July 2024. Blues Vol 40 No.7

The Blues - July ‘24 1

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PUBLISHER’S THOUGHTS 

EDITOR REX EVANS THOUGHTS 

GUEST COMMENTARY - DOUG GRIFFITH 

GUEST COMMENTARY - LAW OFFICER 

GUEST COMMENTARY - JON ADLER- 

GUEST COMMENTARY - DANIEL CARR 

GUEST COMMENTARY - REX EVANS 

NEWS AROUND THE US 

MIGRANT CRIME 

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4 The Blues - July ‘24

FOUNDER, PUBLISHER, EDITOR-N-CHIEF 

MICHAEL BARRON 

OUR TEAM 

OUR CONTRIBUTORS 

EDITOR-AT-LARGE 

Chief Rex Evans(Ret) 

SENIOR EDITOR 

Dr. Tina Jaeckle 

CREATIVE EDITOR 

Jessica Jones 

COPY EDITOR 

Lt. John King (Ret) 

OUTDOOR EDITOR 

Rusty Barron 

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 

Lt. Daryl Lott (Ret) 

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 

Sam Horwitz & Det. John Salerno (Ret) 


Doug Griffith 


Art Woolery 


Daniel Carr 


Jon Adler 

WARSTORY 

Michael Barron 

AFTERMATH 

Michael Barron 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Joanna Putman 

Matthew Halloway 

Pat Droney 

Lorenzino Estrada 

Rey Covarrubias, Jr. 

Katie Nickas 

Jenna Sundel 

Alejandro Serrano 

Lyndsay Winkley 

Liz Sawyer 

Kristen Spicker 

Jeff Chamer 

Ryan Oehrli 

Philip Marcelo 

Stefanie dazio 

Fox News 

Associated Press 

The Law Officer & Police 1.com 

The BLUES is published monthly by Kress-Barr, LLC, PO Box 2733, League City Texas 77574. The opinions expressed in some articles, 

op-eds, and editorials are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of The BLUES or its parent company. 

Rebuttals or submission of news articles and editorials may be submitted to: The BLUES @ bluespdmag@gmail.com. 

The entire contents of The BLUES IS copyrighted© and may not be reprinted without the express permission of the publisher. 


FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK 

Politics is a Dirty Game 

Yes, running for any political 

office can be a downright dirty 

proposition. Just depends on 

how bad someone wants to win 

and how low they are willing to 

go to get what they want. 

This month we take a break 

from national politics and talk 

about the local sheriff’s race in 

Galveston, Texas. The current 

Sheriff, Henry Trochesset, is a 

good and decent man and has 

served the citizens of Galveston 

County for over 12 

years as sheriff. In fact, 

Trochesset has devoted 

almost his entire adult life 

working at the Galveston 

County Sheriff’s Office 

beginning at the age of 19. 

Just recently he celebrated 

his 40th anniversary 

with the department. The 

BLUES interviewed Trochesset 

back in 2021 and 

he indicated he wasn’t 

going to seek a 4th term 

and would retire in January 

of 2025. 

The first candidate to 

announce his intentions 

to run for Galveston 

County Sheriff in 2024 

was Jimmy Fullen. I’ve known 

Jimmy since the 90’s and he is 

a stand-up guy, a good friend, 

and a damn good cop. He’s the 

guy you want watching your six 

when all hell breaks loose. He 

admits, he’s old school ‘kick ass 

and take names’ kinda cop. But in 

6 The Blues - July ‘24 

a 2020’s new age kind of way. In 

other words, Fullen wants to run 

the thugs out of Galveston County 

and restore law and order. My 

kind of sheriff. And he not only 

earned the support and endorsement 

of The BLUES, but damn 

near every law enforcement 

official in Galveston County and 

beyond. From the minute he announced, 

he was the most likely 

candidate to win the primary 

and the election. By all accounts, 

Fullen is going to be the next 

Sheriff of Galveston County. 

Well, Fullen’s plan to ‘clean 

house’ at the Sheriff’s Office 

didn’t sit kindly with the old 

guard that Trochesset had assembled. 

Most knew that when 

Fullen took over, they would be 

following Trochesset out the 

door. Enter Ray Nolen, a major 

at the department who decided 

he liked working at the SO and 

rather than get kicked 

to the curb, he would 

run against Fullen. No 

big deal. The more the 

merrier. 

Nolen had only been 

a full time Galveston 

County employee for 4 

years. Prior to that he 

was captain in the SO 

Reserves for about 15 

years. Trochesset hired 

him in 2020 and he 

eventually was promoted 

to Major over patrol 

and investigations. Nolen 

was a quiet kind of guy 

that just went about 

doing his job. In other 

words, just the opposite 

of Fullen. 

Soon after Nolen jumped in 

the race, a former employee of 

the department Kenneth Williams, 

AKA Costa Loca, decided 

he would create a one-man 

anti-Jimmy Fullen campaign 

and the mudslinging began.


Anthony Buzbee, who successfully 

defended Attorney General 

Ken Paxton during the 2023 

impeachment trial in the Texas 

Senate, is again taking on a politically 

charged case. 

Buzbee, one of the region’s most 

prominent attorneys, confirmed 

he has taken on Galveston County 

Republican Sheriff Nominee Jimmy 

Fullen’s fight to retain his peace 

officer’s license. 

Earlier this month, the executive 

director of the Texas Commission 

on Law Enforcement recommend- 


Williams began an all-out war 

against Fullen. Following him 

to campaign events and posting 

hundreds of hours of selfie 

videos on Facebook, making all 

kinds of allegations of misconduct 

by Fullen. I saw first-hand 

how frickin’ crazy this guy was 

when he stood up at a candidate 

forum and accused Fullen 

of being under investigation by 

TCOLE. Which at the time was 

an all out lie. This guy would get 

right in Jimmy’s face at events 

and scream at him. Fullen exercised 

extreme patience with him, 

because I probably would have 

punched the dude for getting in 

my face. Everyone agreed, Williams 

was obsessed with taking 

Fullen down and most thought 

Nolen had put him up to it, although 

Nolen denied it. 

