Sagunto's local police honour more than 50 officers on Saint Michael's day
Sagunto's main square hosted the ceremony for Saint Michael, the patron saint of the local police, honouring more than 50 officers and two retirees with awards and public commendations.
Sagunto's Local Police held their institutional ceremony for the feast of Saint Michael, the force's patron saint, in the town's main square (Plaza Mayor), honouring the work of more than 50 serving officers and two retired colleagues. The ceremony opened with the force's official anthem and continued with the traditional inspection parade, led by Mayor Dario Moreno and Chief Commissioner Rafael de Manuel (the force's top-ranking officer).
Moreno, the councillor for Local Police, Maria Jose Carrera, and De Manuel then handed out the awards. Two officers who retired this year received diplomas recognising a lifetime dedicated to public service and to defending, promoting and protecting public rights and freedoms. The ceremony also included 17 public commendations for officers who stood out in risky interventions or actions with significant social impact, and 44 dedication decorations, awarded for the first time under the force's new Decorations Regulation, recently approved by the council. Being the first ceremony held under this new rule gives this year's edition extra symbolic weight, and it is expected to set the format for future ceremonies.
In his speech, the mayor described being a police officer as a commitment to others involving personal sacrifice, and reviewed recent improvements to the force: the full refurbishment of the Police Headquarters, the purchase of new vehicles to boost response capacity, the hiring of new officers to increase street presence, and the future expansion of the city's traffic camera network. The chief commissioner, for his part, stressed that the force is growing in staff, resources, technology and operational capacity, though he warned that this growth also brings more responsibility, since more resources mean greater obligations towards the public. De Manuel also asked residents to trust their police force, to call when they have a problem and to report anything that worries them, describing the force's goal as being a police that knows its neighbourhoods, its streets and the people who live there.
This year's tribute follows two editions marked by notable changes in both the number of officers honoured and the circumstances of the event. In the 2024 edition, according to elperiodic.com's coverage that September, the force honoured 29 officers and 4 civilians, with 20 public commendations and 25-year service medals for five officers and one inspector. A year later, in 2025, the ceremony had to be postponed from 29 September to 8 October due to a red rain alert, and was also used to honour Local Police from towns hit by the DANA storm (a severe autumn weather event common in eastern Spain), such as Alfafar, Utiel and Benetusser, as well as the Third Battalion of Spain's Military Emergency Unit, which helped with the emergency response. That year, 18 officers and one civilian were honoured. This year's 2026 edition, with more than 50 recognitions, is by far the largest of the three consecutive editions, and this time the ceremony fell on its original date of 29 September, with no red weather alert forcing a postponement as happened the year before. Compared with 18 officers honoured last year and 29 the year before, this year's more than 50 recognitions show how quickly the force's ranks are growing.
Other council members, representatives of other administrations and of Sagunto's civil society also attended this year's ceremony. Neither the council nor the Local Police have yet announced a date for the next decorations ceremony under the new Decorations Regulation (Reglamento de Condecoraciones, the internal rulebook that now governs how the force honours its own officers), which is expected to shape the format of future editions and could widen the number of award categories. For Sagunto residents, the ceremony remains an annual reminder of who answers the calls and patrols the streets when something unexpected happens. According to Sagunto City Council, with data from previous editions published by elperiodic.com.