The Anti-Defamation League held its annual Helene & Joseph Sherwood Prize for Combating Hate luncheon and awards ceremony on March 10 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The nationally recognized prize goes to law enforcement personnel who go above and beyond the call of duty to fight hatred and protect the community from hate-motivated violence.
This year, the honorees included three individuals and two groups from across Southern California. “This year’s honorees have taken creative and effective steps to make our communities safer,” said Amanda Susskind, Director of ADL’s Pacific Southwest Region. “They demonstrate a high level of commitment to reducing terrorism, and hate against the most vulnerable in our society. All three individual honorees and both group honorees have made exceptional contributions to investigation and prosecution of extremists and potential terrorists, making a tangible difference locally, nationally and globally.”
In opening remarks at the awards ceremony, Sherwood Prize Selection Committee Chief David L. Maggard, Jr. of the Irvine Police Department gave special thanks to ADL and the Sherwood family for “shining a bright light on the law enforcement community.” This sentiment was echoed throughout the ceremony as one recipient after another mentioned appreciation for this important recognition.
Honorees from the ADL Pacific Southwest Region included LAPD Detective Ross Nemeroff, honored for seeking justice for those who are victimized because of hatred and prejudice. In his acceptance speech, Det. Nemeroff discussed helping those who are victims because of something they cannot change — for example, race, religion, sexual orientation or disability. “My passion is to conduct a thorough investigation….with the key ingredients of fairness and empathy.” Hate crime victim Sabel Simone spoke of the impact Det. Nemeroff had on her and her case. Ms. Simone credits Det. Nemeroff with helping convict the perpetrator who is now serving 12 years in state prison. “It’s a great feeling as a transgender, African American woman to go through this and have it taken care of…..Det. Nemeroff did it all.”
One of the groups honored was a task force in charge of the investigation and prosecution of four “homegrown terrorists” in the Inland Empire. The Inland Empire Joint Terrorism Task Force, made up of the US Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and Riverside Police Department, worked tirelessly to disrupt plans of four men who attempted to travel to Afghanistan to join Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Two of the men have already been sentenced to 25 years in Federal prison and the others will be sentenced shortly. As the Sherwood Prize Selection Committee stated, “As a result of hundreds of hours of investigation and trial preparation, and the use of sophisticated investigative techniques, the task force was able to prevent four potential foreign fighters from causing harm to U.S. Armed Forces overseas.”
Honorees from other ADL regions included:
Deputy District Attorney Oscar Garcia of the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, honored for prosecuting hate crimes and educating the community about the impact of hate incidents. Garcia has dedicated his life’s work to fighting bias and bigotry both in the courtroom and in the classroom.
Officer Jason Lehman of the Long Beach Police Department and Executive Director, “Why’d You Stop Me?” Program, whose program delivers a powerful message encouraging empathy between law enforcement and inner-city youth.
Team of US Attorney’s Office and FBI in Orange County investigated and prosecuted Garden Grove resident Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen for material support to a terrorist organization.
The celebration ended with Ethan Bahar, great grandson of Sherwood prize founder and philanthropist Joseph Sherwood, standing in for his great grandfather who will turn 98 this week. “I was asked by my great grandfather to share his words of thanks. It is an honor for my family to congratulate you for making a significant difference in the community and for serving as role models for your agencies.”
The full list of honorees follows:
2015 GROUP HONOREES
International Terrorism Investigation and Prosecution in the Inland Empire
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Los Angeles Field Division, Riverside Resident Agency
Intelligence Analyst Alisen Adame; Special Agent Joel Anderson; Special Agent Martin Burry; Special Agent N.T. Elias; Special Agent Mujde Gursel; Special Agent Wade Lee; Special Agent Sergio Lopez; Special Agent Michael Nader; Special Agent Theodore Nevatt; Special Agent Randy Plotkin; Special Agent Paul Rex Warner; Special Agent Matt Weber; Special Agent Scott Winrow
United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California
Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen Chiu; Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan DeWitt; Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Grigg
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
Investigator Jose Peralta
Riverside Police Department
Officer Liam Doyle
Nguyen Terrorism Investigative Team
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Los Angeles Field Division, Orange County Resident Agency
Special Agent Charles “Mark” Civiletto; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Scott Gicking; Task Force Office Vicki Gizzi; Task Force Officer Theodore “Ted” Lopez, Jr.; Special Agent John Spratlin; Supervisory Special Agent David Thorp; Special Agent Julie Viana; Special Agent Erin J. Westfall
United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California
Assistant U.S. Attorney Deirdre Eliot; Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith Heinz
2015 INDIVIDUAL HONOREES
Detective Ross Nemeroff
Los Angeles Police Department, 77th Division
Deputy District Attorney Oscar Garcia
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
Officer Jason Lehman
Long Beach Police Department/Executive Director, “Why’d You Stop Me?” Program
The honorees were selected from many nominations received from throughout Southern California by the distinguished Sherwood Prize Selection Committee: Chair, Chief David L. Maggard, Jr., Irvine Police Department; Assistant Director in Charge David Bowdich, FBI, Los Angeles; Chief Dan Bower, California Highway Patrol; Chief Jarrod Burguan, San Bernardino Police Department; Sheriff Geoff Dean, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department; Sheriff William D. Gore, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department; Chief Robert Handy, Huntington Beach Police Department; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Eric Harden, ATF, Los Angeles; Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, Orange County Sheriff’s Department; Sheriff Jim McDonnell, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; Assistant Chief Michel Moore, Los Angeles Police Department; Chief Camerino Sanchez, Santa Barbara Police Department; Sheriff Stanley Sniff, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department; Chief Greg Williamson, Bakersfield Police Department.
The Sherwood Prize was created in 1996 by Joe and Helene Sherwood, founders of family owned and operated Daniel’s Jewelers, to recognize those in the law enforcement community that go above and beyond their job descriptions in combating extremism, bigotry, and hatred.
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