Location: Porterville
Incident Date: 3/13/19
City: Porterville
Posted by: Media Relations
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux named Deputy Lisa Christiansen Officer of the Year Wednesday, March 13, 2019, at the Porterville Exchange Club’s 58th annual Public Safety Recognition Dinner at the Porterville Veteran’s Memorial Building.
Sheriff Boudreaux said he was very proud of Deputy Christiansen.
“I consider her a Phoenix because she has truly become what we recognize as the top level of respected [personnel] at the Sheriff’s Office,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud of her.”
Deputy Christiansen said was she speechless.
“I look at [my job] as something I love to do and I don’t ever expect any gratitude in return,” she said. “So when someone recognizes something I’ve done that I haven’t noticed, I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say.”
She thanked the Sheriff, her family and her fellow deputies at the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Christiansen said she loves being a patrol deputy.
“When you work patrol, you are the first person to get there when someone needs help,” she said. “You get to see the real side of human nature. There’s no other career that I can think of where you get a front row seat to the best show in the world.”
Background
Deputy Christiansen began her career with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office in 2004. She’s worked numerous assignments throughout her career in the Detentions Division, Operations Division and Detective Bureau.
She is currently a senior Deputy at the Porterville Substation. In addition to her regular patrol duties, she is a senior field training officer, team leader and pilot for the Sheriff’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program.
As a field training officer, she has successfully trained many deputies. Because of her passion, professionalism and commitment to the department, deputies from the Porterville Substation lead the department in number of calls for service, arrests and successful prosecutions, said Lieutenant Kevin Kemmerling. Many of her trainees have gone on to investigative and specialty units because of her mentorship and tutelage.
Deputy Christiansen has been a part of the Sheriff’s UAV program since its inception. The Sheriff’s Office was the first in the nation to deploy specialty drone units much like K9 officers. She has become a subject matter expert in the deployment and piloting of law enforcement UAV’s and continually has the most deployments in the Sheriff’s Office.
Building rapport and trust
Deputy Christiansen’s investigative experience in the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team recently proved invaluable during the investigation of a child who was sexually assaulted. The victim was very reluctant to give any information to detectives when they took over the investigation. As a result, the case stalled.
However, Deputy Christiansen had a “hunch” and said she knew there was more.
Deputy Christiansen asked if she could interview the victim. She sat with the victim and built a rapport and trust that no one else had been able to achieve. The victim slowly opened up and began freely speaking of the horrible things that had occurred to her and other children in the residence.
Deputy Christiansen applied time, patience and compassion to this case. She was able to get to the truth, secure the suspect and provide the victim with a safe, loving environment.
“Because of her commitment and poise, it is my belief Deputy Christiansen saved the life of this victim and other children who had been victimized,” Lieutenant Kemmerling said. “This is what Deputy Christiansen does on a daily basis. She genuinely cares about the public we serve. She takes the time to listen, understand and bond with the people she comes into contact with.”
The mission of the Tulare County Sheriff's Office is to improve the quality of life through professional services and community partnerships. Deputy Christiansen’s dedication and professionalism is a testament to that mission, Lieutenant Kemmerling said.
“She is truly making a difference throughout our communities every day,” he said.