Clovis police officer receives California Hero Award

A Clovis police officer will receive a California Hero Award at the 17th annual Statewide Law Enforcement and Community Recognition event sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Officer Nicholas Mason will be honored Saturday night at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento along with other officers and community leaders throughout the state for contributions in the fight against DUI and the prevention of underage drinking.

With only two years of DUI arrest experience, Mason made 33 DUI arrests, the most in the department in 2014, Clovis police said.

Mason works DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols in the city, including visiting three bars in Old Town Clovis to show police presence and deter patrons from drinking and driving.

“It was not until a little past halfway through 2014 that I realized how many DUI drivers are actually driving on the streets on an average day or night,” Mason said in a release. “I knew just by taking at least one DUI driver off the street, I could potentially save someone’s life.”

This story was originally published May 29, 2015 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Clovis police officer receives California Hero Award."