Sergeant Jose Torres and Patrol Officers Albert Buccini, Scott Floyd and Rick Varnell
The Cleveland Police Foundation is proud to honor our officers on a monthly basis who go beyond the call of duty when practicing Community Policing in their respective districts. Our September 2018 recipients are a prime example of this.
Fourth District Sergeant Jose Torres with Patrol Officers Rick Varnell, Albert Buccini, and Scott Floyd responded to an assignment for the death of a 21-year-old. The officers stayed on the scene to comfort the family, even purchasing lunch out of their own pockets. While on the scene, family Pastor Greg McCurry observed the officers and was so taken by their compassion and caring that he chronicled their visit on Facebook.
“I’ve never seen this before in my life. I’ve been around in the streets. I’ve seen (police) interact with people. But when I got there these four officers in the 4th District wrapped themselves around the whole situation. They didn’t have to do that. They could have gone on their runs and did what they had to do. But for them to come back and minister to this family, it changed everybody’s life. I didn’t look at them as police officers, I looked at them as serving the community. We do have some good police officers out here and today I witnessed four of them. These were people who were doing something from their heart that made the difference. It wasn’t a badge. It was his heart. That’s what made the difference today.”
It is because of this compassion and caring that the Cleveland Police Foundation recognizes Sergeant Jose Torres and Patrol Officers Rick Varnell, Albert Buccini, and Scott Floyd as the Police Officers of the Month for September 2018.
More about the Police Officer of the Month Program . . .