Special Olympics athlete named inaugural LASD honorary deputy

Special Olympics Athlete Michael León has competed in a number of sporting events and can now add another big achievement to the list.

He is the first honorary recruit to graduate from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s (LASD) training academy.

“It was a thing that I never thought would happen,” León said, reminiscing on the experience.

Diagnosed with both autism and diabetes, León has been a Special Olympics athlete since 2009. He’s not one to let anything stand in his way. When presented with the opportunity to train alongside LASD, the answer was an easy yes.

“They wanted me to become the first recruit, the first honorary recruit for the LA County Sheriff,” Leon shared. “It looked pretty intense but fortunately I had one of the instructors be a one-on-one with me, so I got to do everything that the other recruits got to do.”

The other 70 recruits from 10 LA County law enforcement agencies were on board from the start.

“They were really great for me from the beginning. All the recruits were there, cheering me on, going the whole rock down,” noted León.

“It was nice to see how supportive they were of Michael. I could see they were there pulling him aside, asking questions, discussing, making him part of the group and part of the class,” said LASD Training Bureau Captain, Joseph.

Joseph shared that he has a daughter with special needs and said the program is close to his heart.

“It was inspiring to see Michael there at some of their most difficult days doing when they do. I think it served as a great lesson for all of us in courage and resilience,” Joseph shared.

Michael said he wanted to prove that he could do whatever the other recruits could do as well, sharing that “it might be a little bit more of a slower pace, but just building the confidence it was easier.”

This honorary recruit program will help grow the 40-year partnership between law enforcement in the region and other Special Olympics programs, similar to the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run.

“We like to say Special Olympics changes lives through the power of sport and so much more and this honor recruit program is an example of that,” Special Olympics Southern California President Kelly Pond shared.

After several weeks of training, while also raising awareness, Michael León completed the academy, earning his patch, graduating with the members of Academy Class 487.

“You’re gonna build confidence, not only physically but mentally, learning how to become stronger and just even build more independence as well as learning how to protect yourself, learning how to get through tough times and continuing on,” León added about the experience.

This is a program that had been implemented by a number of other agencies around Southern California and is an exciting opportunity for both Special Olympics athletes and the recruit participants according to Pond.

Captain Joseph said he hopes to grow this program and continue it for the foreseeable future.

Pond sees this program as just one of the opportunities to spread the word about Special Olympics and its programs that anyone can become involved in.