Glendale Police Awards Luncheon doles out honors for officers, citizens

Early one April morning last year, a woman called 911 to tell police that someone was in her home. The dispatcher heard frantic screams, and the line went dead.

With sirens blaring, Glendale police rushed to the scene, where the woman’s home was on fire after her ex-boyfriend allegedly threw a lit object inside.

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The four who arrived first, Officers Olga Varouzian, Alex Lee, Chris Brewer and Daniel Barolet, quickly rescued the woman and used a garden hose to extinguish the blaze before firefighters arrived.

Those officers earned a Divisional Award during the 21st annual Glendale Police Awards Luncheon, hosted last week by the Glendale Police Foundation.

More than two dozen others, including officers, community members and volunteers, were also recognized during the event.

That included members of the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, which includes three Glendale police officers — Sgt. Manny Fernandez, Det. Justin Darby and Det. Eric Meyer — responsible for catching dangerous, violent criminals.

The nine members of the team, which last year arrested 174 fugitives, earned a Distinguished Service Award for their work apprehending a murder suspect who lived at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, four robbery suspects who’d severely beaten a victim with a tire iron and a man who allegedly killed his grandparents with an ax in Glendale.

Glendale police Sgt. Ben Bateman enjoys the 2016 Glendale Police Awards Luncheon held at the Glendale Civic Auditorium on Thursday, May 12, 2016.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

The Glendale Community College Police Department was included in this year’s ceremony, with Officer Narbeh Nazari earning the inaugural Chief’s Award of Excellence. ABC7 anchor David Ono, who emceed the program, pointed to Nazari’s record of arresting a sexual assault suspect, as well as a suspect who emailed violent threats to someone else on campus.

Meanwhile, Officer Jim Trudeau, a 23-year agency veteran, received a standing ovation when he was honored as the Glendale Police Department Officer of the Year.

“There are so many officers at the department that are just as equally worthy of an award like this,” Trudeau said. “I constantly find things that I admire in other officers that I try to work toward or try to emulate.”

He pointed to Officer Frank Segura, who was recognized with a Divisional Award, for making a traffic stop that led to the arrest of two Long Beach gang members who had on them bundles of cash, gloves and burglary tools.

Det. Pete Robinson received the same award for his 18-month identity-theft investigation involving three family members reportedly responsible for the theft of more than $700,000 from dozens of victims.

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Alene Tchekmedyian, [email protected]

Twitter: @atchek