Despite his crazy antics, Williams 

did his homework and 

did in fact find some instances 

where Fullen had left details of 

his past off some law enforcement 

applications including the 

fact that one department had 

terminated him. In his younger 

days, Fullen was arrested for 

a simple assault for coming to 

another person’s defense which 

was later dismissed. I’m not 

going to go into every instance 

of what Fullen may or may not 

have done in his past. Or why 

applications presented to TCOLE 

may or may not have included 

everything they should have. But 

the fact is, Williams launched a 

complaint against Fullen with 

TCOLE and TCOLE has recommended 

that Fullen’s TCOLE 

license be suspended. Fullen has 

several options to appeal this 

decision including going to State 

Court. 

One thing for sure is that Fullen 

isn’t throwing in the towel and 

his supporters aren’t walking 

away including the BLUES and 

this author. Jimmy Fullen has 

done nothing in his past that 

would preclude him from being 

Sheriff of Galveston County other 

than he broke a few TCOLE rules. 

He didn’t break any laws, commit 

any felonies or mistreat anyone. 

He may have made some mistakes 

in his past that I’m sure he 

now regrets. But every damn one 

of us has done things in our past 

that we all regret. That’s life. 

But as a person, Jimmy Fullen 

is one of the best human beings 

you will ever meet. He is kind 

and respectful and just wants to 

make a better place for citizens 

of Galveston County to live and 

work. 

In conclusion, Fullen is the best 

candidate for the next Sheriff of 

Galveston County and despite 

all the efforts to keep him from 

winning, I think he’ll overcome 

all the adversity and become the 

next Sheriff. I hope the TCOLE 

board agrees that we all make 

mistakes, and that Jimmy Fullen 

deserves the chance to become a 

great sheriff of Galveston County. 

Famed local attorney Tony Buzbee calls TCOLE director’s 

recommendation result of ‘sour grapes’ 

ed that Fullen’s law enforcement 

license be revoked. 

“This misguided effort is all a 

distraction, and the appellate 

decision, which I’m confident we 

will prevail in, won’t even come 

about until well after the general 

election,” Buzbee said. “I call 

this whole thing a “sour grapes” 

effort to defeat someone they 

couldn’t beat at the ballot box 

because Jimmy won handily. 

“Bottom line, we will prevail.” 

The recommendation followed 

an investigation into a detailed 

complaint from retired Galveston 

County Sheriff’s Office investigator 

Kenneth Williams. 

Williams alleged that Fullen 

omitted adverse incidents in his 

career and life on the required 

personal history report. 

TCOLE’s executive director 

agreed. 

TCOLE’s letter to Fullen reads. 

“Because respondent omitted 

or failed to disclose information 

and provided false or untruthful 

statements, respondent violated 

TCOLE standards related to mak-

ing, submitting, causing to submit, 

or filing reports to TCOLE.” 

Fullen said that any omissions 

were not to clean up his record. 

He publicly acknowledged earlier 

brushes with the law and arrests 

but maintained that because 

of the outcome of those cases, 

he believed he didn’t need to be 

reported. 

He also explained that other 

issues raised in the complaint 

were taken out of context and 

misrepresented the facts of the 

situations. 

The complaint became a point 

of contention during the Republican 

Primary between Fullen and 

Sheriff’s Office Major Ray Nolen. 

Williams, posting under his 

online pseudonym Costa Loca, 

mounted an all-out campaign 

against Fullen using documents 

he obtained that he said were 

proof that Fullen failed to file the 

proper personal history documentation. 

Williams obtained the personal 

history report Fullen filed with the 

Precinct 2 Constable’s office when 

he went from elected Constable 

to a deputy since he had to resign 

to run for sheriff. 

Fullen also filed a personal 

history report with the Texas 

City Police Department, where 

he served as a reserve officer for 

over a decade. 

That was requested when an 

audit of the personnel files at 

Texas City PD, Chief Landis Cravens 

said. 

Nearly nine months after Williams 

filed the first complaint and 

three months after Fullen won the 

primary election with roughly 57% 

of the vote, the executive director 

of TCOLE recommended that 

Fullen have his peace officer’s 

license revoked. 

The peace officer’s license is 

paramount because state law requires 

a sheriff to have an active 

law enforcement license before 

taking office. 

For now, it’s just a recommendation. 

Since Fullen has appealed, his 

peace officer’s license remains 

active, and under state law, he 

remains eligible to be on the November 

ballot. 

An administrative judge will 

set a hearing to hear evidence 

from TCOLE and Fullen’s defense. 

In that process, Buzbee will join 

Fullen’s other attorney, Greg Cagle. 

Cagle is well known for his 

work defending law enforcement 

officers as an attorney assisting 

the Texas Municipal Police Association 

The judge will make a recommendation 

to the TCOLE commission, 

which will vote to accept or 

deny that recommendation. 

Even should the commission 

not rule in Fullen’s favor, he can 

appeal to a district court judge, 

said TCOLE’s Director of Government 

Relations Gretchen Grigsby. 


FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE 

Penalty for failing to act. 

Well folks, before you go 

judging me on the following 

editorial, just remember I was 

once a chief for over a decade 

and while I may not know it all, I 

do have a clue. 

The former Uvalde ISD Chief of 

Police was indicted last month, 

along with another former member 

of the UISD Police Department. 

Both men were charged 

with multiple counts of Child 

Endangerment. (TXPC 22.041 – 

© A person commits an offense 

if they intentionally, knowingly, 

recklessly or with criminal 

negligence, by act or omission, 

engages in conduct that places 

a child younger than 15 years 

of age in imminent danger of 

death, bodily injury, or physical 

or mental impairment.) 

