Goodrich Alumnus Honored by Omaha’s Human Rights and Relations Department
- published: 2018/02/22
- contact: Patty Patton Shearer - Goodrich Scholarship Program
- phone: 402.554.2875
- email: ppshearer@unomaha.edu
- search keywords:
- Goodrich
- CPACS
- PACE
- Omaha Human Rights and Relations Department
- Omaha Police Department
Deputy Omaha Police Chief Greg Gonzalez, a Goodrich alumnus and winner of the 2017 CPACS Alumni Award, was recognized with the “Living the Dream” award last month. The award, named in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., acknowledged Gonzalez’s work with the Police Athletics for Community Engagement Program, which provides mentoring to at-risk youth through athletics, steering disadvantaged teens into sports and away from crime. The Latino Peace Officers Association created the program in 2005, and it now serves over 2,500 youth in the Omaha area.
Chief Gonzalez said, “This award is about people and that’s why it’s special to me. I owe it to Dr. King to make the Omaha Police Department a better police force than when I joined. One day at a time, by building trust and galvanizing relationships, we will become one team.”
In his nomination of Gonzalez, Lt. George Merithew wrote of Gonzalez, “He is an executor and a game-changer who demands fair representation and treatment in and outside his workplace. His values and ethics echo Martin Luther King’s hope for higher standards, just treatment, hope, and inclusivity.”
Gonzalez has served the City of Omaha for 23 years, starting with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department in 1993. Two years later, he transferred to the Omaha Police Department, working in some of the department’s most demanding units, the gang unit and the undercover narcotics unit. In his current position as deputy police chief, Gonzalez oversees the Training Unit and Crime Prevention Unit, as well as the Research and Planning Unit. Gonzalez is a past president of the Nebraska Chapter of the National Latino Police Officers Association.
At UNO, Greg Gonzalez earned a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and a Master of Public Administration. He presently teaches criminal justice courses as an adjunct instructor for the UNO School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and teaches Command Spanish to recruits at the Omaha Police Academy.
Chief Gonzalez said, “This award is about people and that’s why it’s special to me. I owe it to Dr. King to make the Omaha Police Department a better police force than when I joined. One day at a time, by building trust and galvanizing relationships, we will become one team.”
In his nomination of Gonzalez, Lt. George Merithew wrote of Gonzalez, “He is an executor and a game-changer who demands fair representation and treatment in and outside his workplace. His values and ethics echo Martin Luther King’s hope for higher standards, just treatment, hope, and inclusivity.”
Gonzalez has served the City of Omaha for 23 years, starting with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department in 1993. Two years later, he transferred to the Omaha Police Department, working in some of the department’s most demanding units, the gang unit and the undercover narcotics unit. In his current position as deputy police chief, Gonzalez oversees the Training Unit and Crime Prevention Unit, as well as the Research and Planning Unit. Gonzalez is a past president of the Nebraska Chapter of the National Latino Police Officers Association.
At UNO, Greg Gonzalez earned a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and a Master of Public Administration. He presently teaches criminal justice courses as an adjunct instructor for the UNO School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and teaches Command Spanish to recruits at the Omaha Police Academy.