ACC officer honored with Life Saving Award

Rio Grande Campus Patrol Officer Joanna Weaver was given the 2006 ACCPD Life Saving Award due to her involvement in the recovery of stabbing victim and ACC student, Rita Pena, on the evening of Oct. 25, 2006.

Weaver said that she arrived on the scene before the paramedics and the Austin Police Department because she saw Pena while patrolling.

"We just happened to be driving around and bumped into her," she said.

Pena was attacked while walking near the corner of 10th Street and West Avenue. Campus safety at Rio Grande has since been an elevated concern for police.

Weaver is proud of her award but is unnerved by the memories of the wounded girl. "I'm happy that we were there," she said.

Weaver said that the parking at the campus is a concern due to limited availability. "The parking has been an issue and is a concern for both students and police; people have to park pretty far away ... there are some really dark areas."

"We definitely are understaffed; we can't keep an eye on everybody all the time," Weaver said.

She stated that ACCPD are there to escort students to their vehicles anytime and that anyone is welcome to an escort. Weaver said that officers make their presence known by trying to stay out and remain as visible as possible.

"We're not alone out there; we're part of a bigger picture. I think we're doing our part and I think we're doing it well, that was just the one thing that happened that was really unfortunate."

She stated that she felt confident about the safety at Rio Grande. "These things, they happen, but I don't think any more so than anywhere else," she said.

Despite working at a school, she still has to be aware that she's there to deal with matters that more than likely are not going to be pleasant, she said.

Although it can often involve dealing with unpleasant situations, Weaver said that she loves her job. "For the most part, the job is awesome. I like the people ... I love what we do," she said.

She said that on a typical day they make as many contacts as possible with the students and faculty and let them know that they are there to help.

"We don't have reports every day ... people locking their keys in their cars ... people losing their cars ... people losing their stuff ... we just try to help them out."

Weaver stated that negative incidents involving students are not very common. "Most of the time it's people coming from outside the school. Recently, we've had a couple of incidents with homeless people and we had to make arrests," she said.

Despite serving some time in the military, she has never received an award like this. She said it is definitely the highlight of her career so far.

Weaver is originally from Texas and moved to Austin to be closer to her family. She has worked for ACCPD since the summer of 2004.