Look, these guys dropped the 

ball. Big time. There were multiple 

failures to act, react and 

just do their jobs. Period. When 

you’re the Chief of Police, and 

you FAIL to do YOUR job, you 

absolutely should lose your stars, 

your position and all that comes 

with it. In this case, when multiple 

children and adults perish at 

the murderous hands of a madman, 

while you stand around 

and do nothing, you should be 

indicted. 

I said, what I said. 

It is incumbent upon the Chief, 

or the head of any agency for 

that matter, to understand those 


stars get heavy, fast. You wanted 

them, now earn them. Do the 

right thing, at the right time, for 

the right reasons. And friends, 

I cannot think of more right 

reasons than multiple young and 

innocent children in a classroom 

being shot and killed while you 

did nothing to stop it. 

In my time serving as an ISD 

Chief of Police I had following 

losses: 

In separate incidents, over 100 

students injured in school bus 

crashes. 

In separate incidents, three 

students lost their lives on my 

watch. 

In separate incidents, two 

employees lost their lives on my 

watch. 

The difference? I immediately 

and decisively responded to each 

incident. I immediately directed 

all operations and coordinated 

with multiple responding and 

investigating agencies. I worked 

with our administration and 

ensuing media inquiries. Not a 

day or night goes by, I do not remember 

my losses. I remember 

every decision, every action, and 

every call. I’ll especially never 

forget the difficult moments of 

having to notify surviving parents 

and family members. 

I’ll end with this. You carry 

a badge, you carry a gun, you 

swore an Oath under God to do 

your job. To do your Duty. You 

do it for the sake of everyone 

around you. If you aren’t willing 

to give up your life to save 

the life of others, QUIT NOW!! 

PLEASE. 

It’s not an easy commitment 

to make. I get it. I live with it 

every day. But believe me when 

I tell you the Demons do come a 

calling. But it’s what we signed 

up for. We knew it could happen. 

And if it happens on our Watch, 

we’d damn sure better respond 

accordingly. 

If we don’t, the loss of our job, 

our career and possible jail time 

is the least of our worries. Because 

if we fail, someone, maybe 

multiple someone’s, will lose 

their lives because collectively 

as law enforcement, we failed 

them. 

That my friends, is something I 

cannot and will not accept. None 

of us should. The indictment was 

the right decision. In fact, more 

should follow, and probably will.

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GUEST COMENTARY 

Doug Griffith 

Where do we go from here? 

As most know, the HPOU 

has been very vocal over the 

last few months regarding the 

command staff and specifically 

the former Chief. This all 

stemmed from the infamous SL 

code that most officers were 

not even aware of. If you did 

not work investigations, then 

you more than likely had not 

heard of it. 

I attended a City Council 

meeting towards the end of 

2014 where a presentation was 

provided by then Chief McCleland 

regarding the status of a 

report completed by Justex. 

The 2014 report provided an 

overview of the manpower 

across the city and included 

information about investigating 

cases. I do not recall the 

specifics regarding investigated 

cases in the report but 

that there will be a number 

of cases that will have to go 

un-worked due to manpower. 

However, I distinctly recall Ray 

Hunt speaking about his concerns 

and the discussion centered 

around manpower and 

the inability to investigate all 

cases. At the end of the presentation 

and discussion by city 

council, and Council Member 

Kubosh stating, “I think we have 

been put on notice.” At the end 

of the presentation, City Council 

did not increase staffing to 

address the challenges presented 

All of city Council was aware 

that the department was down 

over 1500 officers, and this was 

in 2014. Here we are 10 years 

later, and the same problems 

persist. I hope to work with the 

Mayor and Council to do a few 

things that will help the Houston 

Police Department be the 

best department in the nation 

once again. On the priority 

list of things to consider are 

obviously hiring and retaining 

good officers to increase the 

overall number of officers on 

the department. Second is to 

work on the morale of the rank 

and file within the department. 

For the last few years, we have 

seen our leaders be afraid to 

make decisions because they 

would be criticized or worse, 

demoted, for taking a stand. 

This has to end! 

We must entrust our Commanders 

to run their division as 

they see fit (within reason) and 

then hold them accountable 

for crime in their area, or the 

investigations under their command. 

We must also embolden 

our patrol officers to make 

decisions without having to call 

a supervisor to every event. If 

a supervisor has to make every 

decision, then let’s just promote 

all officers to Sergeant and 

DOUG GRIFFITH, 

PRESIDENT, HPOU 

move on. 

We need to find a way to motivate 

and encourage officers, 

not manage them by IAD. 

Our goal as an organization 

must be to empower our 

members to be the best that 

they can be. This must include 

better training, understandable 

policies, and a common sense 

approached to discipline. Obviously, 

we do not have a timeline 

for a new chief, but our 

hope is that whomever our next 

chief may be, that he listen to 

the rank and file, not just those 

yes people that they tend to 

surround themselves with. 

NOTE: 

The concluded investigation 

into the SL code will be out 

shortly. Our goal is to make 

sure that no one is disciplined 

for abiding by the SOP that was 

developed and signed off by 

their respective AC or EAC. 


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the Law Officer 

BIDEN LYING ABOUT CRIME RATE 

Almost half of all crime in not being reported. 

Washington D.C. – It’s an election 

year and right on schedule, 

politicians are lying to you. 

Today, President Biden addressed 

‘Moms In Action’, a gun control 

group. In touting the two year 

anniversary of passing the Safety 

Communities Act, he said that 

violent crime was at a 50 year 

low. 

The lie isn’t new. A few months 

ago, the White House put it in 

writing, issuing the below press 

release. 

Americans are safer from violent 

crime today than a year ago. 

