human shield, officers were able to separate her from her attacker and evacuate her from the apartment. The suspect continued to struggle with the officers, but was ultimately arrested for his crimes.
At the Awards Ceremony, the Police Department also premiered a video entitled “The NBPD Commitment.” The video can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyf1jXkjkK0.
