MANY NEW CHANGES IN LA MESA POLICE DEPARTMENT STAFF

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January 7, 2012 (La Mesa) -- In the past three months the La Mesa Police Department management team has gone through many new changes.  With Chief Lanning’s retirement in September of 2011 and Captain Medero’s retirement in December 2011, seven promotions of existing LMPD staff were made in 2011 to consist of a new Chief of Police, two new captains, two new lieutenants and two new sergeants.

 

Chief Ed Aceves was selected by City Manager Dave Witt in October 2011.  Chief Aceves has been busy selecting his new staff which were all put in place by the start of 2012.  In November 2011, Chief Aceves promoted David Bond and Dan Willis to the rank of captain.  Captain Bond and Captain Willis have been with La Mesa PD since the start of their police careers.

Chief Aceves promoted Angela DeSarro and Ray Sweeney to the rank of lieutenants.  Lt. DeSarro is the first female lieutenant in the history of La Mesa PD.  Lt. Sweeney has spent his entire career with La Mesa PD while serving his country in the Army National Guard.
 
Chief Aceves promoted Greg Runge and Katy Lynch to the rank of sergeant.  Sgt. Runge has been with La Mesa PD for 10 years and most recently was assigned to the Narcotics Task Force.  Sgt. Lynch has been with the department for 7 years and had assignments with the Special Enforcement Detail team and the Investigations Unit.
 
To celebrate this momentous occasion the La Mesa Police Department will be holding a promotion ceremony to honor all six of the employees recently promoted.  The ceremony will be held at the La Mesa Police Department Community Room on Thursday, January 19, 2011 at 3:30pm. 
 
Below is a list of biographies for each person:
 
Captain David Bond:
 
He is a twenty-three year veteran with La Mesa and has worked in various assignments including Patrol, the Regional Auto Theft Taskforce, the Master Officer Program, Investigations, Training, Traffic and was one of the founding members of the Special Response Team.  He is a Department Range Master and Defensive Tactics Instructor.  He is currently the Patrol Commander who oversees the Patrol Division, Traffic Unit and the Community Service Officers. 
 
He has been married for 19 years to his wife Debra and has two grown children.  Captain Bond graduated from Cal State University Long Beach with a B.S. in Professional Studies in 2008 and is a recent graduate of the FBI National Academy.  He is currently studying at Alliant International University to earn his doctorate degree in Forensic Psychology.  Captain Bond has volunteered consistently for various community events including the Special Olympics Tip-a-Cop, Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run, St. Jude Tip-a-Cop, STARPAL football event, Shop with a Cop event and the City of La Mesa’s Park Appreciation Day.  He is excited about working with community leaders and City staff, and the citizens of La Mesa in his new position.     
 
 
Captain Dan Willis:
 
He is a twenty-two year veteran with the La Mesa Police Department.  During his career Captain Willis has worked in all units at the department.  Captain Willis work as a detective for 9 years working child abuse, crimes against persons, sexual assault, drugs, burglary, domestic violence, and murder---including 2 cold homicide cases prosecuted 6 years after the murders and a child molest case prosecuted 27 years after the crime. 
 
Captain Willis is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (2010) and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from San Diego State.  He has been an instructor at the San Diego Regional Police Academy for the past seven years. Captain Willis has been the Wellness Coordinator for the past year and was instrumental in developing the Department’s BeSTOW (Beyond Survival Towards Officer Wellness) program.
 
 
Lieutenant Angela DeSarro:
 
Lieutenant DeSarro has been with the La Mesa Police Department since April 2, 2001.  During her career she has worked as a patrol officer, Taser instructor, a field training officer and she was on the Department’s Special Enforcement Detail team. Lt. DeSarro has worked in the Department’s Investigations Unit both as a detective and as a Sergeant. She is a member of the peer support team as well as the BeSTOW team.  With her promotion Lt. DeSarro has been appointed as the Department’s Wellness Coordinator, overseeing both peer support and BeSTOW.
 
Lt. DeSarro has a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Cal State San Bernardino and is currently working on obtaining a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice. Prior to starting her law enforcement career she was a 2nd grade teacher for two years.  Lt. DeSarro has been a sergeant for three years and when promoted to the rank of lieutenant she has the distinction of being the first female lieutenant in the 100 year history of La Mesa Police Department.  
 
 
Lieutenant Ray Sweeney:
 
Lieutenant Sweeney has been with the La Mesa Police Department since February 1, 2001. During his career he has worked as a patrol officer, Range Master, Defensive Tactics instructor, Taser instructor, Master Officer, Special Response Team Leader, Detective and Narcotic Task Force Officer. He is the Team Leader of the Department’s BeSTOW Team. With his promotion Lt. Sweeney has been appointed as the Department’s Traffic Lieutenant and the BeSTOW Coordinator.
 
Lt. Sweeney in addition to his duties at the La Mesa Police Department has served with the Army National Guard for the last 27 years. He currently holds the rank of Sergeant Major and has been deployed overseas twice. Prior to starting his career, he was active duty Army and worked with the Counter Narcotics Team.
 
 
Sergeant Greg Runge:
 
Greg Runge joined the La Mesa Police Department in October 2000 and began his career assigned to the Patrol Division.  In February 2004, he applied for and was selected to become a Detective in the Investigations Unit.  Throughout his nearly 5 years as a Detective, Sgt. Runge worked various assignments including Child Abuse, Financial Crimes, Robbery, and Homicide. In September 2008, he was selected as the La Mesa Police Department’s representative on the San Diego Regional Narcotic Task Force, a DEA task force comprised of investigators and agents from both local and federal agencies.  Greg served at the task force until his promotion to Sergeant in December 2011.
 
In addition to his assigned duties, Sgt. Runge serves on the department Peer Support and BeSTOW teams, is a course instructor, and has presented at the California Peer Support Association’s annual conference on financial issues.  Sgt. Runge earned a law degree from the University of San Diego in May 2008 and passed the California State Bar later that same year.
 
 
Sergeant Katy Lynch:
 
Sergeant Lynch began her career with LMPD in 2005 and was assigned as a patrol officer upon completing academy. As a patrol officer, Sergeant Lynch became involved in our Kidzwatch Program and has been a Kidzwatch instructor for six years. From patrol, she was selected for our Special Enforcement Detail team and was an SED officer for 3 years. While on SED, Sergeant Lynch became a member of our Honor Guard team.
 
In 2009, Sergeant Lynch was selected to be a detective. She first worked as a burglary detective and was selected as our Officer of the Year for 2010. As a detective, Sergeant Lynch worked a variety of complex and high profile cases in 2011, including homicide and our officer involved shooting investigation. During the last year Sergeant Lynch has also worked to complete her master’s degree and will graduate on January 23, 2012. 

 


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