Location: Good Shepherd Catholic Parish Center, Visalia

Incident Date: 01/12/19

Incident Time: 1800 hours

City: Visalia

Posted by: Media Relations

Dep. Joshua Lujan was named Officer of the Year Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019, during the Knights of Columbus 36th annual Public Safety Night at Good Shepherd Catholic Parish Center in Visalia. 

Presenting him with the award was Cpt. Mark Gist. 

Dep. Lujan thanked the Sheriff’s Office for giving him the opportunity to work as a deputy in Tulare County and the Knights of Columbus for the recognition for his hard work. 

“I feel honored,” he said. “I try to go out there every day and do my job every day and to get this award – it’s awesome.”

He was sworn in as a deputy in July of 2017 and since that time, Dep. Lujan has been assigned to the Visalia Substation as a patrol deputy. His area of responsibility includes the greater Visalia area, Ivanhoe, Farmersville, Exeter and Woodlake rural areas. 

Despite his short tenure with the department, Dep. Lujan has emerged as a leader on his team, Cpt. Mark Gist said. 

Dep. Lujan is pro-active when it comes to reducing crime. For example, he has taken it upon himself and has rallied his fellow deputies to contact pedestrians and make welfare checks at homeless encampments. By doing so, he has encouraged many homeless people to work to improve their situations through assistance from city and county programs.

He also served many active arrest warrants from his investigations and made numerous fresh arrests for illicit drug offenses. 

Dep. Lujan displays a calm, collective demeanor and temperament which is respected by his fellow peers and citizens alike, according to Sergeant Joshua Howser. 

“Dep. Lujan has made sound, just and competent decisions while faced with stressful and dangerous situations,” he said. 

For example, when Dep. Lujan responded to a “man with a gun” call, he was advised the victim’s estranged husband was at her residence attempting to force his way into the home. The suspect was armed and had already fired his weapon at least one time. 

Dep. Lujan didn’t hesitate to take control and advance toward a very dangerous situation.

At gunpoint, with his beat partner as back up, Dep. Lujan gave verbal orders for the suspect to surrender and get down on the ground. He advanced on the suspect and disarmed him. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident. 

“Due to Dep. Lujan’s sound decision making, good officer safety practices, strong command presence, being calm in the face of danger and strong leadership skills, this situation ended without any injury or use of deadly force,” Sgt. Howser said. “Dep. Lujan shows poise on a regular basis.”