Today, an independent organization 

of police chiefs from the 

nation’s largest cities released 

data showing that, compared 

to a year earlier, violent crime 

declined across every category 

in the first quarter of 2024 and 

murders are down 17%. These 

decreases build on substantial 

decreases in previous years. After 

the prior Administration oversaw 

the largest one-year increase 

in murders ever recorded, violent 

crime is at a near fifty-year 

low. This crime reduction is not 

an accident. It’s the result of 

extraordinary efforts from law 

enforcement and community 

leaders. It’s also the result of historic 

steps by my Administration 

to stop the flow of illegal guns 

and make the largest-ever federal 

investment in fighting and 

preventing crime because of my 

American Rescue Plan. 

CLICK PLAYING TO WITH TAP TO THE WATCH DATA 

Biden is using the crime data 

from his own FBI to tout the lie 

and almost half of the crime is 

not being reported. In 2019, 89% 

of municipal police departments, 

consisting of 97% of the 

population, submitted crime data 

to the FBI but by 2021, the population 

represented in the crime 

data had dropped to 65% when 

just 63% of the agencies reported 

their crime. It hasn’t improved 

much since and in 2023, cities 

such as Los Angeles, Chicago, 

and New York City did not submit 

their crime data. 

Do you think that may affect 

the national crime stats just a 

little…. 

It should be no surprise that 

the worse offenders are not 

exactly coming from safe states. 

New Jersey reported crime from 

just 177 of their 578 agencies 

and Pennsylvania only reported 

crime from 40 of the 1504 agencies 

while just half of California 

reported crime. 

But don’t worry. The FBI has a 

100% compliance from the mean 

streets of Connecticut and Delaware. 

APPLES TO ORANGES 

We may never know the sleight 

of hand coming from the agencies 

that did report the data. Reports 

have surfaced for years of 

agencies purposely downgrading 

violent crimes to misdemeanors 

and the pressure to do so has 

only increased in recent years. 

The reality is exactly what you 

know. Crime is not down. While 

our leaders tout the great job 

they are doing in reducing crime, 

the Major City Chiefs Association 

showed a significant increase in 

crime while the National Crime 

Victimization Survey showed 

a 30% rise in robbery (25% of 

all violent crime) while the FBI 

claimed it was reduced by 18%. 

EXCUSES 

It may not be a coincidence 

that the wheel broke in 2021. 

Coming off the most violent 

year America has ever seen, the 

FBI changed how they accepted 

crime data (NIBRS) and Americans 

went from knowing the 

crime levels to not having a clue. 

At the same time, many law enforcement 

leaders and politicians 

at the highest level used this broken 

system to brag how crime is 

down. 

THE BIG LIE 

No one believes that violent 

crime is down because they have 

eyes and President Biden looking 

you in the eye and lying about 

crime is insulting. 




Jon Adler 

Border Mess is Endangering 

Police Nationwide 

More than 140,000 migrants have gotten away from the Border Patrol in 

less than 12 months. Some of them are very dangerous people. 

In March, Border Patrol Chief 

Jason Owens announced that 

there had been 140,000 known 

“got-aways” at the Southwest 

border since Oct. 1, 2023. Known 

got-aways refers to the number 

of migrants that were able to 

evade capture while crossing the 

border illegally into the United 

States. It further means that 

there is a strong likelihood that 

a percentage of that number is 

comprised of violent criminals. 

We can debate that percentage, 

but the irrefutable fact is that 

this unspecified percentage of 

undocumented violent criminals 

poses a threat to officer safety. 

Am I suggesting that 140,000 

migrants are going to immediately 

attack law enforcement 

officers? No, absolutely not. 

Like many Americans, I believe 

that the majority of migrants entering 

the United States illegally 

are simply searching for a better 

life. However, as I try to hold 

onto that optimistic perspective, 

a startling mathematical assessment 

illustrates the prospective 

problem for officer safety. If 

we consider that just 1% of the 


known got-aways may seek to 

harm law enforcement officers, 

that equates to 1,400 violent 

criminals now in our communities. 

How many of these 1,400 

are terrorists, gang members, 

rapists, or mentally deranged 

violent criminals? And when the 

police come into contact with 

any of these 1,400, how many of 

them will attack, injure, or kill 

an officer? 

Is this a far-fetched xenophobic 

rant? Not in the least. 

Let us first consider published 

data from the CBP.gov website. 

From 2023 to the present, 

migrants committed an average 

of 40 assaults per month 

against Border Patrol agents. 

In fiscal year 2023, the Border 

Patrol captured 598 gang-affiliated 

migrants, and 169 migrants 

on the terrorist watchlist. The 

vast majority of these incidents 

involve migrants that crossed 

the Southwest border. There is 

no evidence to suggest that any 

of these migrants with violent 

backgrounds were crossing into 

the United States to advocate for 

world peace. And to be clear, 

these migrants were caught and 

thankfully not in the known gotaway 

category. 

In addition to the Border Patrol’s 

great work, the officers of 

the Enforcement and Removal 

Operations (ERO) did a great job 

capturing known violent migrants 

during this time period. 

According to the ICE.gov website, 

ERO removed 3,406 known 

or suspected gang members in 

fiscal year 2023. That represents 

a 27.7% increase over the preceding 

year. ERO officers also 

captured 139 known or suspected 

terrorists in 2023, which represents 

a 148.2% over fiscal year 

2022. This leaves us to question 

what the impact on officer 

safety would have been if these 

known violent migrants were 

able to evade capture and enter 

the United States. 

Let us move from speculation 

to five documented examples of 

how law enforcement officers 

were impacted by violent migrant 

confrontation from 2023 to 

the present. 

In May 2023, a Guatemalan 

migrant was arrested for man-

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slaughter for his alleged involvement 

in the line-of-duty death of 

Sgt. Michael Kunovich of the St. 

John’s County (Florida) Sheriff’s 

Office. The migrant reportedly 

resisted arrest, claimed he did 

not speak English, and attempted 

to evade the officers, Sgt. 

Kunovich tragically succumbed 

to medical distress during the incident. 

