Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, and campaign volunteers delivered breakfast to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Sunday morning.
The event was in honor of National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, which began in 2015 and took place on Jan. 9. Garcia catered breakfast burritos, coffee, tortilla chips and orange juice for the on-duty deputies at the station for the appreciation day.
“I don’t think many Americans realize it’s an actual day to love our law enforcement officers, and show appreciation,” Garcia said. “We’re out here with some of our volunteers in the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station to give them today, breakfast burritos, coffee and just keeping them fueled up.”
Garcia said the breakfast meal shows law enforcement the community appreciates their hard work, and providing these meals is just a small token of gratitude. Additionally, he expressed concern for the tough years of criticism and rhetoric to defund law enforcement.
“This is a group of individuals who 99.99% of them are good Americans doing the right thing for our communities, putting their lives on the line on a daily basis,” Garcia said.
The majority of the community is behind law enforcement and supports their work, but many law enforcement officers don’t always see the support from the community, according to Garcia.
As a federal representative, Garcia added that he works to help secure resources and funding for local law enforcement agencies.
“My volunteers are committed to making sure that we’re getting the message out that we should be supporting law enforcement and that it’s OK to support the sheriffs,” Garcia said. “This is what we need to teach our children.”
Garcia said he wants the community to know that he and his volunteers are working to serve the community and law enforcement. He added the community should also take time to show support and appreciation for law enforcement and the military.
“If you know someone who serves as a sheriff, LAPD or any first responder, you show them a little extra love today,” Garcia said. “As always, continue to teach our kids to respect law enforcement rather than fear them.”
Additionally, Garcia said it’s been hard for the sheriff’s deputies dealing with 70 to 100 hours of overtime monthly because of COVID-19, adding that the pressures create a lot of stress on law enforcement who put their lives on the line daily. Â
“There’s really not enough that we can do to support them correctly,” Garcia said. “But we need to be out there every day making sure they know we’re behind them.”Â
