During the American Legion 7th District Spring Conference held on March 14, Department (Statelevel) Vice Commander A.J. Jones (right) recognized Eduardo Mendoza (left) of the Jennings Police Department (JPD) as the 7th District 2020 Police Officer of the Year. Mendoza was nominated for the award by the JPD and American Legion Post 19 in Jennings. The 7th District is comprised of 35 American Legion Posts located in eight southwest Louisiana parishes. Chief Danny Semmes of the JPD says of Officer Mendoza, “once in a career you come across an officer who truly shines through all aspects of law enforcement. This year I have selected an officer who came to us from another agency, and he was already trained in multiple facets of law enforcement. This officer, since day one, has always been a team player, always on time for his shift and filling in on other shifts so that no shift is shorthanded. This officer has a knack for finding the criminal element, having the record for this year for number of felony and misdemeanor arrests at 82 arrests for the year, even though he started with JPD in February of 2020. This officer leads the JPD in drug and related proceeds seizures. For his tireless efforts to help Jennings Police keep the Jennings community as a safe place to live, I nominate Officer Eduardo Mendoza as the 2020 Police Officer of the Year.”
