A supervisor from the Bakersfield Police Department was awarded at the Lifesavers Conference in San Antonio last month.

Carina Ortiz, a BPD Community Relations Supervisor, was named the 2018 Child Passenger Safety Instructor of the Year at the conference. She was nominated by her coworkers based on her dedication to child passenger safety.

The City of Bakersfield says Ortiz has build a contingent of over 10 Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians at BPD.

Ortiz became the first certified technician for BPD in 2005. She began offering car seat checks at the department for parents to educate them on how to safely transport their children. She became an instructor in 2014.