Riverside, Ca- Chief Russ Leach is pleased to announce the promotion of Sergeant Mike Perea to the rank of Lieutenant, effective November 18, 2005.

Lieutenant Mike Perea began his law enforcement career with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1986 and transferred to the Riverside Police Department in May 1988. His assignments included Patrol, the POP (Problem Oriented Policing) Team and the RPD Personnel & Training Division. Lieutenant Perea was promoted to Detective in 2000, working in Field Operations, and to Sergeant in 2001, where he was in charge of the University Neighborhood Enhancement Team (UNET) and later supervised the Crime-Free Multi-Housing unit. Lieutenant Perea is currently assigned to Internal Affairs.

Lieutenant Perea has received commendations in every assignment, including a Chief’s Commendation for his role in apprehending a serial rapist; he was named Hispanic Officer of the Year for 2002 by the Latino Police Officers’ Association.

Lieutenant Perea earned his Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, from Asuza Pacific University, majoring in Business / Organizational Management. He is also a graduate of the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute.

Lieutenant Perea is active in afterschool programs at Hawthorne and Highland elementary schools, and is the founder and coordinator of the Riverside Police Department’s El Protector program. A partnership linking bilingual police officers with the Spanish-speaking community started in 1994, the El Protector program provides crime prevention, domestic violence, narcotics and gang awareness and promotes traffic safety. The El Protector program includes the popular Eastside Soccer Clinic, which celebrated serving 3,000 youths by its 10th anniversary. He served four years as coordinator of National Night Out at Myra Linn Park.

Lieutenant Perea is married to Mary, who works with the Riverside County Office of Education; together they have two children: Stephanie, who is attending California State University-Long Beach, and Philip, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Riverside.

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