For his dedication to the community and willingness to always lend a hand, Fairfield police Officer Joshua Bender has not only been named the department’s Officer of the Year but also National School Resource Officer of the Year.
“It’s been a humbling few months,” the officer admitted Thursday. “I don’t seek the limelight. I don’t do what I do for accolades.”
Very simply, he’s all about service.
Bender grew up at Travis Air Force Base and, at 18, joined the Army.
“I definitely wanted to serve my country,” he advised, and believed the military was the way to do it. He served eight years and deployed to Afghanistan three times.
Meanwhile, he had a baby daughter, Mariah, at home with his wife, Lauren, who he had been with since they were 15. He thought it was unfair to keep asking her to move from place to place and began exploring what would come next.
That new chapter would involve returning to Vacaville.
“I wanted to come home and have a direct impact on my community,” he remembered.
So he applied to different police agencies and was hired by the Sacramento Police Department, where he stayed for two years.
The camaraderie was amazing, he said, adding that he made many friends there in a short time.
Then the Fairfield Police Department contacted him six years ago and he found his niche.
Bender served on Patrol before being assigned to Grange Middle School as a school resource officer in Oct. 2019. Unfortunately, COVID-19 interrupted his run and schools closed down in March 2020, briefly returning him to Patrol.
“This is actually my first full year as a school resource officer,” he shared.
The post taught him a lot about youths, and himself.
“It’s different,” the officer said, of working primarily with children. “It challenges your own perspective. Not all kids grew up with the resources you did.”
Delve deeper when working with troubled youth, he advised, as poverty and other factors can have a hand in troubling behaviors.
Which is why he was concerned about many students when the pandemic closed schools, as he worried where their next meals would come from.
Bender recalled situations such as a family of seven living in a 25-foot trailer and food was scarce.
“It pulls on your heartstrings quite a lot,” he shared. “But as a police officer, you have to realize you can only control what you can control.”
So, he gets involved, forming community partnerships and tapping his police brethren to help.
Bender spoke of pitching in at Christmas to give back to those in need, a program run by Capt. Dan Marshall.
He advised of a Thanksgiving meal giveaway, feeding 10 families of eight, and spoke of finding another family with a broken water heater around that time. There was little money for a fix or replacement and their trailer had long seen better days. So with fellow police staff and others, the family was gifted with a new water heater, four months rent, ample groceries, clothing, tools and event dental services.
It was a banner event.
“They were the most humble family you’d ever meet,” he said.
For actions such as this one, his superiors said, Bender was recognized as the department’s Officer of the Year.
“Josh has done incredible work in his position at Grange. He has made an impact not only at the school but in the community as well,” Marshall said. “He has gone above and beyond to assist students and their families, providing and connecting them to services. He is making a difference in the Fairfield community.”
Sgt. Franco Cesar agreed.
“He’s a good guy. Josh is a hard worker who does a lot of projects for the school, and the school supports him,” Cesar said. “He truly cares about the people, the kids.”
You never immediately know the impact you have on kids, Cesar continued, but no doubt Bender is making a difference.
“I’m really, really proud of Josh,” he said. “He’s amazing.”
So much so that Cesar nominated him for the national award, which he recently was notified he won.
“I was blown away,” Bender acknowledged.
So many officers had been nominated for their excellent work and to be chosen was phenomenal.
His job in the schools, he said, affords him an opportunity to reach youths at a young age and try to keep them on a positive path, to get them to see their potential.
“I’m always looking to find more creative ways to be of help,” he emphasized.
His wife and kids — Mariah, now 15 and Jackson, 7 — often lend a hand as well.
Next on his To Do list is starting a mentorship program for the students, and moving on from there.
