Santa Barbara Police Department Mourn the Loss of Police Officer and Dispatch Supervisor Gina Battaglia

It is with a heavy heart we mourn the loss of one of Santa Barbara Police’s finest, Police Officer and Dispatch Supervisor Gina Battaglia, who passed away suddenly from a work-related illness in August 2021.

Gina joined the Santa Barbara Police Department in September 2007 as a Police Officer working patrol, and later was promoted to Crime Scene Investigation Officer in October 2015. One of Gina’s greatest CSI skills was finding and collecting fingerprints. If a burglar had known it was her investigating the crime, they would have given the crime a second thought. 

In July 2018, Gina transferred to the Santa Barbara Police Combined Communications Center as a dispatcher and later was promoted to Dispatch Supervisor. Her training and experience as a Police Officer made her an absolute asset to the Combined Communications Center.  Gina truly had an “angel’s” voice on the radio for the officers responding to potentially dangerous calls.  Most don’t realize that a Dispatcher is who an officer relies upon to keep them safe, and Gina kept her officers safe.

Her friends and co-workers would describe Gina as always having a positive attitude and a welcome presence.  Her positivity was contagious.  Her supervisors commented how she was amazing to work with and strived to do the absolute best job possible.

Gina’s hobbies and interest included spending time helping with her children’s school activities such as baseball, softball, and soccer. She enjoyed playing golf and was a classic car enthusiast.

Gina was a dedicated public servant with a heart of gold.  She was deeply cared about by everyone she worked with, and her memory helps motivate all of us to be more positive, more caring, and more dedicated to our chosen profession.

Chief Bernard Melekian provided comments at the ceremony, including this excerpt, “It’s not how they died for which you remember them, but how they lived.”

Gina is survived by her husband and two children. Gina will always be remembered in our hearts and will always be a member of the Santa Barbara Police Department. An intimate ceremony was held at the Santa Barbara Police Department today, January 27, 2022, to remember Gina. A plaque has been added to SBPD’s Fallen Officer Memorial in her honor.