A Look at the 2025 LEADN Award Ceremony

_{Thumbnail photo courtesy of Redwood Voice Reporter Ethan Caudill-DeRego.}

Friends, family, and other community members came together on March 13th to honor local law enforcement at the Cultural Center on Front Street. The award ceremony kicked off with the Pelican Bay Honor Guard bringing out the flags of the United States, State of California, and Yurok Tribe. Former Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore followed up the pledge and anthem with a religious invocation.

Awards recipients included staff of the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Crescent City Hall, Del Norte County Probation Department, Redwood National & State Parks, Pelican Bay State Prison, California Department Of Fish & Wildlife, Yurok Tribal Police, and the Del Norte County District Attorney.

A video of the 2025 LEADN Awards.

Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin explained to Redwood Voice what, exactly, LEADN is. “It’s the Law Enforcement Administrators Of Del Norte County. So it’s the collection of all the law enforcement agencies in Del Norte County, and the administrators that run those. […] We have meetings monthly. We just get together and collaborate.”

According to Griffin, the award ceremony happens every year, and has been going for over a decade. “I brought it back after Sheriff Apperson left. It was dormant for a year I think it was, a year or two, and I brought it back,” he said.

Among the many wood burned plaques and cardstock certificates awarded, one award stood out: the medals awarded by the Yurok Tribal Police. Deputy Brandan Rager received a medal of valour for rappelling down the side of a hill with almost no safety gear to rescue an injured occupant from a car wreck. Yurok Tribal Police Officer James Kleinhans received a lifesaver award for his participation in the rescue.

Photo by Guiming Xiong
Photo by Guiming Xiong
Photo by Guiming Xiong

Depending on the agency’s policies, awards can differ. “I give the options because I just want the officers recognized, so whatever the department wants to do when they come up. You can give a plaque; you can give a certificate; you give the awards that qualify for them,” Chief Griffin explained. “Some agencies don’t want to wait until March of every year. I don’t like waiting until that, so I’ll present those medals at the City Council Meeting, and then I might recognize them here at this one. But typically the plaques and stuff are for this award ceremony.”

To qualify for an award, an officer doesn’t simply have to meet a certain quota or fulfill a certain task. Award recipients receive their commendations based on their attitude towards their work. “It’s more about what your growth is for me, and going forward, and what you do for the community, so that’s the way we look at it,” said Griffin.