Mission Viejo Police Services' Employee of the Year

Deputy Cody Eliason has been named Mission Viejo Police Services' Employee of the Year. The deputy's outstanding work ethic has gained him the respect of his peers and supervisors alike.  

An 8-year employee of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Deputy Eliason has been working patrol operations in Mission Viejo for the last two years. Since then, he has handled and responded to more than 4,000 calls for service ranging from citizen assists to crimes in progress. From the get-go, Deputy Eliason has been a proactive force in our community. During his first year in our community, he responded to a burglary in process that ended with the safe apprehension of all suspects.

The stories of Deputy Eliason's successful efforts to apprehend suspects are numerous. In the beginning of this year, he responded to a robbery at The Shops at Mission and quickly located and arrested the suspect for robbery.  A month later in February, he spotted a suspicious car at a gas station and gained permission to search the vehicle. During his investigation, Deputy Eliason discovered the people in the vehicle stole a van in San Juan Capistrano and tools inside and then hid the stolen van in Mission Viejo. After arresting the suspects for various felony crimes, he found the van. 

Deputy Eliason has also assisted the Sheriff's Department's special investigative teams with cases involving gangs, narcotics sales and other crimes. Through his proactive contact with members of the community, he has been able to identify numerous suspects from "Be On The Look Out" (BOLO) fliers. 

"Cody's dedication to duty, the department and the community is exemplary "¦ it's no surprise that Cody has been selected for this award," said Sgt. Reyes.