Sacramento police officer Lilia Vasquez was just recognized for her community outreach efforts.
ABC10 cameras were rolling as the Sacramento Kings presented Officer Lilia Vasquez with the 2018 Community Impact Award.
"My mom loves the Kings," Vasquez said. "She has been going to game for years, and so when she saw me on the jumbotron, she cried because it was a very special moment."
Vasquez is a 13-year veteran of the Sacramento Police Department and has made it her mission to reach inner city youth. She helped launch youth mentoring and recruitment programs like Behind the Badge.
She's now president of the Kops-n-Kids organization which partners with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to provide a week long summer camp for more than 250 children. Vasquez is convinced these outreach programs are forms of crime fighting. She recalled arresting a former student and then taking on a mentoring role in the child's life. The student eventually finished school.
"They were saying hey Officer Vasquez there is a mom looking for you," Vasquez. "She had brought me flowers on her daughter's graduation day. That was because she says if it wasn't for you we wouldn't have gotten here. Those are the things matter."