Two Denver police officers responded to a report of elderly abuse, eventually finding a woman who had been left stranded by her caretaker son. 

Denver Police Department District 4 Det. Alicia Martinez and Ofc. Christopher Velarde responded to the elderly abuse report in the 4700 block of South Wadsworth Blvd on July 5. Upon arrival, the duo found an elderly woman allegedly attempting to move into an already rented apartment.

The woman had been living with her son. The son allegedly drove the elderly victim to the location and dropped her off telling the renter that “she is their problem now,” leaving the woman with no money or transportation.

The police duo booked the woman a hotel room and purchased her dinner with their own money while they attempted to plan her next steps. 

On Wednesday, the two responders, along with seven other Denver Police Department officers, were awarded for their above-the-call-of-duty behavior by the Citizens Appreciate Police (CAP) non-profit organization. Each recipient received a framed certificate and pin that can be worn on their uniforms. 

“Obviously, we have a duty to do our jobs, but I wouldn’t be able to personally go home and put my head down at night and know that I left some elderly lady on the side of the road,” Martinez said after receiving her third CAP award. 

The nine officers recognized all shared similar stories of caring and generosity regarding their work within the community.

For example, Ofc. Michael Kim of District 2 responded to a report that a man refused to leave a residence. The callers didn’t want charges filed and the man just wanted a ride away from the area. Kim drove the man and bought him a meal after finding out he had not eaten.

These small acts of kindness were the genesis of the CAP awards, formed in 1978 by Denver Mayor Bill McNichols and District Attorney Dale Tooley to promote awareness within the community of the dedication of Denver officers.

The CAP board, made up of 13 local volunteers, looks at the nominations reported by police supervisors and decides on the recipients every year. 

“These events are the ones that are untold. Things like this happen every day being on the job.” Deputy Chief Joe Montoya said. “The impacts that you made, the stories we heard today, these are the ones that resonate with people… Those are the ones that build the bridges and help us remain at a high status with the community.”

And while it’s nice to be acknowledged for their efforts, it’s all in a day’s work, according to Velarde.

“It’s awesome,” Velarde said of the award. “But every day there’s officers all over the city doing stuff like this. It’s nice that this committee provides the capability to tell some of those stories… There’s a lot of stuff that cops and first responders do on a day-to-day basis that goes untold. When the stories can get recognized, it helps humanize us a little bit more. “

Since the non-profit’s inception, more than 500 officers have received CAP awards for their small-but-crucial efforts.

“I don’t go above and beyond to get these awards, I just do my job every day,” Martinez added. “I know we have difficult times right now being in the uniform. These kind of things show the community that there are those percentages of officers who are out there doing their job and also going above and beyond.”

The nine officers awarded include:

• Ofc. Armando Jaramillo Jr.
• Ofc. Frankie Archuleta
• Ofc. Kyle Tennyson
• Ofc. Jordan Hewitt
• Det. Alicia Martinez
• Ofc. Christopher Velarde
• Ofc. Michael Kim
• Ofc. Anthony Montoya Jr.
• Det. Mike Felsoci