![Westminster adds first woman to SWAT team](https://behindthebadge.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/230829-WPD-New-West-County-SWAT-01-SJG-702x484.jpg)
Westminster adds first woman to SWAT team
0Westminster Police Department Detective Marcela Lopez approaches policing from a couple of different perspectives: first, as a woman, and second, as a person who came to police work after a 10-year stint in social work. Her history makes her decision to become a SWAT tactical officer, and the first female from Westminster to join the elite team, all the more interesting. “I’ve been on the Crisis Negotiation Team for about five years now,” she said of the unit that works with SWAT to diffuse situations before forced entry is required. As a former social worker with a personality and empathy…
![Westminster Police Dispatchers invite applicants to tour the department, learn more about the critical job](https://behindthebadge.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/WestDispatch.081523.17-351x185.jpg)
The sign affixed to the dispatchers’ door at the Westminster Police Department reads, “The safety of 100,000 people and 130…
![Westminster Deputy Chief retires, sort of](https://behindthebadge.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/230726-WPD-Deputy-Chief-Darin-Upstill-01-SJG-351x185.jpg)
It may not seem like much has changed at the Westminster Police Department, but Deputy Chief Darin Upstill has officially…
![Be Well OC hits the roads in Westminster](https://behindthebadge.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/20230615_110745-351x185.jpg)
Be Well OC is officially up and rolling in Westminster. The nonprofit’s signature blue van has begun patrolling city streets…
![National Night Out with Westminster Police Department a success for PD, residents](https://behindthebadge.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/01_NIGHTOUT.08012023-351x185.jpg)
Children of all ages, with their parents and community members, gathered in a bigger crowd than last year to enjoy…