City of Los Banos unveils new police facility before swearing in of new chief

The Los Banos Police Department unveiled its new police headquarters on Friday before the swearing in of the city’s new Chief of Police.

A ceremonial ribbon cutting was held during the grand opening of the police department’s new state-of-the-art facility, 1111 G St.. The project, which has been in the works for about five years, will provide the department with a great home for generations to come, according to outgoing Police Chief Gary Brizzee.

The new 31,000-net-square-foot facility features walls made of steel reinforced concrete that measure five inches thick and 28 feet tall, with each panel weighing between 40,000 to 70,000 pounds, according to Brizzee. More than 1,100 cubic yards of concrete was poured for the facility’s floor and walls. For added safety and security within the facility, 95 card readers will be used to access doors throughout the new police headquarters.

According to Brizzee, the new facility is able to accommodate all current employees with an additional 27 desk areas available for staffing growth. This year’s budget authorized 48 sworn police officers, and the new facility has a total of 84 full size electrified lockers available for officers.

According to new Police Chief Ray Reyna, the new police facility will allow the department to be more efficient, allowing everyone to be in one modern building as opposed to being spread out at multiple locations.

“I was honored to be selected as the new police chief for the city of Los Banos Police Department.” Reyna said.

A second-generation Los Banos police officer and lifelong Los Banos resident, Reyna, 44, joined the department as a police explorer at age 16. In 1999, Reyna worked in the jail as a community services officer and reserve police officer before graduating from the police academy and being sworn in as a police officer in 2000. Throughout his career with the department, Reyna has worked multiple assignments including patrol, investigations, field training officer and range master among others.

In 2010 Reyna was promoted from the rank of sergeant to Police Commander and served in that role for 13 years until his swearing in as police chief on Friday. Reyna said one of his goals as chief is to continue being transparent with the community and to be open to new ideas.

“I firmly believe that our ability to police our community come from and only comes from, the community,” said Reyna. “So public trust. Without that public trust and without that support we can’t do our jobs. So it’s a partnership and it’s something that’s very important to me.

According to Reyna, the public can expect to see the police department grow and adapt while being open to new ideas and conversations as the city continues to grow.

“This is their police department and I’m their chief, and our ability to police only comes from them.” he said.

Once the police department gets settled in its new home, Reyna said, some of his goals as chief include adding additional training and reorganizing some staff to better serve the community.

Outgoing chief Brizzee, 50, who has served in law enforcement for more than 28 years, retires from the position after serving as chief for more than 13 years. Brizzee graduated from the police academy in 1995 an was hired by the department that same year.

Brizzee said he went to work for the California Department of Justice in 2000 but realized the opportunity to make a mark was greater at a local agency level, so he ended up back at the police department. After working his way through the ranks within the department, Brizzee was sworn in as the city’s chief in May 2010.

“It’s been the greatest adventure of my life and it’s also been filled with a lot of tough days, to say the least,” said Brizzee.

According to Brizzee, Reyna has been the No. 2 at the police department during his tenure as chief, and he couldn’t be happier than to have Reyna take the reins..

“He has a very reasonable approach to law enforcement,” said Brizzee. “He has the ability to be strong in the areas that need some attention but he’s also very caring — and in today’s law enforcement world you need a good mixture of both.”

As he reflects on his law enforcement career, Brizzee said there are many things that he is proud of including investigations he was a part of, personnel he has worked with and the completion of the new police facility. Brizzee also said he is thankful for the support of the Los Banos community as well as councilmembers and mayors.