Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office holds promotion and awards ceremony recognizing deputies and civilian staff

At a promotion and awards ceremony at the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, officials honored deputies and civilian staff with quarterly and year‑end awards and announced three promotions: Sergeant Matthew Volk to lieutenant, Deputy Vincent Harrison to sergeant and Deputy Natasha Nieto to sergeant.

The recognitions highlighted law enforcement work ranging from high‑volume warrant entry and felony arrests to life‑saving emergency care and a multidisciplinary response to a juvenile in possession of firearms.

Civilian of the fourth quarter and civilian-of-the-year nominees were named during the ceremony. CSA Luis Torres was named civilian of the fourth quarter; Danielle Cedillo was selected as civilian of the year after supervisors cited her work entering felony warrants. According to the nomination read at the ceremony, Cedillo entered 7,686 of an estimated 12,800 felony warrants entered by the unit in 2023, a figure the presenter identified as roughly 60% of the unit’s felony-warrant entries for that year.

Deputy Jonathan Skraw was named uniform deputy of the fourth quarter and also received the deputy-of-the-year honor. His nomination memo, read aloud at the event, credited him with 98 total arrests for the unit (86 of them felony), recovery of three firearms, 19 traffic stops, 401 person contacts and 36 warrants cleared during the reporting period; the memo also noted he was out of service for roughly 65 days during that span, in part because of an injury sustained during a foot chase.

The nonuniform deputy of the fourth quarter, Deputy Alexander Apodaca, was recognized for coordinating a multidisciplinary response to repeated calls involving a juvenile in possession of firearms; the nomination credited his work with ensuring the juvenile’s safety and preventing a potentially tragic outcome.

Deputy Steve Aldridge received the nonuniform deputy‑of‑the‑year award for a life‑saving off‑duty intervention. According to the ceremony account, Aldridge encountered an unresponsive individual while competing in a duathlon in Austin, Texas; he performed chest compressions for about eight minutes until bystanders and emergency medical services arrived, an AED was used and the person survived and later had a stent placed.

The ceremony included three formal promotions. Sergeant Matthew Volk was promoted to lieutenant; speakers outlined his career with the sheriff’s office, noting service across area commands and assignments including canine unit duties and records-management supervision. In his remarks Volk said, "I'm very blessed to be here," and described learning of the promotion by email: "I had my computer open and got an email from the undersheriff saying to go get fitted. And I had to read it like 3 or 4 times because it said Lieutenant Volk on there." He thanked family and command staff.

Deputy Vincent Harrison was promoted to sergeant. Officials noted Harrison’s service in patrol, criminal investigations and task forces including the Internet Crimes Against Children task force and his nearly seven years as a special weapons and tactics operator. Harrison thanked family and colleagues and said, "I do also wanna thank God. I could not be here without the many opportunities and the blessings that he's given me."

Deputy Natasha Nieto was promoted to sergeant; presenters cited her experience in violent‑crimes and homicide work, auxiliary assignments and instructor roles. Major Anderson pinned Nieto’s badge at the ceremony; in remarks attributed to Nieto she thanked the sheriff and command staff for the opportunity to lead.

Sheriff Allen did not attend the ceremony; presenters said he was absent after falling ill following travel to Washington, D.C. The event concluded with photographs and light refreshments for awardees and their families.

Ending: The ceremony focused on personnel recognition and internal promotions; presenters emphasized lifesaving intervention, high‑volume warrant work and multidisciplinary responses as reasons for individual awards. No formal policy actions or votes were taken during the event.