The Excellence in Investigations: Multi-Agency award went to Group 1 of the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force, known as L.A. IMPACT, which Pasadena Police Lt. Edgar Sanchez leads as deputy director. The Excellence in Community Partnership award recognized the department’s work with Impact Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center, a nonprofit treatment provider with programs in Pasadena and East Los Angeles.
The association presents the Centurion Awards each year to honor law enforcement in Los Angeles County. Its 2024 program listed categories including investigations, task force investigations, narcotics investigations, community policing and outstanding community partner, and its stated mission is to work on behalf of law enforcement agencies to “maximize the safety of those who depend on us.”
L.A. IMPACT was launched in July 1991 by the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association and brings together federal, state and local agencies to investigate major crimes, with an emphasis on dismantling mid- to major-level drug trafficking organizations, according to the California Department of Justice. Organized as a joint powers authority, it is governed by a board with an executive from each member agency and serves as the county’s primary clandestine laboratory response team.
The city said Group 1 was honored for its efforts to remove deadly narcotics from the streets, dismantle illicit financial networks and counter emerging criminal methods. In January 2024, state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced 10 arrests in a joint investigation by the FBI, Los Angeles police and L.A. IMPACT into a group trafficking thousands of kilograms of narcotics a month through Los Angeles to Canada, a takedown involving about 30 search warrants. Bonta said he was proud of “the task force officers working hard in our L.A. IMPACT task force.”
Impact, founded in 1971, has up to 130 residential beds and serves more than 260 people a day, according to the center, which calls itself “a no-nonsense, principled drug and alcohol rehab” and is an official drug court provider for Pasadena and Los Angeles. It reports serving more than 20,000 people over five decades.
Through the partnership, the department and Impact have worked to create opportunities for people seeking treatment while strengthening connections between law enforcement and the recovery community, according to the city, which said Impact works with Police Chief Gene Harris and the department to strengthen public trust and enhance officer training. Impact Chief Executive Officer Christina Gonzales credited the department’s willingness to collaborate and embrace new approaches with helping redefine what partnerships between law enforcement and the recovery community can accomplish, the city said.
Impact will hold a fundraising gala Oct. 10 to support its recovery programs and mark 55 years, according to the center. Police Department news is posted at https://www.cityofpasadena.
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