[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 25 (Friday, February 8, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING CRISTINA MONTOYA AS PUBLIC SAFETY HERO OF THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, February 8, 2019

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor 
Cristina Montoya, whom I have named a Public Safety Hero of the Year in 
Sonoma County, California. Ms. Montoya is a dispatcher at the Cotati 
Police, and has committed her life to public service.
  Ms. Montoya is a Santa Rosa native. She earned her associate degree 
in General Education from Santa Rosa Junior College. She also graduated 
from the Public Safety Dispatcher Academy in Windsor, California. Ms. 
Montoya joined the Cotati Police Department as a part-time dispatcher, 
but once her natural calmness and ease on the job was apparent, she 
became a full-time dispatcher.
  On December 26, 2017, Ms. Montoya showed great initiative and saved 
lives. She took a phone call reporting that an individual stole a 
shotgun from B2 Enterprises Gun Store. After dispatching officers to 
the location, she became aware of pertinent details about the suspect. 
She searched the Computer Aided Dispatch communications of the Sonoma 
County Sheriffs Department. Using that database, Ms. Montoya recognized 
a similar description of a suspect involved in an assault on a family 
in Penngrove and connected the two incidents. She shared the connection 
she had discovered with the Cotati Police Department, which was then 
able to work with deputies to apprehend the suspect and stolen gun. Ms. 
Montoya was able to mitigate a situation that could have easily 
escalated by thinking quickly and using the knowledge she has gained as 
a dispatcher.
  Ms. Montoya is active in our community when she is not at work, as 
well. She volunteers at Gravenstein Elementary School, where her son 
attends first grade, and supports the Gravenstein School District's 
Enriched program.
  Madam Speaker, we thank Cristina Montoya for her dedication. For this 
reason, it is fitting and proper that we honor her here today.

                          ____________________