Lodi Police Department welcomes new personnel, celebrates promotions

Four Lodi Police Department staff members earned new badges this week, while four new members were introduced and an officer was promoted.

The department hosted its latest badge pinning and promotion ceremony at Carnegie Forum on Thursday afternoon.

Sgt. Jordan Lado was promoted from the rank of corporal after eight years with the department.

Lado grew up in Connecticut and began a career in law enforcement nine years ago with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Since joining the Lodi force in 2015, he has served in many roles, including patrol, special investigations, SWAT, an AB109 detective and assistant team leader.

He has also spent 20 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, with half of those in the Reserves, where he achieved the rank of chief petty officer. He is set to retire from service in July.

Tiffany Precissi was one of four staffers to receive a badge Thursday, along with three new officers.

Precissi was raised in Hillsboro, Ore., and before joining the department, she worked as a para-educator for students with special needs. However, she was most recently a stay-athome mom.

She has also spent many years volunteering for various neighborhood organizations and running a Neighborhood Watch.

Most recently she has served as the department’s records clerk.

Officer Patrick Backman was raised in Lodi and graduated from Lodi High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Sacramento.

He has been in law enforcement for more than nine years, serving with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. and the San Francisco Police Department before coming back to Lodi in 2021.

Officer Juan Ortega was raised in the Bay Area before moving to Stockton, where he attended San Joaquin Delta College.

He earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice, and then went on to receive a bachelor’s from Union Institute and University while on probation with the department.

Prior to joining Lodi in 2021, Ortega served with the Elk Grove Police and Stockton Unified School District police departments.

During his time with Stockton Unified, he was a K9 handler, working a narcotics and firearms detection dog.

Officer Erik Daniel was raised in Stockton attending Lincoln High School and graduating from Delta College.

He served as a San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office deputy for two years before joining Lodi in 2021.

The department welcomed two new community service officers to the fold in Gage Canestrino and Melisa Magana.

Canestrino is a Lodi native who graduated from Ben Holt Academy in 2020. He currently attends CSU Stanislaus, working toward a bachelor’s degree.

Growing up, he was a member of the Boy Scouts and built the Partners Memorial Garden outside the Lodi Police Department.

Magana was raised in Lodi and graduated from high school last summer. She is currently attending Delta College and before becoming a CSO, served as a volunteer cadet with the department.

Cpl. Alberto Perez was hired as a trainee with the department in 2014.

During his nearly nine years with the department, he has held numerous positions, including patrol, a gang detective with special investigations, a child abuse and sexual assault detective and cadet adviser.

He has also been a member of the bicycle unit, the critical incident navigations team, and a field training officer.

Perez has received six letters of commendation, one letter of appreciation and the 2018 unit citation award.