A San Pablo police officer who recovered his 486th stolen vehicle Tuesday has now achieved a rare milestone, earning the “Gold Pin” Lifetime Achievement award for stolen vehicle recoveries.
Officer Justin Gatlin is the first San Pablo Police Department officer since the 1990s to achieve the honor for career stolen vehicle recoveries.
His latest recovery qualified him for his 25th CHP “10851” award, known as the Gold Pin. I order to be honored with the CHP “10851” award, a patrol officer or sergeant during a 12-month period must meet one of these three criteria: make six separate incident rolling stolen-in custody arrests; or recover a total of 12 stolen vehicles of which a minimum of three must be rolling; or develop information resulting in the identification of a vehicle theft ring, subsequent arrest of two or more suspects, and the recovery of at least ten vehicles.
Accomplishing one of the three in a year earns the officer or sergeant a White Pin. Once the officer or sergeant has accomplished one of the three for a fifth year, they earn a Blue Pin, or Master Level Award. And when they’ve done one of the three for a 25th year, they earn the Gold Pin, as Officer Gatlin has.
Last year, Officer Gatlin was recognized as San Pablo Police Department’s Officer of the Year at the Law Enforcement Night of the Richmond Elks Lodge No. 1251.
