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Officer of the Year

Each year, in December, the Bellevue Police Department evaluates the accomplishments of its officers who have demonstrated exemplary performance during the current year and selects one officer who stands out as having distinguished him or herself beyond the norm. This individual is usually, but not always, selected from among the Officers of the Quarter. This officer is announced and acknowledged at the annual banquet early in the next calendar year.

Scroll down to read about the current Officer of the Year. Explore the links on the left to learn about BPD's Officers of the Year back to 1988.

2011 Officer of the Year

Officer Lopez has been named Bellevue Police Department's 2010 Officer of the Year. Officer Lopez was selected because of his outstanding work as a school resource officer over the course of the year at Bryan High School.

Officer Lopez was contacted by an 18-year-old Bryan High School student about text messages that she had received. The student confided in Officer Lopez and explained that she had placed an ad on a social media site seeking a relationship. She received a reply and had been conversing by text with someone. The student sent a picture to her new acquaintance. After the photo was sent, the student started receiving text messages from a male party stating he was the stepbrother of the person she had been texting, and the person she sent the photo to was not who she thought it was. The male claimed that the student had sent the photo to a 14-year-old boy. The male then advised that he would be notifying the police, and she would now be a sex offender, unless she met with him for sex.

Officer Lopez was able to make contact with the male suspect and convinced him to come to the police department to get his side of the story. In the meantime, the male was identified as a registered sex offender in Nebraska. He had a previous arrest for a similar incident with a child, and was currently awaiting sentencing in a neighboring county for the same act.

During the interview, the suspect admitted that his intent was to coerce the female into meeting him at a hotel to have sex. The suspect also admitted that he has done this kind of activity as many as 24 other times. A search warrant was secured for the suspect's residence in Friend, Nebraska. Two computers were seized with that warrant. The suspect was arrested and booked in the Sarpy County Jail, for Pandering and Human Trafficking.

Also in January, Officer Lopez was contacted by Bryan High School staff about a counterfeit $50 bill that had been passed at a basketball game two nights earlier. Officer Lopez noted the lack of security features on the bill and recorded the serial number. Later, he was contacted by school staff about another counterfeit $50 bill that was just used at the school store by an 11th grade student. He noted that the serial number on the second bill was the same as the first. He immediately contacted the 11th grade suspect. Officer Lopez did an outstanding job of interviewing him, which resulted the admission that his brother was making the counterfeit money in their family's basement. He learned that the home was in Omaha.

Instead of just passing this case off to Omaha Police, Officer Lopez contacted our Criminal Investigations Bureau. He consulted with a detective who responded to assist Officer Lopez. Based on the suspect's admissions, a search warrant was drafted for the Omaha residence. Omaha Police detectives were alerted to the case and agreed to assist with the execution of the warrant. There was information indicating that the suspect may be armed, so the Douglas County Sheriff's SWAT team served the warrant. The search uncovered over $8000 worth of counterfeit bills, along with tools for manufacturing the money. In addition, two firearms were located. One of the firearms was later tied to an active shooting investigation in Grand Island. The suspect was arrested that night and was indicted the same week. Officer Lopez was commended for his dedication to this case.

Bellevue officers were being sent to a report of domestic violence at an apartment complex. The suspect fled the area before the officers arrived. Officer Lopez left the school to see if he could help. He ended up locating and apprehending the suspect. Officer Lopez's efforts led to the successful capture of a violent felon. The supervisor from the patrol shift passed on his gratitude and appreciation for Officer Lopez's initiative and his apprehension of their suspect.

Later in March, Officer Lopez observed smoke in the area of Schroeder Park when he was leaving the school. Officer Lopez responded to find a very large grass fire in the area of the park. There was evidence that someone had been playing with fire. After a few days of working to develop sources, Officer Lopez was given two names of people who may have been involved. Officer Lopez interviewed the students. They admitted their part in the fire and were appropriately charged.

Officer Lopez led the recertification of all Omaha Public School security staff in "Disruptive Student Management" using PPCT Techniques. This is a process that OPS mandates for their security. Officer Lopez volunteered to handle the program and has coordinated the training for the entire OPS system.

Officer Lopez volunteered to assist the road patrol with a call in progress at Walmart. Officers were looking for two theft suspects that had driven away from the area. Officer Lopez was able to locate the suspect vehicle. The theft case was cleared, and the suspects were booked on felony charges and outstanding warrants.

The administrator at Bryan Senior High School wrote the following about Officer Lopez:

Officer Lopez was assigned as the SRO at Bryan High at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. Every day, Officer Lopez provides security to 1,700 students in a single building. As mentioned above, Officer Lopez does not hesitate to leave the school to assist road officers when needed, and he jumps in-progress calls that are close.

Officer Lopez is a G.R.E.A.T. instructor and certified Police Motor Officer. During the nine months of school in 2011, Officer Lopez conducted 380 student counseling sessions, made 116 misdemeanor arrests, 12 felony arrests, and 23 drug arrests at Bryan High School alone.

Throughout the year, Officer Lopez has demonstrated his outstanding initiative, decision-making ability, and work ethic. Officer Lopez has been commended for his investigative/case load activities that are at or above the level of his peers. Officer Lopez balances his time between aggressive enforcement and prevention initiatives. He focuses his attention on problem areas in and around Bryan High School and devotes himself to the students.