Homicide detective selected by peers as department's Officer of the Year
By Carissa Marsh cmarsh@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers PROUD OF HIS WORK- Simi Valley Police Department 2008 Officer of the Year award recipient Detective Greg Gonzales shows off his award following the City Council meeting Monday evening.

When Detective Greg Gonzales of the Simi Valley Police Department learned he'd been voted Officer of the Year, the unassuming homicide investigator thought it was a joke.

"I think they gave it to me on accident," he said, slightly embarrassed. "I honestly think that out of the 125-person department there are 124 people who deserve this award more than I do."

Simi Valley police announced May 9 that Gonzales had been chosen for the honor. He was congratulated for his hard work at Monday's City Council meeting.

The award was determined by a vote of Gonzales' peers, and while he said it is very nice to be honored, his voice gave away his discomfort with the title.

"I got nominated, and some people voted for me, but I watch what people are doing around me and I wouldn't be able to do what I do if it wasn't for the fact that I am surrounded by all these helpful, talented, sharp people," Gonzales said. "I really believe that. I didn't even vote for myself."

Chief of Police Mike Lewis said the award is well-deserved and a testament to the excellence that has marked Gonzales' 11year career in law enforcement.

"It's a very special recognition when you are chosen by your peers," Lewis said. "And I think what they recognize in Greg is that he's very tenacious, he does not shirk duty, and he's not afraid to go out and work."

Lewis said that Gonzales' modesty is just one more reason he was the award winner.

"He leads by example, he never seeks the spotlight, he never looks for glory," Lewis said. "He'll tell you, 'I'm just doing my job.'"

Raised in Thousand Oaks and a graduate of Cal StateNorthridge, Gonzales is a local boy who comes from a law enforcement family.

He completed officer candidate school with the U.S. Marine Corps in Quantico, Va. before joining Simi police in June 1997.

Gonzales said he enjoys the great challenge of being a homicide detective.

"It's like no other job you'll have," he said. "It's never the same. Every day it's something different."

During his tenure, Gonzales has worked a variety of assignments, including patrol, special operations unit and investigations.

In addition to his primary assignment with homicide, Gonzales has served as a sniper for the department's SWAT team since 2000, which requires a minimum of 20 group training hours a month on top of his normal day-to-day duties.

The reason he wanted to be a police officer was simple: "to go out there and make a difference."

Not surprisingly then, Gonzales said the most satisfying part of his job is helping others.

"The best thing is to give people what they want," he said. "Someone needs your help and you give it to them, no matter what it is, big or small."

The worst part of the job is the other side of the coin, he said, "to be the bearer of bad news."

Gonzales' first case as a homicide investigator was October's deadly Tire Pros shooting, for which no conclusive motive was determined.

Dealing with these types of tragedies is part of the job, he said, and he takes the responsibility to the victims' families seriously.

"You're pretty much the advocate for the person that was murdered. You are tying to find the truth on their behalf," Gonzales said. "You're not so much focusing on the death and the dead body- you're focusing on the living, on the family, and doing what's right for them."

Lewis said good detectives can't help but take their cases home with them.

"He's going to dig out the facts, he's going to chase down every lead, he's really going to work every case to, hopefully, its successful conclusion," Lewis said of Gonzales. "This can't be an individual that just comes and does the job and goes home at the end of the day"

Even after working a 10hour day, Gonzales is on call 24/7. But the long hours come with the territory.

"In 11 years, I really haven't had it any other way," he said.

Sgt. Randy Foushee, Gonzales' immediate supervising officer, said his goget'em attitude, along with his ability to organize and prioritize, are important attributes for a successful detective.

"He is an extremely dedicated individual, and you would have to know him to appreciate that term," Foushee said. "He's always willing to stay beyond his scheduled hours, he will drop anything and everything to assist fellow coworkers and you never hear a complaint out of him."

Foushee said he selected Gonzales for the investigations unit a year ago because of his professionalism, something the department prides itself on.

"He has a very high standard of morality and ethics," Foushee said.

Residents may think that a homicide detective would not have much to do in Simi Valley, but Foushee said the title i s misleading as they do handle other investigations, including missing persons' reports and violent crimes like rape, assault with a deadly weapon, suspicious suicides and carjackings.

Foushee had just completed Gonzales' evaluation this past week and laughingly said that, of course, he had passed with flying colors.

"If we had 100 Greg Gonzaleses we'd be in pretty good shape," he said.