Menlo police veteran remembered as mentor, role model Menlo police veteran remembered as mentor, role model (December 17, 2003)

Joseph Ochoa has scholarship named in his honor

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

He had retired from the Menlo Park Police Department 14 years ago, but Joseph P. Ochoa's connections with the officers there remained strong.

After Mr. Ochoa, 64, died November 29 of liver disease, uniformed Menlo Park officers attended his funeral in Santa Clara, and his former co-workers spoke warmly of him.

"He was a very good mentor, a role model. He had a very strong work ethic and upstanding values," Menlo Park Police Sgt. Andrew Klein said. "He was one of the best supervisors I've ever worked for, and I've been doing this job for 25 years."

Mr. Ochoa, a former military policeman in the U.S. Army, had joined the Menlo Park Police Department in 1961 and remained there for 28 years, reaching the rank of sergeant and ultimately retiring because of a bad back.

Mr. Ochoa's fellow officers are also honoring him by naming a scholarship after him. Each year, the Menlo Park Police Officers Association grants three $1,000 scholarships to Menlo-Atherton High School students attending a local community college, Officer Glenn Raggio said. One award honors a different person each year and this year will be named after Mr. Ochoa.

Born in Nebraska, Mr. Ochoa joined the military after graduating from Mountain View High School. He met Shirley, the woman who became his wife of 39 years, while bowling in Mountain View.

One of the most memorable incidents from Mr. Ochoa's career later made national television, according to Mrs. Ochoa. One school holiday, the lawman brought his 10-year-old son, Chris, on a ride-a-long in a patrol car, only to end up at a bank hold-up.

While another officer took care of Chris, Mr. Ochoa nabbed the robbery suspect, tackling him with another lawman as he fled the bank. The story later made the "Top Cops" TV program.

After he left the Menlo Park department, Mr. Ochoa investigated claims for the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Outside of work, he was an avid golfer and fan of the 49ers and Giants, with a dry sense of humor and a love for taking his family on camping trips, Mrs. Ochoa recalled.

Two years ago, Mr. Ochoa had a stroke and recovered with the help of the staff at Valley Medical Center in San Jose, Mrs. Ochoa said.

Besides his wife and son, Mr. Ochoa is survived by his stepdaughter, Cheri Lucia of South Shore, Lake Tahoe; two stepsons, Randy Faulkner of Orange and Rick Faulkner of Sterling, Virginia; three brothers, Carmen Ochoa of Cupertino, Carlos Ochoa of Mountain View, and Fidel Ochoa of San Jose; his sister, Lydia Cordero of Southern California; and 10 grandchildren.

Services were held earlier this month in Santa Clara, with burial at Mission City Memorial Park. Memorial donations can be made to the American Liver Foundation of Northern California, 870 Market St., San Francisco, Calif., 94102; or to the American Heart Association, by calling (800) 242-8721.

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