Firefighter, officer of the year honored
by Alana Reyes
The Manhattan Beach City Council recognized the Firefighter and Police Officer of the Year at Tuesday night’s council meeting. MBPD Chief Rachel Johnson presented the honor to detective Seth Hartnell, Manhattan Beach’s own Mira Costa graduate. Hartnell’s work with the MB Police Department dates back to his sophomore year in high school, becoming a Police Explorer in 2009. Since then, his continued devotion to the department as a leading officer on Homeless Outreach and Mental Health Teams led his peers and command staff at the MBPD to select Hartnell for this honor.
MBFD voted Captain/Paramedic James Falls as 2022 Firefighter of the Year. Fall has served 16 years at MBFD, starting as a reserve in 2007 and climbed through the ranks, appointed as a fire engineer in 2021 and Fire Captain in 2023.
“Eventually, he’s going to be one of my chief officers,” said MBFD Chief Mike Lang said, who presented the award.
“We succeed and we fail as a team,” Falls said, “and tonight, this is a success.” ER