Rock Island County’s 2009 NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Image Awards awarded seven awards in education, business, civil rights, religion, youth development, justice, arts, and justice.
The NAACP Image Award for Justice was given to Officer Eddie Alaniz on Saturday, June 20 for his work in community policing in the Floreciente neighborhood and several volunteer activities in the area.
The award specifically says that it’s for the work he has done with the Hispanic community and was given because Hispanics are a minority group in the United States.
Officer Alaniz told The Dispatch after winning the award, “We work together to solve problems in the neighborhoods and try to reduce crime. I’m a big believer in that partnership because it does make a difference.”
Officer Alaniz has been a police officer for nine years and in the Floreciente neighborhood for five years. “I was surprised. I found out that I had one through my police chief who notified me. Our department is big on COP (Community Oriented Policing) philosophy. This award is proof that police department is headed in the right direction. It’s a team effort,” Officer Eddie Alaniz said.
The nomination process came through Trabajando Juntos when Berlinda Johnson attended a meeting and saw Officer Eddie Alaniz’s interaction with the people at the meeting and more importantly in the community. “I enjoy working with the people. I was helping out at a traffic stop and trying to do work while the kids are saying Eddie, Eddie.” he said.
The COP office next to Ericsson Elementary School has been in the neighborhood here since the early nineties, Officer Alaniz said. The office here locally came about through a program by President Clinton which wanted to put COP offices in the neighborhood. “The goal was to stress COP programs and promote police community partnership. We’re here to help the community.” he said.
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