The Hollister Police Department officer who was one of the first on the scene and delivered life-saving aid to victims of a shooting during last year’s motorcycle rally is the man of the year in the eyes of one local organization.
The Mexican-American Committee on Education of San Benito County selected Officer Carlos Rodriguez, 34, as this year’s man of the year to be honored at the group’s 45th annual Cinco de Mayo Scholarship Dinner & Dance.
“I was very shocked. I definitely did not see that coming,” Rodriguez said. “In law enforcement, it’s definitely nice when you can get a nice surprise, instead of a not-so-great surprise.”
Rodriguez grew up on the east side of San Jose and came to the field of law enforcement indirectly, after he pursued a career as a pilot. Rodriguez, who learned to solo a plane before he could drive, graduated from San Jose State University with a bachelor of science in aviation operations and a minor in business in 2003.
He went to U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School and was about to begin flight training when he went through a physical and learned that though he had 20/20 vision, he had just enough astigmatism to disqualify him from pursuing his dream.
“It was a definite setback for me at that time,” he said. “It taught me as much as I love to fly, my number one desire and passion was to serve in some capacity and that’s what law enforcement did for me.”
Rodriguez said he has served in the Hollister Police Department for almost eight years and has shared his journey to his career several times with youth as a speaker at the annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference. The event is hosted by the League of United Latin American Citizens of San Benito County and connects youth with local professionals to help them learn about career options.
“There can be a lot of misconceptions with the media,” he said. “You always get those funny questions like, ‘Why do cops like donuts?’ ”
Rodriguez always tells students that back in the day before officers had computers, they hand-wrote their reports and likely started gathering at donut shops, because they were one of the few places open late at night.
Rodriguez has worked with students before as the school resource officer, back when the position was called the “school beat officer.”
In 2014, Rodriguez received the Inter-Service Recognition Award from the California Emergency Medical Services Authority, which honors special accomplishments or heroic acts. The award recognized Rodriguez for his courageous and life-saving actions when he responded to shooting victims during last year’s motorcycle rally in July.
Rodriquez said any other officer would have responded the same way if they had been there first.
“I just want to say I feel like I’m receiving this for all of us and any one of us would have done the exact same thing,” he said.
Details on the MACE event
More information: The Mexican-American Committee on Education of San Benito County will hold its 45th annual Cinco de Mayo Scholarship Dinner & Dance on Saturday, May 2, at the Elks Lodge located at 351 Astro Drive in Hollister. Tickets are $45 per person. For further details, call Veronica Lezama, MACE president, at (831) 245-6371; Mickie Luna, treasurer, at (831) 673-2009; or George Munoz, vice president, at (831) 801-4598.
