Behind the Badge
In 2005, Ryan Reyes was working as Westminster PD’s mall investigator. While working his shift, a man suffered a heart attack.
“I ran over to the area where he was at, gave him CPR about 11 minutes until the paramedics arrived,” he said.
In 2006, he was awarded the WPD’s Bronze Medal of Merit — his second at the agency.
He’s not alone in doing good works in the community and at the agency.
Reyes, along with Andy Pinvidic and Kevin MacCormick, were recently promoted within the agency ranks, bringing their years of experience to new roles at the WPD.
Westminster PD Sgt. Ryan Reyes.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge
Sgt. Ryan Reyes
Reyes has worked at the agency for 21 years. For the past three years, he’s worked as a detective. In fact, after his first year working in detectives, he was named the 2017 Detective of the Year.
Prior to his time in detectives, he worked in patrol and held several collateral assignments, including his time as a mall investigator. He was also a field training officer (FTO) for 14 years and was on West County SWAT. He was on the Trauma Support team for about 10 years and was also a Master Officer.
In 2014, Reyes decided to go back to school to obtain a master’s degree in dispute resolution, which he did. It expanded his abilities to mentor new officers.
Now as a patrol sergeant, he’s getting to return to patrol with an eye toward mentorship.
“So I’m kind of going back to my roots, which is cool,” he said. “My hair’s a little grayer.”
On his first night back in mid-January, he was able to get “right back into it” with working two different crime scenes, including a gang-related stabbing. He said the officers “didn’t miss a beat.”
“It was good to see it was a well-oiled machine out there,” he said.
He added that because of his time working in detectives, he was able to put that experience into play, as well.
“It was nice I was able to fall back on my 18 years of patrol and the investigative side of what I’ve gained so far,” Reyes said.
Westminster PD Sgt. Andy Pinvidic.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge
Sgt. Andy Pinvidic
Pinvidic also enjoys mentoring new officers. In his new position as patrol sergeant, he’ll get to do just that.
“I think that’s probably the best part of being a sergeant, you’re in a position to mentor and kind of help officers attain what they want out of this career,” he said.
Promoted to sergeant in early January after serving as a detective for five years, he will be responsible for overseeing officers, crime trends in the area and solutions for those trends, as well as community outreach.
Pinvidic has worked for Westminster PD for nine years this April. He’s worked in law enforcement for 13 years (he lateraled over from La Palma Police Department in 2011). Prior to that he was in the Marine Corps for eight years as a military police officer. He earned his
master’s degree in organizational leadership four years ago.
Prior to becoming a detective, Pinvidic worked in patrol for four years. He’s been on West County SWAT for eight years, where he serves as a sniper and sniper team leader.
“I’ve been on four different SWAT teams during my careers,” he said. “You get that phone call in the middle of the night, and you have to come in and everybody just does their job and you work like a well-oiled machine. … You know you’re depending on your partners and you know they’re depending on you — that’s a special thing.”
He’s also served as an FTO and is currently a training officer at the police academy.
“I like building that foundation for new officers,” he said.
Westminster PD’s new commander, Kevin MacCormick.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge
Commander Kevin MacCormick
MacCormick has held numerous titles and responsibilities over his 20 years at the agency. Connecting with his colleagues and the community has played an important part in all of these activities throughout the years.
“I love doing what I do,” he said. “I love being involved with everything. I’ve immersed myself in the culture here at Westminster.”
MacCormick became patrol commander overseeing the west part of town in August 2019, and since has been working hard to learn the ropes of his new administrative role.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s different. … I try to go out in the field once in a while so I can stay acclimated to things and stay in touch with patrol.”
Prior to his promotion, MacCormick was a detectives sergeant. He was on West County SWAT for 15 years and has also served on the Honor Guard for 15 years. Though he couldn’t continue on the SWAT team as a commander, he was able to stay on in Honor Guard, which is very special to him.
“We want to make sure that people never forget what these men and women have done,” he said of honoring those in law enforcement, including fallen officers.
Another thing near and dear to MacCormick’s heart is the annual 630-mile interagency bicycle ride from the California State Capitol to the WPD’s fallen officer memorial that takes place every spring in honor of fallen officers.
“That’s one of the coolest things we’ve ever done is make that ride,” he said.
Cycling has also played a part in his career. He was one of the creators of the WPD bike patrol team and continued running the group as a sergeant. Now he oversees it as a commander.
“I think being involved in as much as I am here has given me a well-rounded look at the department,” he said.
He said he’s always thought that it was important to immerse himself at the agency.
“Knowing that you have each other’s back when things get tough, it’s part of what a family’s like,” he said. “I’m just thankful that I found a profession that I really do love so much and I enjoy coming to every single day.”
Westminster PD’s Kevin MacCormick talks about his new role with the police as the new commander.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge
