Lameka Bell is a K9 Specialist who works out of the Community Affairs Bureau for South LA’s Hawthorne Police Department. She has led a successful career as the first Police Facility K9 Handler in the state of California. Throughout her career, Lameka has founded two nonprofits: Power Project/Project Opportunity and the International Police Facility Dog Association. Lameka also serves as an active board member for Coffee with a Cop. All three nonprofits were created to help break down barriers between law enforcement officers and the community they serve.

Lameka and her K9 partner Scottie have worked together since they completed training In Canine Companions for Independence in May 2012. Their work together is geared toward victim advocacy. Bell and her K9 bring much-needed comfort, peace, assistance, and support to victims coping with trauma. With support from the community and several other police departments, Lameka created the International Police Facility Dog Association, which provides law enforcement agencies with dependable information about K9 programs. Lameka also completed training to become a certified AKC (American Kennel Club) Evaluator to allow her to better assist other departments.

The mission of Bell’s Power Project/Project Opportunity is to provide girls from underserved communities with much-needed mentorship, important positive images, and the confidence needed to accomplish any goal. The program uses the non-traditional sport of ice hockey to guide and support girls toward future leadership as they step into their roles as dynamic and powerful women. Due to her outstanding efforts in her own community, the California Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) created a Board of Diversity and Inclusion role just for Bell, of which she currently serves as Director.

Bell has inspired thousands of children and other police departments through sports, mentorship, advances in K9 work, and literacy programs. As a result of her work, she has won the Hawthorne Police Department Employee of the Year Award (2021), NextGen’s Top 12 Public Service Award (2021), and the prestigious California Crime Prevention Officers Association Presenter Award.