Merced County residents plan to thank police officers

Deanna Escalante says the good work police officers do many times goes unnoticed.

For this reason, the Los Banos woman is organizing a “small gesture of appreciation” on Thank an Officer Day, to be observed Sept. 19.

Escalante said a group of Los Banos residents last year presented Los Banos police officers with goody bags along with letters from schoolchildren. This year, she wants to do the same for Merced and Dos Palos police officers, and she is asking for the community’s help.

“You always hear about the bad things involving police officers, but there’s also a lot of good,” she said. “We just want to let them (officers) know there are people in the community who appreciate the work they do.”

Escalante said she is especially thankful to the Merced police officers who have helped her family since her nephew, Ishmael Escalante, 24, was shot and killed outside La Hacienda 1 restaurant in December last year.

“They’ve been good to us and a lot of other families,” she said.

Escalante said she has already received cooperation from a local Girl Scouts troop and schoolchildren in writing “thank you” letters, but she would also like to involve businesses and residents.

This story was originally published August 23, 2015 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Merced County residents plan to thank police officers."