Cpl. Mike Henderson was one of the first policemen at the scene of the Salon Meritage shootings.
He revived the Seal Beach Police Department’s Explorer Scout program.
He helped subdue a mentally ill woman with a gun without anyone being killed.
For two years now, he’s been the department’s man-in-charge for the Seal Beach Classic Car Show and for St. Patrick’s Day.
Now he’s Seal Beach’s Officer of the Year 2013.
Seal Beach Police Cpl. Henderson was honored as Officer of the Year Tuesday, May 21, at the Public Safety Honors Luncheon. Henderson was honored alongside 35 other sworn officers, dispatchers, community service officers, Orange County firefighters and lifeguards. The luncheon was held at Old Ranch Country Club.
Henderson was also awarded the Medal of Lifesaving, as were five other Seal Beach officers: Officer Mike Ezroj, Officer Ryan Corbin, Officer Brad Davis, Officer Joe Garcia and Officer Jeff Gibson.
“The most significant example of Cpl. Henderson’s expertise in his position as patrol corporal was his performance at the Salon Meritage shooting,” said Sgt. John Scott in the document nominating Henderson for Officer of the Year.
According to Scott, he was one of the first officers at the scene of Orange County’s worst mass murder.
“He assisted with the capture and arrest of the suspect and made the request for immediate assistance from surrounding agencies. He then went to the location and assumed a leadership role coordinating the responding units and outside agencies in the management of the scene,” the nomination said.
Henderson assists the sergeant watch commander, acting as a field supervisor. He has been the “incident commander” for the Seal Beach Car Show and St. Patrick’s Day for the past two years.
“Corporal Henderson’s greatest long term accomplishment at SBPD may be the development of the Police Explorer Program,” Sgt. Scott said.
He said the Seal Beach Explorer Post had been “defunct” for a long time, but when Henderson was appointed Explorer advisor in February 2007, Henderson used the media to launch a recruiting campaign.
The program soon drew five Explorers.
“He sought donations from the Seal Beach Police Officers Association, who agreed to pay for attendance to the Explorer Academy and other activities. He applied for, and received, grants from the Seal Beach 5k/10k Committee to fund attendance to competitions and purchase equipment,” Sgt. Scott said.
According to Scott, the SBPD Explorer Post now has 11 Explorers and four advisors. The post has received the Boys Scouts of America’s National Exploring Excellence Award three years in a row.
Henderson was named Explorer Advisor of the Year in 2012.
As a member of the West County SWAT Entry Team, (a regional unit serving multiple Orange County cities including Seal Beach, Los Alamitos and Cypress) Henderson has served arrest warrants and dealt with barricaded suspects.
In once instance, a woman described by the police as mentally ill had already shot at police and locked herself in her home before the SWAT unit arrived. While police evacuated surrounding homes, she came to the front door. Henderson fired a stunbag shotgun at her. The standoff ended with no lives lost.
As a field training officer, Henderson has taught most of the Seal Beach Police officers hired during the last five years.
Henderson co-founded and runs the Orange County Community Officers Homeless Working Group workshop, which looks for the best ways for police officers to deal with the homeless and related issues. Henderson is the SBPD’s homeless liaison officer.
He is also the department’s liaison to Leisure World Security and instructs officers on how to use the TASER.
