National Latino Peace Officers Association, Ventura County Chapter


	2008 Board of Directors

Alejandro Rangel

Chapter President

Officer Of The Year 2007

Alejandro Rangel has been a police officer with the Oxnard Police Department for eleven years. Prior, he worked for the Santa Paula Police Department for eight years. Alejandro attended Ventura Community College where he obtained an AS in Administration of Justice and an AA in General Education. Alejandro is a graduate of the Union Institute & University, where he received his BS in Criminal Justice Management.

Alejandro was promoted to Senior Officer in 1998. Currently, he is assigned to the Patrol Division where he oversees the "District One" portion of the City of Oxnard. As a co-lateral assignment Alejandro is the Senior Officer for the SWAT Hostage Negotiations Unit. He previously supervised the Major Crimes Domestic Violence Unit and the Property Crimes General Assignment Unit. He teaches Domestic Violence at the Ventura County Regional Training Center and has toured the country of Russia teaching Russian officers Domestic Violence investigations and protocol. Prior to his promotion he worked patrol, storefront officer (La Colonia Office), bike patrol, field training officer, hosted the Street Beat En Espanola television show, taught the El Protector program, and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in Santa Paula and Oxnard elementary school districts.

He and his wife, Teresa, have a daughter, Brittany, and they reside in Oxnard.

Eduardo Miranda

First Vice-President

Officer Of The Year 2006

I come from a large Hispanic family with many siblings who graduated from college. It has been important to me to be successful in whatever career aspirations. My father came to the U.S. out of economic need as an illegal immigrant. He brought my mother to El Paso, Texas in the year of 1950. During the following year, my parents fathered their first-born. At this time, my father soon realized that the only way he was going to give his children an opportunity in their lives was through education. From that day, he relentlessly preached that schooling is the way toward a fuller self-realization.

I am the youngest of thirteen children. This helped me enormously because I was able to learn from my older siblings. I graduated from Mesa Union Elementary School in 1983, Rio Mesa High School in 1987, U.C.S.B. in 1991 (B.A. Sociology) and U.S.C. in 1994 (MPA). I am currently working on a (DPDS) Doctor of Planning and Development Studies at USC and will complete this degree in 2007. I am grateful for my parents, family, teachers, college professors, and mentors. Without their help I would not have achieved what I have today.

I am currently employed by the Oxnard Police Department as a Senior Detective. My current assignment is in the investigations Division as a Robbery Investigator. I hope to help many victims of robberies by arresting the suspect who has committed this crime. This will not be an easy task but I know I can make a positive contribution to the Oxnard Community in this position.

As the Vice-President of the NLPOA Ventura County Chapter, it is my goal to establish a strong foundation for this organization so future leaders can build upon it. By building a partnership with the community and having a committed membership whom embrace the mission of NLPOA this goal can be achieved. I have been on the board for over four years and will always be open for suggestions. I invite you in becoming a member and assisting us in accomplishing our goals.

Lastly, without the support of my wife Roxanne, my three children Eduardo Jr., Kyle-Adam, and Divina Natalia I would not be where I am today. They are the reasons I continue to stay focused and determined.

Mike Aranda
Second Vice-President
Congratulations on being promoted to Captain, October 2005.

Mike is a Sergeant with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department and has worked for the department for 23 years. Mike is currently assigned to the Sheriff's Professional Standards Bureau / Internal Affairs and has worked a variety of assignments throughout his career. Mike's assignments have included Custody, Patrol, K-9 Handler, SWAT, Special Enforcement Unit, Major Crimes Investigations, Administration, Basic Academy Coordinator, and Basic Academy Officer Safety and Survival . Spanish Instructor for the Ventura County Criminal Justice Training Center. Mike and his wife, Carmina, have two sons, Eric and Michael, and two daughters, Stefanie and Marisa. Mike and Carmina are also grandparents to three granddaughters, Alexiss, Erica, and Anyssa. Mike and Carmina reside in Oxnard.

Rocio Martinez
Treasurer
Miss Martinez was born in Ventura and has been a life-long Oxnard resident. Miss Martinez attended Ventura College and California Lutheran University. She obtained her BS in psychology and is employed with Ventura County Probation as a Deputy Probation Officer in the Domestic Violence Unit. Assignments have included Youth Services and AdultInvestigations. She has been a part of the training unit as a First Aid/CPR instructor and has co-facilitated Parent Project classes. Miss Martinez was previously employed with Interface Children Services as a group facilitator, supervised visitation monitor, youth crisis specialist, an Parenting classes facilitator.

Elaine Espinoza

Secretary

Elaine Espinoza currently resides in Oxnard. She became a member of the NLPOA this past year and is now taking on the duties of Secretary. She had been involved with various parent organizations while her three sons were in elementary school. She has always been interested in helping better the lives of students. She is hoping to be able to be a positive contributor to the organization for the next couple of years.

