Seal Beach Police Wear Autism Awareness Patches

SEAL BEACH, CA — Behind the Badge OC this week introduced us to Seal Beach's Cpl. Joe Garcia. When he learned his child was affected by autism at the age of 2, he and his wife wanted resources, but had no idea where to start. Now, his son is 4, and things have changed for this Seal Beach family.

Over Autism Awareness Month, he now brings attention by wearing his Seal Beach Police Badge, with the autism awareness puzzle piece, and a whole lot of pride. Many officers wear Pink Patches, a project which was started by the Seal Beach Police Department many years ago. Now, this new public safety initiative hopes to bring the same attention in a positive way.

“Obviously, I supported it 100 percent,” Seal Beach Police Chief Joe Miller told Behind the Badge OC. “It’s for a good cause. That is the reason for it. We are out in the public every day. In addition to regular policing every day, it’s something we should be doing. It’s a simple thing but it sends a big message.”

Garcia collaborated with National Emblem and First Tactical to design the Seal Beach Police Autism Awareness Patch.

He showed a prototype of the patch to Liz Camarena, a jailer at Seal Beach PD whose 10-year-old son, Emmanuel, is autistic.

“It was beautiful,” said Camarena, who has been involved in the campaign. “I still get butterflies in my stomach when I look at it. I knew immediately I had to be part of anything that is involved with this.”

Since the campaign began in April, every sworn officer and civilian employee in the department has been wearing the patch, which is an altered version of the official Seal Beach police patch.

The patch is outlined in blue, the color representing the Light It Up Blue campaign for autism awareness.

The letters spelling out “Seal Beach P0lice” are multicolored, symbolizing the diversity of people on the autism spectrum.

“We were incredibly touched that he would think of us,” said Ani Waks, the Autism Partnership’s site director. “We are thrilled to be part of the collaboration with the Seal Beach Police Department. We are passionate about what we do. We can see that he is equally as passionate.”

After the campaign was underway, word spread through social media.
Patches have been sold around the country and as far away as Austria, Garcia said.

He’s been approached by people on the street who see the patch and want to support the cause, and other police agencies have committed to join in next year.

Autism spectrum disorder affects one person in 68, according to the latest statistics by the Center for Disease Control.

Read the full story on BehindTheBadgeOC.com

Photo by Christine Cotter/Behind the Badge OC