Looking Ahead to an Exciting 2026
As we wrap up 2025, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to every member of the Hawthorne Police Department for making this a truly successful year. The last few months have been incredibly busy with city events and police operations, but through it all, your hard work, commitment, and dedication to our great police department have shone through. It doesn't go unnoticed—everyone who works here should be proud of the outstanding work we do and the vital services we provide to our city.
2026 promises to be an exciting year ahead. We'll welcome new hires joining our ranks across the department, conduct testing and celebrate internal promotions in both civilian and sworn positions, and we will test for several new specialist positions. On the horizon are some monumental events: the NBA All-Star Weekend from February 13–15 at the Intuit Dome, and FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, including eight games hosted at SoFi Stadium. These large-scale, once-in-a-lifetime regional events will give us incredible opportunities to showcase both our city and the Hawthorne Police Department on a global stage. They will also help us develop blueprints for even bigger events ahead, like the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
As we close out 2025 and turn our eyes to 2026, I'd like to share a few highlights from the past several weeks that truly exemplify the spirit of our team. In November, Bearet Luttenbacher and Michael Jenks stepped up to assist the Alhambra Police Department by working a patrol shift in Alhambra, allowing their department time to grieve the tragic loss of Officer Alec Sanders.
That same month, Captain Port, Lieutenant Saldana, Sergeant Ceniceros, Sergeant Matson, Sergeant Kemp, and I, along with members of our Narcotics Unit, attended the California Narcotic Officers' Association Al Stewart Dinner, where Detective Thomas Heffner was rightfully honored for his more than 14 years of exemplary service as a narcotics Task Force Investigator with HIDTA, Hawthorne Narcotics Investigator, Narcotics Canine Handler, and CNOA Narcotics Instructor. Congratulations, Tom!!!
A special thank you goes to the Hawthorne Police Officers Association (HPOA) for providing Thanksgiving lunch and dinner to our employees who were here serving the community during the holiday.
On Saturday, December 6th, we attended the Explorer Post Class 88 Graduation at South Torrance High School, where we proudly celebrated three new Police Explorers who successfully graduated from the Academy. This brings our Explorer Post numbers up to a total of 10 dedicated young Police Explorers. Our Explorer Post continues to thrive and grow thanks to the countless hours of volunteering and guidance from our exceptional Explorer Advisors: Raul Espinoza, Dianne Carmona, Ericka Marroquin, Shelly Yoshida, Jesse Lopez, Jerome Michalzcak, and Jesus Cenicerios. I want to personally thank them for their unwavering dedication and for carrying on the decades-long tradition of this program, which has profoundly influenced and helped shape many of our current officers and employees within these walls, as well as countless others throughout Los Angeles County law enforcement.
Our Santa Day event was a resounding success, giving our employees a chance to celebrate the holidays with their families right here at the police department. Huge thanks to Aimee Yoshida, John Yoshida, Darnell, and Captain Port for organizing an amazing day complete with games, bouncers, fantastic food, and a visit from Santa—courtesy of the LA County Fire Department.
Finally, thank you to the HPOA Board members (President Michael Matson, Vice President Kenny Craig, Treasurer Gonzalo Cardenas, Secretary Jesus Ceniceros, Director Gus Rubio, Director Ericka Marroquin, Director Dianne Carmona, Director George Bukhin, Director John Broc) and the Christmas Party Planning Committee—Dianne Carmona, Bradley Jackson, Pedro Nambo, George Bukhin, Ericka Marroquin and Jose Gomez—for hosting another outstanding Christmas party on the Queen Mary. The evening was filled with fond memories, great company, dancing, and yes... a few shots thank you George! It was wonderful catching up with everyone.
Thank you again for an amazing 2025—here's to an even brighter and more exciting 2026! As we kick off the new year, please mark your calendars for Friday morning, February 6th—we will be taking a full department photograph followed by a department meeting. It's been six years since our last department photo on February 19th, 2019, and with all the new faces and changes since then, this will be a great opportunity to capture our current team. More information will be coming as we get closer to the date.