GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Police Department on Friday morning named three 2023 Employees of the Year.
Joseph Garrett, Rene Garza and Clorissa Novak were honored "for their contributions to the Grand Rapids community and the department," according to GRPD.
Garrett was named Office of the Year-Field Operations, Garza was named Officer of the Year-Administrative and Investigative Services and Novak was named Professional Staff Member of the Year.
Pictures of Garrett and Novak accompany this story. Grand Rapids Police did not provide Garza's photograph "due to his current assignment."
Following are the biographies for the three from GRPD:
* Officer Joseph Garrett – Special Response Team and US Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force
Officer Garrett was hired by GRPD as an officer in July 2000 and began his tenure working in the West Neighborhood Service Area before moving to the South Neighborhood Service Area in 2002. He joined the Special Response Team (SRT) in 2005, where he served as a Team Leader, and he has remained within the SRT since that time. In 2015, Officer Garrett was assigned to the US Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, which combines the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend the most dangerous fugitives and assist in high profile investigations.
He earned a B.A. in Criminal Law from Grand Valley State University and additionally worked as a GRPD police intern for two years. Officer Garrett is bilingual in English and Spanish and has held additional duty assignments as a field training officer and as a training instructor in de-escalation and use of force; firearms; conducted electronic weapons (Taser); specialty and chemical munitions; and mobile field operations. In addition, he is a member of the Hostage Rescue Team, the Tactical Team Leader training team, and is certified in Advanced Clandestine Labs investigation. During his tenure with the department, Officer Garrett has earned three commendation awards, three team performance awards, two meritorious unit citations, one achievement award, one certificate of recognition, 12 letters of recognition, and a Chief’s Citation.
* Officer René Garza – Vice Unit
Officer Garza joined GRPD in July 2006 after a brief stint as an officer with the GVSU Police Department. His first assignment was in the North Neighborhood Service Area before moving to the South Neighborhood Service Area as a community policing officer. In 2017, he joined the Vice Unit and was assigned to the Metropolitan Enforcement Team, a collaboration of local law enforcement agencies to address regional crime, and also took on additional duties as a member of the US Postal Inspector Task Force, which trains and equips state and local law enforcement officers to operate alongside postal inspectors in investigating drug trafficking through the US Postal System.
He earned his B.S. in Criminal Justice from Grand Valley State University and continued on to attend the GVSU Police Academy. Officer Garza is bilingual in English and Spanish and has held additional duty assignments as a field training officer, crisis negotiator, Board of Awards member, background investigator, and mentor for new officers. During his tenure with the department, Officer Garza has earned two commendation awards, one team performance award, one meritorious unit citation, five certificates of recognition, and 16 letters of recognition. He was also nominated for Police Officer of the Year in 2021.
* Clorissa Novak, LMSW – Victim Services Coordinator
Ms. Novak was hired by GRPD in 2020 to develop and oversee the Victim Services Unit, created to ensure that victims of crime have a single point of access to the information, resources, and supports available to them and proactively works with community partners to improve supports for victims of crime. Her first day with the department was also the first day of the COVID shutdown, so she built and launched the Victim Services Unit while working remotely. In 2023, the Victim Service Unit worked with over 900 individuals and families. She also manages the Volunteer Advocates, a team that responds to the scene of unexpected deaths to provide support and information to surviving family members and other loved ones.
She earned her B.A. in Spanish and Gender Studies from Indiana University and her Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Louisville. While earning her master’s degree, Ms. Novak worked in residential care for children with disabilities and a history of trauma. She also served as an advocate at the Center for Women and Families in Louisville, KY. After earning her master’s degree, Ms. Novak started work at the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, where she was tasked with implementation of the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act on the advocacy side, as well as addressing equity in service provision. In this role, she also provided training and technical assistance on sexual assault response and trauma-informed services, wrote and managed grants, and became an approved trainer for the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training. Before joining GRPD, Ms. Novak worked at Clínica Santa Maria, as a bilingual social worker supporting expectant mothers and new parents.
