Police Officer of the Year: Maribel Gutierrez

The nomination is in: the Gilroy Police Department’s Community Service Officer Maribel Gutierrez will be honored as the city’s “police officer of the year” at the 18^th-annual Blue and Gold Awards Luncheon next week. 

“She was selected for her tireless dedication to the DARE program,” wrote police Capt. Kurt Svardal in the recommendation.

Gutierrez became the department’s only full-time DARE instructor after budget cuts, doubling her number of students, said the captain. 

“We are in our second year of the current DARE schedule and due to her flexibility and enthusiasm the program has remained extremely successful,” wrote Svardal, “It is also noted that Maribel is keeping the curriculum fresh and up to date with the most current trends in our local schools.”

She joins firefighter  as this year's award recipients.

The luncheon, which will honor law enforcement officers and firefighters from throughout the South Valley, will be on May 18 at the I.F.D.E.S. (Portuguese) Hall on the corner of Old Gilroy and Forest streets. The event will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and lunch is $15.

Call Eleanor Villarreal at 408-847-1605 for reservations.