My name is Michael A. Orona, Deputy Sheriff Generalist (Disability Retired), Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.   

 

     My career with the LASD began on March 23, 1988 at the age of 25 after I underwent an extensive 11 month employment/back-round check before being hired. I worked a (approximately) 2 month “pre-academy” assignment with the LASD Recruitment Unit until the start of my academy class. I went through a 6 month Academy (Class #245) at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Whittier Facility and was graduated in October of 1988.

 

    My first unit of assignment upon graduation was in the Men’s Central Jail (MCJ) in Custody Services Bureau. I worked “custody” for approximately 16 months, a relatively short time compared to the average of 2 to 3 years. I guess this was due to a large influx at that time of new hires that moved us out sooner than later. The latter part of my time in my assignment to MCJ was attached to the Jail Ward of County USC Hospital.

 

    My next assignment was in Field Operations Bureau (aka Patrol) assigned to Pico Rivera Sheriff Station (PRV#15) in 1990. After completing Patrol Training I worked a variety of assignments in the field and was exposed to an extremely large number of incidents teaching me how to handle just about anything a Law Enforcement Officer could expect to encounter. My favorite assignment while at “PRV” was as Liaison to the El Rancho Unified School District where I was the primary Deputy handling any and all incidents within the Districts boundaries. It was one of my MOST rewarding assignments in my own opinion as I enjoyed the interaction with Faculty, Staff and Students. I worked that assignment for 3 of the 5 years I was assigned to Pico Rivera Sheriff Station. I was also deployed while assigned to Patrol during the so-called “Rodney King Riots” of April 29, 1992. I was sent along with other Deputies from all the Stations to bolster Law Enforcement presence in South Central Los Angeles for a 4 day period working 12+ hour shifts. I received 2 separate commendations while assigned to Pico Rivera for my actions in the line of duty.

 

     My next and ultimately last assignment was with Court Services Bureau, Central Division at the Criminal Courts Building (CCB) in downtown Los Angeles. I was assigned to Division 40 Master Calendar Court of the Municipal Court System as Bailiff of Record where I served from 1995 until my final retirement in 2004. Division 40 was notorious as the largest Misdemeanor Master Calendar Court in the US, sometimes handling upwards to 300+ cases a day with Custody cases numbering in the hundreds routinely. Although it was slated as a 3+ Deputy/Bailiff posting, my Partner and I handled it by ourselves for a VAST majority of my time there. I received commendations there as well for my abilities to diffuse volatile situations with individuals avoiding potentially serious problems. I worked under 5 different Judges during my tenure there, which I was informed, was very unusual as most Judges request Deputies they know or are familiar with in assignments. Every Judge I worked with, with the exception of the last one as I was retired first, requested to have me to join them when they were reassigned. I respectfully declined them every time as I enjoyed my assignment.

 

    In August of 2003 I was relieved of my duties due to ongoing physical issues stemming from numerous physical injuries I had received through out my career, mostly during “patrol”. I suffered injuries to both ankles, both knees, my left shoulder and suffered from gastrointestinal issues from years of taking high doses of ibuprofen for the pain from my various injuries. I was finally deemed to be physically unfit to continue my career in June of 2004 and officially retired on a Disability Pension on November 21, 2004 ending my 16+ year career in the Sheriff’s Department. I was retired as a “Top Step” Deputy Sheriff Generalist with an advance Peace Officer’s Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Certification from the State of California.

 

     I also had some other family members involved in the LASD. My Grandfather Arturo Mesa served in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Reserves assigned to East Los Angeles from the late 1940s till early 1971. He rose to the rank of Captain of Reserves. My brother, Robert Orona Jr. served in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department from 1987 to 1994 before being retired due to injury. My cousin Carlos Montoya is currently serving in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and has been since the mid 1980s.

 

    I am now working full-time as a dedicated stay at home Dad. BEST job I could ever hope for!

Pic 1

My Graduation from Academy Class #245. L to R:my Brother, Robert Orona Jr., Father Robert V. Orona and myself. Oct 1988.

Pic 2

Pico Rivera Sheriff Station, Patrol, my unfortunate collision with a Sparrow while enroute to an Emergency call taken sometime in 1993.

Pic 3

Court Services, C.C.B., Bailiff of Record for Division 40 taken in 2003.

Pic 4

"The Line-up", can you spot the Public Defender?
 L to R: Deputies R. Calderon (my partner throughout my assignment to Div.40) and L. Carrasco, UNKNOWN Public Defender ( I only remember her first name, "Roni") and myself taken sometime in 2001...

Pic 5

My Grandfather LASD Reserve Captain Arturo Mesa taken sometime in the mid/late 1960s.

Mike's Son Bobby !