Peter Repovich
September, 2010
I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the honorees from this year’s Z Awards For ExZellence hosted by Councilman Dennis P. Zine in recognition of public safety personnel who go above and beyond expectations in order to serve the citizens of the Third Council District and the greater Los Angeles community. Three of the recipients are outstanding members of the LAPD and very deserving of this award. On behalf of the League, I also want to thank Councilman Zine for rewarding dedicated public servants like our officers in the field.
Z Awards For ExZellence Recipients
Officer Samuel Davis, LAPD Valley Traffic Division
Officer Davis is assigned to the Valley Traffic Division COMPSTAT Unit, which is responsible for reducing fatal and serious-injury traffic collisions in problem areas. Officer Davis’ citation average has been approximately 30 citations per day, the highest daily average for all of the officers assigned to Valley Traffic Division. He also maintains one of the highest daily averages for vehicle impounds, which has lowered the incidents of hit-and-run collisions within Operations Valley Bureau. In 2009, he issued a total of 2,778 traffic citations and impounded 221 vehicles. During the month of December 2009, Officer Davis issued over 600 speeding citations on Roscoe Boulevard. Because of his tenacity, traffic collisions on Roscoe have dropped dramatically.
Officer Gary Shanahan, LAPD West Valley Area
Officer Shanahan is a 30-year veteran of the LAPD and has been assigned to the West Valley Area since 1982. Officer Shanahan has spent his entire career working in a field-patrol capacity, creating partnerships with the community. His approachable and respectable demeanor has allowed him to develop long-lasting relationships, and his character is reflected in the numerous commendations he has received throughout his career. He has been able to become very familiar with the area and develop strategies to combat its crime trends.
Officer Dennis Cunningham, LAPD Topanga Area
Officer Cunningham is a 12-year veteran of the LAPD who has established himself as one of the Department’s best. He was promoted to police officer III and handpicked by Captain John Sherman, Topanga Division’s commanding officer, to become an inaugural member of the Topanga station’s new gang-enforcement detail. As a gang investigator, he has made a number of significant, high-profile arrests. One such arrest occurred when Officer Cunningham detained and searched a known, high-level gang shot-caller and found him to be in possession of a Tech-9 machine gun, narcotics and money. That arrest led to Officer Cunningham initiating and being the team leader for Topanga GED’s first search warrant. His aggressive, proactive style of policing has earned him the respect of his peers and supervisors, as well as the honor of being selected as Topanga’s first Officer of the Quarter. Last December, Officer Cunningham was instrumental in the identification and arrest of a door-to-door magazine salesman who had brutally beaten, sexually assaulted and robbed a woman at her home in Woodland Hills.
The other public safety personnel honored at the event included Officer Evelyn Solano, Office of Public Safety; Captain Selwyn Lloyd, Los Angeles City Fire Department; Deputy Joseph Cerda, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; and Officer Jeff Ferber, California Highway Patrol.
Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees. Thank you for your outstanding efforts in keeping our City safe. Please feel free to contact me at peterrepovich@lappl.org.
