Costa Mesa Police Department recruitment efforts are paying off as the department added six new officers, one lateral hire and five OC Sheriff Academy graduates, that brings the staffing numbers up to 125 sworn officers.

“I want to thank those from the city and police department recruiting staff who have worked so diligently to add new officers to our department as we rebuild and prepare for the future,” Chief Rob Sharpnack said. “These new hires will be so critical as we tackle important city priorities and expand our specialty assignments.”

Joining the department last week was Officer Orlando Lopez, formally of the Fullerton Police Department, where he has been employed since October of 2013. Lopez is the fifth Fullerton officer to recently come over to Costa Mesa.

In Fullerton, he was a Senior Officer and has worked in Crime Scene Investigation and recently received a letter of commendation for his work on a vehicle burglary case.

Lopez decided to pursue a career in law enforcement and in 2007 he applied for and got the job as Correctional Deputy Trainee for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department where he worked for three years.

Then in February 2011, he graduated from the 183rd Riverside County Sheriff’s Basic Academy and he worked in correctional facilities before joining the Fullerton Police Department.

In addition to officer Lopez, the five new academy graduates are Jeremiah Stanley, Jacob Schulze, Arturo Montoya, Michael Luu and Richard Lippincott. The five graduates were honored and recognized at the Class No. 228 academy graduation on Tuesday Nov. 7. Lippincott was named the sergeant of that graduating class.