The Los Banos Police Department added to the team last week as it held a promotion ceremony for personnel advancing in their careers.
On Aug. 24, in front of city administrators, local politicians, family and coworkers, Sgt. Stephen O’Day and officers Mitchel King and Cesar Grajeda were sworn in to duty.
Police Chief Ray Reyna said the city council recently authorized his department to add a sergeant position and increase its overall number of sworn officers to 51. Reyna said currently the department employs 47 policemen and women.
Reyna said celebrating swearing-in ceremonies is a way to thank the families of his officers. He said family plays an important role because keeping things functioning at home allows officers to be able to function at work.
Family can also act as a role model toward a career path.
O’Day is a second-generation Los Banos cop.
“I don’t think I would enjoy it as much if it wasn’t the town that I lived in and grew up in,” O’Day said. “I used to do plumbing and I worked retail. So, when I was trying to decide what I was going to do for the rest of my life I realized I liked being out and about and I didn’t want to sit behind a desk. Everything was pointing in this direction… best job in the world.”
O’Day started working for the department in 2020 and has been a field instructor, taser instructor and detective among other responsibilities.
King has been working as a police officer for four years in Merced and Gustine. His father is a retired Merced Police Department captain who inspired his career choice.
“He got up to go to work every day and provided for us. He took pride in what he did, and that’s what I’m looking to do,” he said of his dad.
King said he has friends on the Los Banos Police Department and chose to pursue a job there after taking a ride-along and discovering how supportive the agency is of its officers.
Grajeda, like King, began his career elsewhere. Grajeda worked for the Merced County Sheriff’s Office and became familiar with Los Banos when he was assigned to patrol the outskirts of the city. His work necessitated collaboration with local police, which is how he acquired a fondness for how his new department operates.
“I was out here for a year,” Grajeda said while surrounded by loved ones. “The way they (Los Banos police) are with the community, the way they treat the community, it’s something I wanted to be a part of. It’s a new chapter for me.”
