San Diego names public park after Fil-Am police officer
The city council of San Diego, California has approved the funding of a public park named after a retired Filipino-American police officer considered a role model by the local community, NBC San Diego reported on Monday.
The Cesar Solis Community Park, named after the retired assistant police chief, will will be built in Ocean View Hills near Otay Mesa and is expected to open on 2017.
Solis told NBC San Diego that it was an honor to be part of "an important project, a project that will benefit a very deserving community".
According to his profile on the park website, Solis was the first officer of Filipino heritage to be promoted to captain and assistant chief at the San Diego Police Department.
He was awarded the American Legion Medal of Valor and the Meritorious Service Award for his work as a member of the Border Crime Protection Unit.
The retired assistant chief also led various investigative units in the SDPD and served as the commanding officer of the SWAT team and executive officer of the Emergency Negotiations Team.
Police Executive Chief David Ramirez described Solis to the San Diego Union-Tribune as a humble family man with a strong worth ethic who gave "credit to his people".
Union of Pan Asian Communities in San Diego President Margaret Iwanaga-Penrose added that Solis had been "a model of openness to community input and innovative problem solutions". — Rie Takumi/JDS, GMA News
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