Law enforcement group honors sheriff’s office

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office is getting international recognition for a massive drug raid and a program to help the family of a child with a serious illness.

The sheriff’s office is featured in a video, which focuses on last year’s Operation Gang Green and the Chief for a Day program, that was scheduled to debut at the 2012 International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in San Diego over the weekend.

Cmdr. Rusty Warren said the sheriff’s office was one of 16 agencies chosen to be featured in videos at the conference. Sheriff Garry Lucas wanted to have the video focus on the partnerships and relationships with the community. Warren said they decided to film segments on Gang Green because it showed the sheriff’s office’s ability to coordinate the large event with other agencies. The Chief for a Day program shows how the sheriff’s office works in the community, he said.

The film crew filmed several segments in Clark County on Sept. 11, said Sgt. Fred Neiman.

Complex operation

The crew interviewed Lucas, Sgt. Shane Gardner, who organized the Chief for a Day program, and Cmdr. Mike Cooke of the Clark-Vancouver Regional Drug Task Force.

Cooke said it was nice to be recognized on a national level for Gang Green because a lot of work was involved in the case.

“I feel awkward at the same time because I had a small piece of it,” he said. The majority of the work was done by detectives, who weren’t featured in the video, he said.

Gardner was interviewed along with honorary Sheriff Carter Harris’ family.

It isn’t the first time the sheriff’s office has made an on-screen appearance. Both programs were also featured in CVTV programs.

Lucas was also featured in a public service announcement earlier this summer that aired in Regal Cinema 99 Stadium 11 in Hazel Dell and a handful of other theatres in the Portland area.