Police Career Beckons Sister of Victim

Debbie Torrez had never really considered a career in law enforcement.

Then her older sister, Cathy, a 20-year-old honors student at Cal State Fullerton, was found slain in a car trunk--a crime that remains unsolved.

After the Placentia family’s tragedy in 1994, the younger Torrez, now 16, joined the Police Department’s Explorer program and is earning top honors.

“I saw people my age helping out in the station, so I decided I wanted to join the program,” said Torrez, who is entering her senior year at Valencia High School. “I had never been interested in law enforcement before that, and I wanted to know more about what their jobs were like.”

Torrez, who also becomes Valencia’s student body president this year, recently climbed to the Explorer post’s highest rank of captain.

Police Explorers are high school students who train with officers and help with activities such as crowd control.

Because of her outstanding achievements, officials selected Torrez to attend the National Law Enforcement Explorer Leadership Academy last month in Washington. She was one of 30 Explorers nationwide, and the only student from Orange County, invited to the academy.

Officer David Douglas, advisor of the 16-member Explorer program, said he is proud of Torrez.

“It allowed her to participate in a unique training program,” he said. “She was introduced to just about every type of criminal justice agency this country offers.”

But the most important lesson, Torrez said, was learning to be a better leader. She highly recommends Explorer programs.

“You’ll learn so much about interacting with other people,” she said. “It just makes you a better person and it gives you a sense of self-worth.”