Local sergeant reflects on gratitude from the community ahead of National First Responders Day

Sergeant Jeff Cryder with The Riverside County Sheriff's Department is among several first responders to attend the Solar & Sirens luncheon today hosted by Renova Energy in Palm Desert.

The inaugural event held to honor first responders in the Coachella Valley, ahead of National First Responders Day. Congress designated October 28th as National First Responders Day in 2017, however, the first bipartisan resolution was passed by the Senate in 2019.

The resolution honors the firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and all of the men and women who are first to respond to and provide assistance in an emergency situation.

"It's appreciated. We like getting some positive feedback from the community, so any time we get positive feedback like this, it's nice," said Sergeant Cryder.

While Sergeant Cryder has encountered many different situations throughout his 20-year career in law enforcement, he said that having the opportunity to help members of the community and provide training at the academy are what make him excited to go to work everyday.

Police and sheriff’s patrol officers, with employment of 655,890 in May 2022, was the largest first responder occupation, followed by firefighters (321,450) and EMTs (167,720), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"The community has given us so much in the last 18 years and now it's our turn to give back and what better way than to honor our brave men and women out there, our first responders," according to Jay Campuzano, Event Coordinator with Renova Energy.

Watch News Channel 3 at 6:00 p.m. tonight for more on Sergeant Cryder's story.