Behind the Badge
A grateful recovering addict in Santa Ana, first responders riding waves in Manhattan Beach, and efforts to hire women for the Santa Ana Police Department gained Behind the Badge recognition from the Orange County Press Club for stories covered in the past year.
On June 18, Behind the Badge won three awards — two first place and one second — at the Orange County Press Club’s 2025 Excellence in Journalism Contest, in another year of strong recognition of the work that appeared in the online publication.
This year’s results boost the total number of OC Press Club zwards to 66 since Behind the Badge began entering the contest nine years ago, despite the contest severely limiting the number of categories in which the publication is allowed to compete.
Greg Mellen earned all three awards in this year’s contest.
Mellen also won first in Features for “Former addict thanks arresting cops three years after ‘you saved my life,’” about Luke Hudson, a recovering addict and veteran, who wanted to show his gratitude to police who busted him and started him on a path to recovery.
“Great feature story!” wrote one judge, “The article captured the subject’s journey extraordinarily well and a good pace with just enough detail.”
In the News Feature category, Mellen won with “First responders ride waves of relief,” about a unique nonprofit that offers therapy through surfing lessons and experiences as a holistic method to provide mental and physical therapy to first responders from Manhattan Beach.
A judge wrote of the story, “Dynamic lead draws the reader into a heartwarming story filled with powerful quotes.”
Santa Ana Police Commanders Maria Lopez and Jorge Lopez team up with their daughter Natalia Lopez in uniform during SAPD’s Women’s Hiring Expo.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge
“Santa Ana Police Women’s Hiring Expo: changing culture, changing the world,” took second place in News and talked about the department’s efforts to address the chronic shortage of female officers.
A judge commented, “Story tackles an important issue about an under-represented community in a field still rife with obstacles for the subjects of the story. Writer smartly leveraged the time peg of an event to build a broader, deeply reported report with context and stakes.”