ICE released the migrant 

10 months later. This case risks 

setting a bad precedent that a 

migrant can claim a language 

barrier as an excuse to actively 

resist law enforcement. 

In January 2024, Americans 

watched the news media video 

coverage of 14 violent migrants 

viciously attacking two NYPD 


officers in Times Square. Fortunately, 

the officers’ determination, 

teamwork, and back-up 

support helped them survive 

the assault. This violent group 

included either known gotaways 

or unknown got-aways 

who posed a lethal threat to 

the officers. This situation was 

exacerbated by the reckless perspective 

on bail advocated by the 

Manhattan District Attorney and 

a judge that led to the release of 

these suspects after their arrest. 

What message does this send to 

other violent got-aways when 

interacting with the police? 

During the following month in 

New York, a 15-year-old gotaway 

allegedly shot at NYPD officers. 

After attempting to rob a 

store, this violent migrant shot a 

tourist and then targeted officers 

as he attempted to flee, police 

say. 

Later that same month, a gotaway 

reportedly shot three Metro 

DC officers in Washington and 

then became a barricaded lethal 

subject. Fortunately, all three 

officers survived. 

In March, an illegal migrant 

under the influence crashed his 

vehicle into the patrol vehicle of 

a Washington state trooper, authorities 

say. Tragically, Trooper 

Christopher Gadd was killed. 

Undoubtedly, the surge of 

got-aways across the Southwest 

border presents a critical officer 

safety hazard. During a March 

24, 2024, news interview, Border 

Patrol Chief Jason Owens said 

the 140,000 got-aways is what 

keeps him up at night. I am with 

him, and what keeps me up at 

night is the next violent gotaway 

that causes a law enforcement 

fatality. The federal government 

needs to get the Border 

Patrol and the Border sheriffs 

and officers the resources they 

need, so that violent got-aways 

become got-caughts. 

Jon Adler is the former director 

of the Department of Justice, 

Bureau of Justice Assistance. He 

is also the former chief firearms 

and tactical training officer of 

the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the 

Southern District of New York, 

and a 26 year federal law enforcement 

veteran. 

get your 

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QR code or click here.



police law news 

Daniel Carr 

Unnecessary escalation? 

Or an impossible situation. 

On June 12, 2024 a woman called 

911 and reported that her son (Jonathon 

Gounaris) had theatened to 

commit suicide and homicide. 

Ogle County, IL deputies were 

dispatched and attempted to make 

contact with Mr. Gounaris at his residence. 

There was no response. 

A Tactical team (including a 

crisis negotiator) then arrived on 

scene and attempted for nearly 

three hours to make contact with 

Mr. Gounaris. The deputies called 

his cell phone as well as a “throw 

phone” that they lobbed into the 

residence over fifty times - without 

success. 

THE DECISION 

At this point a decision had to be 

made: Disengage and leave as no 

crime had been committed. Enter 

the residence and force contact 

with Mr. Gounaris. 

FACTORS 

If the allegations/concerns 

were limited to suicide/selfharm 

and no one else was inside 

the residence with the subject - 

“best practices” nowadays is that 

law enforcement disengage. I 

agree that this is usually the best 

option in these scenarios. 

But, the report was not only 

suicide but homicide. This make 

things far more difficult for police 

supervisors. 

WHAT IF? 

What if… police disengage and 


the family believes that he had 

committed suicide or is injured and 

they tell police that they intend to 

enter the residence on their own as 

soon as police leave? Police cannot 

stop them. Knowing this - do police 

have a duty to ensure that the scene 

is safe before they leave? 

or 

What if… the police disengage 

and he emerges twenty minutes 

later and acts on the homicidal 

threats? 

or 

What if… the police enter and find 

themselves ambushed and in a gun 

battle? 

This is an impossible situation 

for law enforcement to be in. If it 

doesn’t end perfectly - there is ample 

space for honest (and dishonest) 

criticism. 

USE OF FORCE 

The decision was made to enter 

the residence. The deputies forced 

the door open and were immediately 

met with gunfire. This f*cker had 

been waiting. 

Three deputies were shot and 

injured. Mr. Gounaris was also shot 

and injured. 

CHARGES 

Jonathon Gounaris now faces 

12 criminal charges: 4 counts of 

Attempted First Degree Murder, 3 

counts of Aggravated Discharge of 

a Firearm, 3 counts of Aggravated 

Battery, and 2 counts of Possession 

of a Firearm Without a Firearm 

Owner’s Identification Card (FOID). 

THE INEVITABLE CRITICISM 

The criticism is, of course, that the 

deputies unnecessarily escalated 

the situation. 

But, we all know, that if the deputies 

disengaged, and Mr. Gounaris 

walked over to the local day camp 

and slaughtered a dozen children 

- those very same critics would be 

slamming the cops for being lazy, 

incompetent, and not “protecting” 

the community from a known madman. 

The “safest” thing (both physically 

and liability-wise) for police to do 

is disengage. There is no question 

about that. But, is that the “right” 

thing? Is that what the public expects 

from local law enforcement? 

What I do know is that police 

leaders and trainers should study 

this case and craft policy that is 

cemented with real-life training 

scenarios - to prepare for when 

their officers and supervisors are 

faced with a similar situation. 

Final Thoughts 

It is far easier to craft the perfect 

tactical plan - after an incident 

has taken place. After watching the 

body cam footage with the benefit 

of 20/20 hindsight guiding every 

move. From a safe space. With no 

ones life riding on the outcome of 

decisions. That is policing from a 

point of privilege. And cops on the 

street do not have it.



police law news 

Daniel Carr 

Officer Involved: Ryan Londregan 

The first time I watched the 

body cam footage I was not convinced. 

I wasn’t convinced either way 

on this one and I knew that if 

it wasn’t clear to me - that it 

would undoubtedly leave negative 

space for anti-police activists, 

agenda-driven prosecutors, 

and the millions who read lots of 

headlines but zero articles - to 

make an issue of this case. 

WHAT HAPPENED 

on July 31, 2023 Minnesota 

State Patrol troopers initiated a 

traffic stop on a vehicle that was 

driven by Ricky Cobb II on Interstate 

94 - because the vehicle did 

not have working taillights. 

During the initial contact a 

Trooper ran Mr. Cobb’s information 

and found that he had a 

felony warrant out of Ramsey 

County. Trooper Londregan attempted 

to detain Mr. Cobb and 

instructed him to exit the vehicle. 

Mr. Cobb refused and argued 

with the officers. 

After several minutes of backand-forth, 

Troopers made the 

decision to extract Mr. Cobb 

from the vehicle. This included a 

Trooper unbuckling his seatbelt. 

It was at this point that Mr. 

Cobb accelerated the vehicle in 

an attempt to flee. Two State 

Troopers had parts of their bodies 

inside of the vehicle and were 

dragged as Mr. Cobb dangerously 

and selfishly sped away. 


Trooper Londregan then shot 

Mr. Cobb and he died from his 

injuries. 

CHARGES 

In January 2024 the Hennepin 

County Prosecutor (Mary 

Moriarty) filed charges against 

Trooper Londregan. The criminal 

complaint charged three counts: 

second-degree unintentional 

murder, first-degree assault, and 

second-degree manslaughter. 

The presumptive sentence under 

the Minnesota Sentencing 

Guidelines for a second-degree 

unintentional murder conviction 

would be 128-180 months. 

ANALYSIS 

I had been careful to not cover 

this case on both SubStack nor in 

my videos on (Tik Tok and You- 

Tube) as I honestly was not sure 

what my position was. 

Upon initially just watching 

the body/dash cam - it almost 

seemed as though Trooper 

Londegran fired his weapon as 

the vehicle was fleeing. Shooting 

at a vehicle for only fleeing is 

never reasonable. 

However, a careful review 

clearly shows that two Troopers 

were in the vehicle (at least 

partly) as Mr. Cobb drove away. 

Trooper Londegran’s actions 

were to save the lives/minimize 

injury to the other Troopers who 

were in immediate danger and 

therefore were within the law 

and objectively reasonable. 

For those who do not think that 

this OIS was justified - please 

answer the following question, 

as it must be at the center of 

your argument, “As Mr. Cobb 

drove away, dragging the Troopers, 

what was the appropriate 

force response from Trooper 

Londregan (or any other police 

officer in this situation)?” 

THE FALLOUT 

Prosecutor Mary Moriarty was 

not able to secure a use of force 

expert from the Minnesota State

Police to testify on behalf of the 

State. The use of force instructor 

for the State Police (who actually 

taught Trooper Londregan) 

was prepared to testify that he, 

“acted in accordance with training”. 

This is evidence that the Prosecutor 

was more concerned with 

locking up a cop than properly 

and thoroughly investigating this 

case. 

Mary Moriarty even hired an 

outside law firm to review the 

case. A Washington D.C. based 

firm that was comprised of former 

Federal Prosecutors. 

Even Democrat Governor Tim 

Walz recognized the gross injustice 

and threatened to remove 

Moriarty from the case if the 

charges were not dropped. An 

unusual move for one Dem to 

publicly call out another Dem on 

such an issue. 

Last week Moriarty dropped 

the charges against Trooper 

Londregan citing “new evidence 

would make it impossible to 

prove unauthorized use of force.” 

That is great news, but… 

No new evidence in this case 

magically appeared. It was just 

that the facts of this case finally 

outweighed the sick desire 

to add imprisoning a cop to her 

resume. 

THE FIGHT 

What impressed me as a 

retired cop with a law degree 

and former police union elected 

representative was the outpouring 

of public support from the 

Minnesota Peace Officers Association 

and the competent and 

constant public statements from 

Trooper Londregan’s legal team. 

Defense attorney Chris Madel 

and Police Association Attorney 

Imran Ali deserve special recognition. 

The professionalism and 

relentless pursuit of the truth 

should be the case study of a 

course on this for other attorneys/union 

representatives in this 

realm. 

I guess it is a good thing that 

Imran is a lead instructor for 

LETAC (law enforcement training 

services). I had the privilege 

of attending the 2023 LETAC Use 

of Force Conference and cannot 

wait to attend another conference 

as a student or speaker. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

Even honest prosecutors make 

mistakes. But, prosecutors with 

an agenda are a special problem 

for law enforcement. In these 

instances having competent, 

professional, and aggressive 

representatives is an invaluable 

asset for police officers. 

The charges were dropped in 

this case but there are several 

others nationwide where officers 

in (arguably) more “justified” 

cases are still facing prosecution. 

Officers like: Christopher 

Schurr - Grand Rapids, Michigan- 

Brad Lunsford - Las Cruces, New 

MexicoMac Bailey Marquette - 

Decatur, Georgia 



more to say 

Rex Evans 

“Honorable” people don’t throw stones. 

I have not, nor will I ever, 

walk on water. If we are to be 

truthful, this applies to all of 

us including those who throw 

stones in glass houses. For 

example, a certain person who 

has ruthlessly and with great 

malice attacked Jimmy Fullen, a 

candidate running for Galveston 

County Sheriff. 

Look folks, politics is now 

more than ever, a God awful, 

dirty business. People literally 

eat their own (Figuratively 

speaking) within their Political 

Party. Let alone how badly they 

attack someone from another 

Party. 

But going after a Candidate is 

one thing. Going after his family, 

friends and everyone who supports 

him, is quite another. And 

then launch personal attacks 

against his children. There’s 

nothing ‘honorable’ about that. 

Look, Jimmy Fullen is human, 

and he makes mistakes just like 

the rest of us. He knew when 

he put his name on the ballot, 

that his entire life as well as 

his family’s life, would be open 

game for his opponent to attack 

him in every way possible. 

I gotta tell you, I’m down for 

supporting Jimmy because he IS 

human and has enough humility 

to admit he’d made mistakes 

in the past. I have tried to make 

right of my past transgressions. 


RETIRED POLICE CHIEF, 

REX EVANS 

I’ve done everything I can to 

make my community, county 

and state a safer, more peaceful 

place for people to live, work 

and raise a family. I can get behind 

that kind of person. 

What I cannot accept, is a 

person who ruthlessly attacks 

another when the very stones 

they are throwing, are of the 

same big rock of their own past. 

Tread lightly when casting upon 

others, for we all have paths we 

wish we never taken or roads 

we never traveled. 

Finally, to try and weaponize 

the State Board of Law Enforcement 

arguably one of the most 

prestigious and certainly one of 

the most visible State Boards in 

Texas, for one’s own political 

agenda is sickening to me. It 

reeks and circles back to what I 

mentioned earlier…Some will in 

fact, eat their very own for their 

own personal agenda. If even 

that agenda is in and of itself 

born out of misconduct. 

I haven’t met too many folks 

without a “past.” I just haven’t. 

And those whom I have met who 

didn’t, have a questionable past, 

quite frankly I never trusted 

them because what the hell have 

they ever stood for, done or not 

done and above all…what have 

they ever done for anyone else 

other than themselves? 

Thus far, most folks in Galveston 

County, TCOLE and others 

seemed to feel the same way. 

We all have lived our lives, as 

best we can. When we’ve stumbled, 

we’ve stumbled. We didn’t 

just lay there. We got back up 

and we did better from that 

point on. 

Jimmy Fullen is no different. 

He’s stumbled in his life. Good. 

That means he’s a better man 

and will make a better Sheriff 

because of these life lessons. 

And as Sheriff, he’ll better understand 

how to lead the GCSO 

through difficult times as we 

will surely face in the future.


AROUND THE COUNTRY 

SOUTHINGTON, CT. 

Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier was struck and killed by a truck 

while conducting a traffic stop on I-84 East. 

SOUTHINGTON, CT. – A Connecticut 

State Police trooper 

was killed in a hit-and-run crash 

on Interstate 84 in Southington 

on Thursday May 30. 

State police identified the victim 

as Trooper First Class Aaron 

Pelletier, of Troop H in Hartford. 

He was a nine-year veteran of 

the Connecticut State Police. 

Authorities said Pelletier, 34, 

was conducting a traffic stop on 

I-84 east near Exit 31 when he 

was struck. 

“Preliminary information 

shows the right side wheels of 

the pickup were completely over 

the dividing line into the shoulder, 

sideswiped Trooper Pelletier’s 

cruiser and then struck 

Trooper Pelletier in the shoulder 

while he was speaking with the 

operator,” Sgt. Luke Davis, with 

Connecticut State Police, said. 

Pelletier was pronounced dead 

at the scene. 

The driver who hit Pelletier 

drove away, state police said. 

The suspect, who was not immediately 

identified, was later 

located and taken into police 

custody on I-84 in Farmington. 

“TFC Pelletier was a member 

of 125th Training Troop and a 

nine-year veteran of the Connecticut 

State Police. TFC Pelletier 

served the citizens of the 

state of Connecticut with an 

unwavering sense of dedication, 

pride and professionalism, and 

his sacrifice will never be forgotten,” 

state police said. 

Pelletier leaves behind his wife 

and two children. 

He spent the past three years 

as a K-9 officer with K-9 Roso. 

Authorities said Roso was in the 

state police cruiser at the time of 

the crash but was not hurt. 

A miles-long procession was 

held in honor of Pelletier on 

Thursday evening, and Connecticut 

Gov. Ned Lamont directed 

flags to half-staff in honor of the 

trooper. 

“I am devastated to learn about 

the loss of Trooper First Class 

Aaron Pelletier, who was killed 

today in the line of duty while 

TROOPER AARON PELLETIER 

serving the people of Connecticut. 

This is a tragic reminder 

about the dangers law enforcement 

face every day when they 

leave their homes and go to 

work. Trooper Pelletier served 

Connecticut with honor, integrity, 

and commitment, and he 

embodies the definition of public 

service. His courage and bravery 

will never be forgotten,” Lamont 

said as part of a statement 

released Thursday. 

DON’T MISS THIS MONTH’S 

AFTERMATH ON PAGE 158 


PRICE REDUCED 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



MINNEAPOLIS, MN. 

Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell was shot and killed 

after being ambushed while responding to a shooting call. 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis 

police officer who was 

killed by a man he was trying to 

help at the site of a shooting was 

memorialized Tuesday as a hero 

who exemplified the type of public 

servant the city’s police force 

has been trying to recruit amid 

years of turmoil. 

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey 

told those gathered at a service 

for Officer Jamal Mitchell, 36, 

that he will be remembered as 

a hero in the city forever. Frey, 

Police Chief Brian O’Hara, family 

members, friends and fellow 

officers described a man whose 

high ethical standards led him to 

Minneapolis, and perhaps even to 

his death at the hands of a person 

he was trying to save. 

“It’s notable that he chose the 

profession of policing post- 

2020,” Frey said. “It’s even more 

notable that he affirmatively 

chose Minneapolis. Of all the 

places in the world, of all the 

professions in the world, of all 

the cities in the world, he chose 

us. Officer Jamal Mitchell was 

here for a reason.” 

Investigators are calling the 

May 30 shooting of Mitchell an 

ambush. They said he was responding 

to a call about a double 

shooting when he tried to help 

a man he believed was injured. 

That man shot Mitchell multiple 

times. Three other people, including 

the gunman, were killed. 

Mitchell had been with the 

Minneapolis Police Department 

for about 18 months. His killing 

stunned a department that has 

struggled to fill its ranks since 

the murder of George Floyd and 

the ensuing turmoil. Officers 

from across the state and nation 

attended the service at a high 

school in the suburb of Maple 

Grove. 

