Charles Lazzaretto Lifetime Achievement Award
Corporal Rick Bogan
Riverside Sheriff’s Department
Corporal Bogan was hired with the County of Riverside Coroner’s Department in 1982 as a forensic embalmer and was later promoted to Deputy Coroner. He has proven himself to be an invaluable asset to the Coroner’s Bureau as well as to the citizens of Riverside County. Along with handling a regular deputy coroner’s workload, Corporal Bogan is responsible to the bureau’s long-term unidentified persons cases, which are subjects who cannot be identified through conventional means. He exhaustingly researches missing persons reports in hopes of finding leads that may assist in identification of the deceased within the Coroner’s Bureau.
He frequently spends hours of his time researching missing persons reports, contacting allied agencies and communicates with organizations like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Corporal Bogan works each and every case tediously, exploring every possible means to identify the deceased. Corporal Bogan assisted in the development of the Department’s Unidentified Web Page, which allows individuals to view artist sketches of unidentified subjects and response via e-mail with inquiries into the status of the case. Interested parties are able to contact the bureau with information that may lead to the identification of a family member or friend. He developed a missing persons log within the Coroner’s Bureau, which allows for concerned parties to provide identification in hopes of locating a missing person.
Since assuming the role as the long-term unidentified body coordinator, Corporal Bogan has been instrumental in the identification of multiple cases. Eight (8) of those cases dated back to the 1980s and one that had remained unidentified for 25 years. As a result, the families in many of those cases were notified, questions were answered, and the deceased were put to rest. Corporal Bogan has been honored with multiple letters from citizens commending him for his professionalism, empathy and compassion in the performance of his duties. He served the citizens of Riverside County with honor and dignity for 23 years, retiring from service on December 10, 2005.
For his lifelong dedication and tireless efforts to the citizens of Riverside County, the Golden Badge Foundation proudly presents this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award to Corporal Rick Bogan.
