Mayor Eduardo Martinez
City of Richmond
December 16, 2025
Proclamation Recognizing the Service and Retirement of
Laura Canelo-Tirado
WHEREAS, Laura Canelo-Tirado has been a steadfast, dedicated pillar of the Richmond Police Department’s Communications Center for over 33 years. Her exceptional service, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to the community have made her an invaluable part of the RPD family
WHEREAS, Laura Canelo-Tirado began her career at the Richmond Police Department on May 10, 1992. She retired on December 3, 2025
WHEREAS, Laura Canelo-Tirado was known as dispatcher #1183 to the community, she was affectionately referred to as “Chach” by her friends and co-workers
WHEREAS, Laura’s work ethic and dedication to the Communications Center and the City of Richmond was second to none. She was a part of the Crisis Negotiations Team as well as a Tactical Dispatcher for the Special Response Team. Dispatcher Canelo-Tirado continuously attended training sessions to maintain professional expertise and remained readily available for any unexpected call outs. She was also a Communications Training Officer and an active participant in the Communications Training Program
WHEREAS, Laura continued to be a mentor and a positive role model amongst her peers and could be relied upon to achieve results even when confronted with major responsibilities and limited resources throughout her tenure, Laura retired at a dispatcher III classification.
WHEREAS, In the past 12 months alone, Dispatcher Canelo-Tirado worked a total of 820.32 hours of overtime. She contributed 455.55 hours as an Acting Supervisor and dedicated a total of 456.40 hours as a Communications Training Officer. She answered a total of 15,671 phone calls with a 10 second ring time. Laura was consistently on time and was often willing to take on additional duties when needed without hesitation
WHEREAS, Dispatcher Canelo-Tirado always remained professional with citizens regardless of the nature of the incident. She is a Spanish speaker and was eager to assist Spanish speaking citizens. This allowed Officers to have the most accurate information available to them in a timely manner while providing a smooth customer service experience to our Hispanic Community
WHEREAS, Laura consistently worked at a stellar level and took pride in her career with the Richmond Police Department. She was a strong supporter of all organizational programs and activities and often encouraged loyalty and dedication within her peers. She set the standard for hard work and dedication. Her knowledge, longevity, and professionalism made her a positive mentor and role model and kept with the highest traditions of Public Safety Service provided by the Richmond Police Department
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that I, Mayor Eduardo Martinez, together with the Richmond City Council, do hereby honor Laura Canelo-Tirado on the occasion of her retirement, express our profound appreciation for her decades of local and exceptional service. occasion of her retirement, express our profound appreciation for her decades of local and exceptional service
Cesar Zepeda
Vice Mayor
City of Richmond