Three Police Officers Promoted; One Honored for Lifesaving
Posted January 06, 2020Three Guttenberg police officers were promoted on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020 at a ceremony in the Gerald R. Drasheff Community Center. Detective Steven Diaz was promoted to Sergeant, Officer Filip Bajovic was promoted to full-time class II special police officer, and Officer John Lopez was promoted to probationary police officer.
Det. Steve Diaz has been with the Guttenberg Police Department since 2013. He served in the Patrol Division from 2014 until 2017, when he was reassigned to the Detective Bureau full time. He is a strong advocate for community policing and coordinates the annual Guttenberg Junior Police Academy, in addition to being involved in all community events. He was recently assigned as commander of the GPD’s new Special Response Team.
All three officers were surrounded by family members as they were sworn in to their new roles by Mayor Wayne Zitt. Public Safety Director Robert White called Officer Bajovic “a young man with a great deal of ability, moving up from part-time to full-time,” and noted that Lopez was “a reliable and loyal employee who serves with pride and distinction.”
Lt. Barrera then presented Officer Bajovic with a Life Saving citation for “an act performed in the line of duty, which through disregard of personal safety and/or prompt alert action results in saving a life.”
While on patrol on Dec. 10, 2019, Officer Bajovic was flagged down and advised there was a fire on 68th St. According to Lt. Barrera, “Without regard for his safety and only thinking of the people who were in danger, he ran to where the fire was and helped evacuate the building where the fire was intensifying. Along with his squad and his sergeant they were able to get everyone out and prevent anyone from getting hurt.”
Council Members Richard Delafuente, Monica Fundora, John Habermann, William Hokien, and Juana Malave all attended the ceremony and expressed their personal gratitude and congratulations to the promotees. Many friends and family members were in the audience, along with police officers from neighboring municipalities and the county.