[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 71 (Friday, June 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E930]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING GUAM POLICE DEPARTMENT'S POLICE OFFICER OF THE YEAR AND 
                          CIVILIAN OF THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 8, 2000

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this occasion to 
recognize Guam Police Department's Police Officer of the Year and 
Civilian of the Year. These awards are presented annually to the top 
employees of the Guam Police Department (GPD). Police Officer III John 
A. Bagaforo was named Police Officer of the Year while Ms. Karen 
Guerrero was honored as Civilian of the Year.
  Officer John A. Bagaforo is a 1980 graduate of Pearl City High School 
in Hawaii. He moved to Guam in 1989 with the intention of joining the 
Guam Police Department. He commenced service as a police recruit in 
October 1990, and graduated in May 1991. He was initially assigned as a 
patrol officer with the Northern Precinct Command--later being selected 
to be part of the Northern Precinct task force to counteract gang 
activity. This is in addition to his duties with the precinct's patrol 
operations.
  John was moved to the Central Precinct Command in 1992, where he was 
assigned to the task force on robbery suppression. Later that year, he 
was transferred to the Juvenile Investigation Section with a collateral 
assignment to the Department of Education Task Force. He was reassigned 
to patrol duty in 1994 and served in this capacity until 1996, when he 
was transferred to the GPD Drug Task Force which operated under the 
auspices of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). As a member of 
this task force, John facilitated contact with confidential informants, 
identified drug targets, formulated operational plans, authored search 
warrants, conducted drug buys, secured evidence, effectuated arrests 
and testified as an expert witness in both federal and local courts. In 
1997, he was deputized and received his DEA credentials as a sworn Task 
Force Agent. John currently serves as a shift supervisor for the 
Tamuning/Tumon Precinct Command, a position he has held since November 
1999.
  GPD's Civilian of the Year, Karen E. Guerrero. Karen has worked in 
different capacities within GPD's administrative divisions since March 
1985.
  Initially assigned to the general maintenance section of the 
department's Support Division, she was placed in charge of building, 
equipment and vehicle maintenance. In 1992, she was transferred to the 
Operations Division. As a secretary for the division, Karen took on 
further administrative and record keeping responsibilities. She 
provided assistance with office correspondence, reports, training and 
budget matters. From April 1992, until March 1999, Karen worked for the 
legal section under the Chiefs Office. During the seven years she 
worked in this section, she performed a host of clerical and 
administrative duties. She also played a crucial role in office 
support, procurement and record keeping.
  Karen, on different occasions, also worked at the payroll section and 
the Records & ID section of GPD's Administration Division. While with 
these sections, she worked with payroll and personnel matters. Having 
been with the Records & ID section since March, 1999, she has been 
involved in procedural development, staffing and the facilitation of 
public services on a supervisory level.
  Karen is a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School in Tumon, Guam. 
She took part in the business administration program while attending 
the Western Pacific Business College and was a recipient of the Pedro 
``Doc'' Sanchez Scholarship at the University of Guam where she majored 
in Public Administration.
  On behalf of the people of Guam, I congratulate John and Karen for 
having been named as GPD's Police Officer and Civilian of the Year. 
Through their diligence and dedication to their duties at the Guam 
Police Department, John and Karen have made great contributions towards 
the safety and protection of our island's residents. I urge them to 
keep up the good work!

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