EOW February 25, 2022
Salinas Police Department

Event 3 of the Never Forgotten Games will honor Police Officer Jorge David Alvarado Jr. from the Salinas Police Department.

 

On February 25th, 2022 Police Officer Jorge Alvarado was shot and killed during a traffic stop near the intersection of Griffin Street and East Market Street in Salinas, CA.

The driver of the vehicle he had stopped immediately got out of his vehicle and opened fire on Officer Alvarado before he exited his cruiser. Officer Alvarado returned fire from inside his car, wounding the suspect before he was mortally wounded.

Officer Alvarado’s heroic actions led to the arrest of the suspect who was ultimately taken into custody after he went to a hospital with a gunshot wound.

Officer Alvarado, known as JD to his loved ones, enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduating from high school. In 2011, the San Francisco native was deployed to Afghanistan, “where he served with distinction receiving the Army Commendation medal and two citations of the Army Achievement medal for his actions in combat during Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan”. After he left the Army, he felt the need to continue to work in public service and enrolled in the Monterey Peninsula Police Academy. 

 

In 2016, Officer Alvarado was recruited and hired by the Colma Police Department, where he worked for more than four years. Then in August 2020, he joined the Salinas Police Department where his brother was already working. 

Officer Alvarado was engaged with plans to be married later in the year and had recently purchased a home for him and his fianceé. He is survived by his mother and fiancée.