[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 31551]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 A TRIBUTE TO POLICE LT. BILL L. CRANFILL FOR THREE DECADES OF SERVICE 
                    TO THE CITIZENS OF REDLANDS, CA

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 11, 2009

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I would like to pay tribute 
today to Redlands Police Lt. Bill L. Cranfill, who has provided 
protection and service to the city's residents for more than three 
decades and has helped make the force one of the most professional and 
well-respected in the region.
  Bill Cranfill began working with the Redlands Police Department in 
1976 as a volunteer reserve officer, and was hired as a permanent 
officer in May 1978. He graduated from the San Bernardino County 
Sheriff's Academy that year and holds both a bachelor's and master's 
degree from La Salle University.
  Officer Cranfill won the first of the two Meritorious Service Awards 
he has received in 1980 for rescuing a woman from a burning building.
  He was promoted to corporal in 1981 and was made a sergeant in 1985. 
After completing a wide range of leadership training, including the FBI 
Academy, he became a lieutenant in 1998.
  Lieutenant Cranfill has helped to make the Redlands Police Department 
one of the most professional and progressive forces in the region, 
working alongside Police Chief Jim Bueerman and other top officers like 
Lt. Dan Shefcik, Lt. Rogelio Garcia and Commander Tom Fitzmaurice.
  During his career, Lieutenant Cranfill has headed the Patrol Services 
Bureau and the Investigative Services Bureau. He has been the 
department's crisis negotiation coordinator, and was named the Redlands 
Public Safety Manager of the Year in 2008.
  For many in the Redlands community, however, Lieutenant Cranfill is 
known as the Director of Public Safety for the University of Redlands. 
Serving under contract in that role for much of the past decade, 
Lieutenant Cranfill has helped the university maintain top standards 
for security, courtesy and even-handed discipline with an open campus 
that is an asset to the community around it.
  Beyond his high-profile role with the university, Lieutenant Cranfill 
is well-known for community involvement. He has helped run the Redlands 
Emergency Services Academy, which trains high school graduates in 
police and fire techniques, and is a strong supporter of the Redlands 
Bicycle Classic, an internationally-known bicycle race.
  He is an active member of the Redlands Morning Kiwanis and has served 
as the Redlands Police Department's representative to the United Way. 
He has volunteered numerous times for Tipa-Cop fundraisers for local 
charities, ran in the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run and Redlands 
Community Hospital Run for Life benefiting the Special Olympics and 
participated frequently in the Loma Linda University Medical Center 
Children's Hospital Halloween event.
  Madam Speaker, after 30 years of dedication to law enforcement, Lt. 
Bill L. Cranfill is retiring this month. Please join me in thanking him 
for his decades of providing safety and service to the residents of 
Redlands, and wish him well in his future endeavors.

                          ____________________