Steven Ramirez II
Sergeant at Arms

Steven is 30 Years old and is currently employed by the Oxnard Police Department for the past 2 Years. Steven is currently assigned to the Central Business District Storefront of Downtown Oxnard. Steven enjoy working with the public and establishing partnerships with merchants and citizens. Prior to his employment with the Oxnard Police Department, Steven was employed by Ventura County Sheriff's Department as a Corrections Officer for 8 Years. While at Sheriff's Department, Steven was awarded the Community Officer for the West County Patrol Area. Steven grew up in Oxnard, resided in the City of Oxnard his entire life. Steven has an AA degree from Oxnard college and is currently pursuing a BA from La Verne University.

Steven believes education is necessary in order to succeed especially in the society of today with so much competition. Steven also enjoy working with kids. Steven's hobbies include going to gym and drinking coffee and reading the newspaper at starbucks.

Tomas Miranda Jr

Member at large/ Webmaster

After graduating from Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard, Tomas attended UCSB. Tomas is a Retired Correctional Officer for the State of California and is a retired member of the CCPOA (California Correctional Peace Officer Association). He started his real estate career in 2000 and is currently at Keller Williams Realty. Tomas is an ALC (Agent Leadership Council) member and is also certified A+, Net+, MCP, MCSA, and MCSE etc.. Tomas is a certified state and federal tax preparer by H&R Block. He has been a resident of Ventura County since 1966.

Jason Benites

Member at large

Joined the Oxnard Police Department in 1993, after graduating from the University of California at Los Angeles. During his career as a Police Officer he has worked in the Patrol Division, and served as a Field Training Officer, bicycle officer, and in 1997 was one of three officers who opened a community storefront in Downtown Oxnard. He was a finalist for Oxnard's Police Officer of the Year in 1997,1998, and 1999. Upon his 1999 promotion to Senior Police Officer he served as a Beat Coordinator, who acts as the community's point of contact for his assigned area. He was later assigned to detectives until his promotion to Sergeant in March of 2001.
As a Sergeant, Jason returned to the Field Services Bureau as a patrol supervisor. In July 2002 he supervised detectives in the Oxnard Violent Crimes Task Force. The OVCTF was a multijurisdictional unit that partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and its state / local officers were deputized by the FBI and US Marshal's Office as "Special Federal Officers." The OVCTF's primary responsibility was to identify and monitor violent offenders, and investigate serious violent crimes committed by gangs.
Jason returned to the Field Services Bureau upon his promotion to Police Commander in December 2003, and until July 2006 served as one of the Patrol Division's four Watch Commanders. His additional responsibilities included managing the Department's Beat Coordinator Unit, Bicycle Patrol Unit, and overseeing police operations in the northern end of Oxnard. Jason was also responsible for managing police operations at the Dallas Cowboys Summer Training Camp, which operated in Oxnard each summer from 2004-2006. He played a key role in developing the Neighborhood Policing Strategy, a staffing plan whose purpose is to further strengthen the Oxnard Police Department's community policing philosophy.
In November of 2006, Jason was promoted to the rank of Assistant Chief of Police. He is one of three Assistant Chiefs, and will head the Department's Investigative Services Bureau.
Jason resides in Ventura County with his wife Judy, and their daughter Riley

Saul Medina

Member at Large

Saul Medina attended Oxnard Public Schools, Rose Avenue Elementary, Fremont JR High, and Rio Mesa HS and attended Oxnard College. He holds a Bachelors in Sociology from UC Santa Barbara and a Masters in Social Work from San Jose University.

Saul is a an active member of his community, he is member of the Knight of Columbus, Planning Commissioner for the City of Oxnard, past board member of the Tri Counties Regional Center for families with developmental disabilities. Saul also is a past president of Oxnard Kiwanis Club, a community services club committed to helping one child, one community at a time. Saul volunteers at the annual Kiwanis Pancake fundraiser event which helps raises funds to help children in the community. Saul also helps at the Breakfast with Santa Event, which serves pancakes to over 1000 families' members waiting to meet Santa Claus and receive their Christmas gifts. Saul is also a community associate member of the National Latino Peace Officer Association- Ventura County Chapter, and will be selecting one college bound student to receive a "loaner for life" laptop computer.

Saul has delicate his professional development and community involvement to helping children who are less fortunate. Saul has worked as a social worker to foster children, juvenile justice social worker, psychiatric hospital social worker and children psychiatric social worker.

Gilbert Romero

Member at Large
Gilbert Romero grew up in Oxnard and is a graduate of Rio Mesa High School. He graduated from California State University, Northridge where he studied psychology and economics. He then attended law school at the University of California, Hastings College of Law. Upon graduating from law school he returned to Ventura County and began working at the Ventura County District Attorney�s Office. For the last 7 years he has been a trial attorney in the Sexual Assault Family Protection unit where he handles all types of sexual assault and domestic violence cases. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the County Bar Association and volunteers with programs directed at youths run by the County Probation Department and the Oxnard Police Department.

Rafael Nieves
Past President