Lemoore police sergeant honored at public safety appreciation luncheon

By The Leader Staff
Chief Darrell Smith and Sgt. Alvaro Santos
Chief Darrell Smith and Sgt. Alvaro Santos

Lemoore’s sworn police officers – and Chief Darrell Smith – obviously think highly of fellow Sgt. Alvaro “Danny” Santos, because they chose him to receive county-wide recognition from the Hanford Chamber of Commerce at its annual Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon, held at the Hanford Civic Auditorium on Friday, Sept. 23.

According to Smith each agency recognized one of their valuable employees to receive recognition.

Sgt. Santos is a native of Aguascalientes, Mexico and migrated to the United States with his family, becoming a U.S. citizen in 2000. Santos attended California State University, Fresno graduating in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in criminology.

After graduating from the College of the Sequoias Police Academy, the Lemoore Police Department hired Santos and swore him in as a full-time officer. Santos promoted to corporal in 2014 and was quickly promoted to sergeant in September, 2015.

Santos is married to Cindy, and together they have two children Evelyn, 7 and Aiden, 5.

“Every day that he is at work he dedicates himself to his coworkers and the citizens of Lemoore,” said Chief Smith. “He takes great pride in himself, the department, and the quality and quantity of work that he performs.”

Sgt. Santos has worked as an Investigator for the Kings County Narcotics Task Force, has been a field training officer, and is a member of the regional SWAT team. 

“Sgt. Santos has done a phenomenal job leading by example,” added Smith. “He has a high sense of teamwork and consistently performs duties on his off days to accomplish department goals. Sgt. Santos does not ask his team to do anything that he is not willing to do himself.”

Smith said that just in the past year Santos has been involved in approximately 900 incidents, over 75 percent that were self-initiated, all while still performing his supervisor duties. Sgt. Santos has been faced with unusual and high risk calls for service and has been able to handle the calls and direct his staff in a safe and effective manner. 

Smith went on to say that Santos runs the department’s Recruitment and Retention Team and is constantly performing collateral duties above and beyond the call of duty, and he has established honest and open communication with his peers and subordinates. 

Smith said that Santos has the respect, trust, and loyalty from his fellow officers. Ultimately, it has been the quality, consistency and presence of his character that has earned him all of the above, he said.

“Sgt. Santos is an authentic leader and is consistently encouraging his staff,” said Smith. “He recognizes that each member of his team offers a unique skill set, and assigns his employees responsibilities where their contributions enable them to flourish.”

 

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