San Ramon police employees recognized for distinguished service

Three San Ramon police employees were recently honored by the department for their exceptional service during 2017.

Receiving awards were Sgt. Hollis Tong as Supervisor of the Year, Officer Mike Richardson as Officer of the Year and records specialist Kelli Bryson as Employee of the Year.

“We have an awards program to recognize police department employees who have distinguished themselves by performing significant acts in support of the department’s mission,” Lt. Cary Goldberg said in an email. “It is the policy of the San Ramon Police Department to provide the community with outstanding and professional service and to recognize members of the organization who make significant contributions.”

All three were recognized at a special presentation at Tuesday night’s San Ramon City Council meeting.

Bryson, the 2017 Employee of the Year, has been with the department since 2009 and said the recognition came as a “nice surprise.”

“It’s just nice to be recognized,” she said.

Bryson is looking forward to another good year, she said, adding that her two-hour daily commute between San Ramon and Antioch is testament to how much she enjoys her job.

“Kelli’s work on a day-to-day basis truly reflects that service,” Goldberg said. “There is no one single act that made her deserving of this recognition. It’s a totality of her work ethic, commitment to service, and ‘can do’ attitude that made her the clear choice.”

Sgt. Tong, 2017 Supervisor of the Year, joined San Ramon police in 2007, and was one of the original members of SRPD after the city stopped contracting police services with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.

Tong has held a variety of roles in the department since, including patrol officer, a school resource officer, an instructor, the reserve officer program coordinator and a patrol sergeant. Currently, he is the professional standards and training sergeant, coordinating all department training and conducting internal affairs investigations.

“I was very honored to be nominated by my current supervisor (Lt. Reeder) and to have received the award,” Tong said in an email. “I’ve been very blessed to have had many supervisors throughout my career that have mentored me and helped to develop me in my career and I intend to model that way during my time as a supervisor.”

Tong also received the Officer of the Year award in 2011.

“Everybody that knows Hollis describes him as exceedingly reliable, professional, detail-oriented … He’s always finding new ways of developing personnel and improving department efficiency,” San Ramon Police Chief Dan Pratt said at the City Council meeting special presentation. “I rely on him constantly to keep the PD up-to-date with new laws and best practices.”

Officer of the Year Mike Richardson joined SRPD in 2014, coming from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.

“His supervisor wrote, ‘I can think of no officer who works harder, is a better team member, or has a better attitude,'” Pratt said at the presentation.

According to Pratt, Richardson primarily works the graveyard shift, and made the most DUI arrests last year, earning him an additional award from the nonprofit Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

“Not only does he make a lot of arrests, he does it in a very professional manner,” Pratt added, something that had made him respected by fellow officers and arrestees alike.

“I’m very proud to be a member of this department,” Richardson said. “I worked for the sheriff’s office prior to this, and I loved my experience there. Anywhere I could have tried to get to was here and I was able to get here and I’m just proud to be here.”