Merced Matters: Former officer shapes young lives

Bob Luna, a retired Merced police officer, has donated more than 15 years of his life to helping shape the lives of young people in Merced.

Luna, 59, is one of several people involved in running the Merced Police Department’s Explorer Scouts Program, a program associated with the Boy Scouts of America. Luna helped jump-start the program in Merced in 1999, after it had been dormant in the city for nearly 20 years.

“My wife, Christine, and I never had our own children, so all the kids in the program have really become our children,” Luna said. “And it’s fun, I’m really just a big kid myself. And, I think in another life I’d have liked to have been a teacher, so I’m kind of a teacher now.”

Luna grew up in Newman and graduated from college at California State University, Sacramento.

He was a police officer in Iowa and Nebraska before returning to the Central Valley in 1985 and joining the Merced Police Department. “I wanted to come home because this is where all my friends and family are,” Luna said. “And I like the weather here a lot better – no snow, no humidity.”

Luna worked as a Merced policeman for 20 years, including a decade patrolling downtown Merced on a bicycle. He formally retired in 2005 but came back on as a reserve officer.

One of his greatest passions, he said, continues to be working with the young people involved in the department’s Explorer Scouts Program.

Kids in the program are taught everything from basic crime-scene investigation and firearms safety, to self-defense, and crowd and traffic control.

“Mostly, they learn things like self-discipline, responsibility, integrity and honesty; the things you really need in life,” Luna said, “which is so important, especially if you’re a police officer. The biggest sin a cop can commit is lying. If you lie, you’re done forever.”

About 55 young people, ages 14 to 21, are currently involved in the program.

Last year, Luna said, the work the kids did at various community events saved the city about $80,000 in money that would have been spent on salaries if police had staffed those same events.

“We’re totally self-sufficient; no tax dollars are used to fund the program,” Luna said. “We raise the money by working traffic control at events around the state.”

The program has been a source of pride for the Police Department since it was reinstated.

“They’re definitely part of our backbone,” Capt. Bimley West said. “The young people learn the importance of volunteerism; how to be good neighbors, good citizens and about making a very, very positive contribution to their community.”

Hundreds of teenagers and young adults have come through the program and gone on to successful careers in law enforcement and other professions. Luna said one of program’s greatest participants was Merced County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Delray Shelton.

Luna said he nearly teared up earlier this year when Shelton was promoted to sergeant, becoming the first African American to attain that rank in the Sheriff’s Department’s nearly 160-year history. “I was just so proud of that kid – well, he’s a man, now, but that pride was overwhelming,” Luna said.

Shelton was involved in the program as a young man and was also heavily involved in the Sheriff’s Department’s Explorer’s Program. He credited some of his professional success to “the strong foundation” laid by his participation in those two programs.

“They and the others who give of themselves to the program are truly amazing people who’ve poured their hearts into several generations of this community,” Shelton said.

Luna said the program is mainly focused on public-safety-oriented careers, but said he’s always looking for professionals in other fields who are willing to donate their time to help young people find their calling in life.

“We’ve had veterinarians, priests, mechanics,” Luna said. “Really just about any profession we’d like to see get involved.”

This story was originally published December 7, 2014 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Merced Matters: Former officer shapes young lives."