Local News in Brief : Huntington Beach : County’s Police Chiefs Honored at Golden West

The county’s police chiefs were honored Thursday night at a dinner sponsored by Golden West College’s criminal justice program.

Nearly every police chief from Orange County’s cities was at the award ceremony, which featured author Joseph Wambaugh as the master of ceremonies.

“As civic leaders, seldom do they get stuff said about them; they’re always the ones handing out the plaques,” said Austin Smith, director of the criminal justice program at the Huntington Beach college. “We’re saying thanks to our bosses.”

The dinner, held at Maxwell’s in Huntington Beach, was capped by the cutting of a large cake that included the logos of all the police departments in the county.

Also in attendance were representatives from the Sheriff’s Department officer training program and the state’s Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) program.

Wambaugh talked about recruiting students for the law enforcement programs in Orange County and presented the recruitment videotape he narrated for the college’s criminal justice program.