South San Francisco, CA July 15, 2015 Submitted by City of South San Francisco 
One of Chief Jeff Azzopardi’s goals when he took on the position as South San Francisco’s police chief last year was to get his department up to full staffing. Today, he is one step closer to fulfilling that goal by swearing in six new officers.
“It’s always an exciting day to welcome new officers to our department,” says Chief Jeff Azzopardi. “They are an extremely dedicated and talented group of individuals and the City of South San Francisco is lucky to have them on board.”
With the addition of these six new officers, the South San Francisco Police Department now has 82 sworn officers, with room for one additional officer.
The new officers are:
We welcome the new members of our SSFPD family
* Gabriel Carriel, a graduate of Mount Eden High School in Hayward. He also attended California State University East Bay where he majored in Criminal Justice. In addition, he is a graduate of the College of San Mateo’s Police Academy.
* Andrew Constantino, a graduate of Mills High School in Burlingame. He is currently attending the College of San Mateo and is in the process of completing his degree in Business Administration. He is also a graduate of the College of San Mateo’s Police Academy.
* Phillip Nielsen, a graduate of Hillsdale High school in San Mateo and San Francisco State University. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. He is also a graduate of the College of San Mateo’s Police Academy.
* William Ojakian, a graduate of Capuchino High School in San Bruno and College of San Mateo’s Police Academy.
* Grable Ramirez, a graduate of Escalon High School in Manteca and San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton where he earned his degree in Criminal Justice as well as graduating from the Police Academy.
* Dylan Westfall, a graduate of Monte Vista High School in Danville and Arizona State University. He is also a graduate of the College of San Mateo’s Police Academy.
The officers are now in their field training program, which will take up to six months to complete before they become solo officers.
“This is a great day for the new officers, their families and our police department,” says Mayor Richard Garbarino. “I, and the council, look forward to their sincere commitment and desire to serve the community and general public.”
In addition to swearing in six new officers, Chief Azzopardi also welcomed a new chaplain to his department. Reverend Daniel DiAngelo, PhD is the founder and pastor of Genesis Worship Center in South San Francisco. Rev. DiAngelo will assist the police department with death notifications and any other instance where someone may be in need of a caring individual to listen and be compassionate.
“Rev. DiAngelo will be there for any families whenever there’s a tragedy of any sort,” says Chief Azzopardi. “It’s a great service to the City to have another person to stand behind people in whatever they’re going through in their lives – whether it’s one of our officers or a member of our community.”
Chief Azzopardi welcomes to the SSFPD Family: Reverend Danny DiAngelo, Officer William Ojakian, Officer Phillip Nielsen, Officer Gabriel Carriel, Officer Dylan Westfall, Dispatcher Stephanie Jordan, Officer Grable Ramirez, Officer Andrew Constantino, Dispatcher Remy Loubriel, Dispatcher Brittany Chapman, Administrative Assistant I Laura Soto, Administrative Assistant Mary Ann II Spediacci, and Court Officer Kouta Lappen.
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Everything South City received a message from Rev. Danny DiAngelo on our Facebook Page:
Rev Danny DiAngelo
“I am honored to have been sworn in today as the Chaplain for the South San Francisco Police Dept. Here is a pic of myself and the newly sworn-in officers with Police Chief Azzopardi on my left. This is his quote from today: “Rev. DiAngelo will be there for any families whenever there’s a tragedy of any sort. It’s a great service to the City to have another person to stand behind people in whatever they’re going through in their lives – whether it’s one of our officers or a member of our community.”
I look forward to serving the officers and the community of SSF.”