Nineteen
female and thirty-eight male Deputy Sheriffs, as well as three female
and twenty male Officers from Bell, Beverly Hills, Claremont, Culver
City, Gardena, Glendale, Inglewood, Manhattan Beach, Pasadena, and
Signal Hill Police Departments graduated from the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department's Training Academy in Whittier during ceremonies
held on Friday, December 10, 2004 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Pasadena Chief Bernard Melekian and United States Secret Service Special Agent
in Charge Tony Chapa delivered inspirational remarks to the graduates and their
guests.
As part of the graduation, a badge-pinning ceremony was conducted, with the new
deputies and officers receiving their badges from a family member or a loved
one. After receiving their graduation certificates, the graduates were officially
sworn in as peace officers by Undersheriff William Stonich.
In a special segment of the ceremony, Officer Joel Givens of the Beverly Hills
Police Department, a resident of Santa Clarita, was named the Honor Recruit for
Class #338. This award is given to the recruit who achieves the highest numerical
average based upon leadership qualities, social relations and personal traits,
practical performance, academics, marksmanship, and physical performance throughout
the training period. Additionally, Deputy Billy Khounthavong, a resident of Diamond
Bar, was acknowledged for graduating with the highest academic score.
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