Tori Myslajek, Mitchell’s longterm 

partner and fiance, said 

Mitchell’s greatest joys were his 

four children. 

“Our family is completely devastated 

by our recent loss. Jamal 

was our whole world,” Myslajek 

said in a statement. “Jamal and I 

created a beautiful life in Minnesota, 

and he was deeply passionate 

about helping and serving the 

community of Minneapolis.” 

A procession of law enforcement 

officers escorted Mitchell’s 

American flag-draped casket into 

the high school gym and paced 

it beside a portrait of Mitchell. 

Above his casket, a photo slideshow 

showed him enjoying ski 

trips, football games and evenings 

at home with family and 

friends. 

Mitchell was born on Feb. 12, 

OFFICER JAMAL MITCHELL 

1988, in New Haven, Connecticut, 

according to an obituary handed 

out at his funeral. He enjoyed 

sharing his love of basketball 

with his children. His pickup 

basketball teammates called him 

“the glue that held it all together.” 

Mitchell was previously lauded 

by the Minneapolis Police Department 

for rescuing an elderly 

couple from a house fire on 

his third day on the job. He was 

posthumously awarded the department’s 

two highest honors, 

a Medal of Honor and a Purple 

Heart. 


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CHEVY CHASE, MD. 

Maryland Parole Agent Davis Martinez was stabbed while conducting 

a home visit on a convicted sex offender. 

CHEVY CHASE, MD. — A parole 

agent was found dead in Chevy 

Chase on Friday. He has been 

identified as 33-year-old Davis 

Martinez, and a suspect has been 

arrested and charged with second 

degree murder. 

The Major Crimes Division at 

the Montgomery County Department 

of Police charged Emanuel 

Edward Sewell, a 54-year-old 

Chevy Chase man, with second 

degree murder in connection 

with the death of a Maryland 

Parole and Probation agent. 

Martinez is the first Maryland 

Division of Parole and Probation 

agent in the state to ever be 

killed by a client while on duty, 

according to the Maryland Department 

of Public Safety and 

Correctional Services. 

“The loss of a law enforcement 

officer who was performing his 

duties for the state of Maryland 

is a tragedy,” Montgomery County 

Police Chief Marcus Jones 

said. “The death of agent Martinez 

is a stark reminder of the 

dangers we face everyday.” 

Several people are calling Martinez 

a hero. 

“Those people are the first line 

of defense when you’re in trouble 

and make a call and what 

they do its incredible and they 


often don’t get appreciated for 

it,” one man who didn’t want to 

be identified. 

The department’s secretary, 

Carolyn Scruggs, called Martinez 

an unsung hero. “We extend our 

deepest condolences to Agent 

Martinez’s family and co-workers. 

His professionalism, diligence 

and resilience will remain 

engraved in our hearts,” she said. 

Governor Wes Moore this evening 

issued the following statement 

regarding the apprehension 

of the suspect wanted for the 

murder of Agent Davis Martinez: 

“Agent Martinez served with 

distinction and our state is safer 

because of him—our entire state 

grieves his loss along with those 

he held dear. I would like to 

thank our dedicated law enforcement 

community for their 

relentless and successful efforts 

in apprehending the suspect 

and for their unwavering pursuit 

of justice for Agent Martinez, 

his family, his friends and colleagues.” 

Per the governor’s order, the 

Maryland flag will continue to fly 

at half staff through the day of 

Agent Martinez’s interment. The 

U.S. flag will also be lowered 

to half staff on the day of interment. 

AGENT DAVIS MARTINEZ 

Police said that on Friday at 

around 5:50 p.m., officers arrived 

to the 2800 block of Terrace 

Drive in Chevy Chase for a welfare 

check on an agent who had 

not reported back to work “after 

a resident check of Sewell, a 

registered sex offender.” 

Once on the scene, police 

found Martinez who was pronounced 

dead as a result of 

blunt force trauma, according 

to an MCPD press conference. 

Police said Sewell was not inside 

the residence and they believed 

Sewell had Agent Martinez’s 

badge.



GILA RIVER TRIBAL POLICE 

Police Officer Joshua Briese was shot and killed while responding 

to a disturbance call at Gila River Indian Community. 

Lorenzino Estrada, 

Rey Covarrubias Jr., 

USA TODAY 

A police officer responding to 

a disturbance at a home early 

Saturday and a woman are both 

dead in Santan, District 4, of 

the Gila River Indian Community 

in Arizona, according to local 

authorities. 

Joshua Briese, who had been 

with the police department for 

less than a year, and another 

officer responded to a disturbance 

call involving a large 

crowd, according to the Arizona 

Republic, part of the USA 

TODAY Network. Multiple gunshots 

were fired and both officers 

were struck, the Gila River 

Police Department wrote in a 

Facebook post. 

Both officers were taken to 

the hospital. Briese died from 

his injuries, while the other officer, 

who has not been identified, 

was in serious but stable 

condition, according to police. 

Four other people were struck 

by gunfire. The woman who 

died was identified as 23-yearold 

Alicen Apkaw, Stephen Roe 

Lewis, governor of the Gila River 

Indian Community, said. He did 

not provide details about her 


time of death. The three others 

who were shot were being 

treated at area hospitals. 

Two suspects were taken into 

custody Sunday by the FBI’s 

Phoenix Field Office and the 

Gila River Police Department. 

Officials identified them as a 

man and a teen boy but did not 

release their names. They said 

both individuals were receiving 

medical care for the injuries 

they received from the shooting. 

“I know I speak for our entire 

Community when I say that we 

grieve for our fallen and injured 

police officers and every 

Community member touched 

by such tragic violence,” Lewis 

said. “Nothing cuts deeper than 

a life cut short. We will pray for 

our officers and their families, 

and for every Community member, 

every loved one, and every 

family impacted by what happened 

this morning.” 

Briese was the son of former 

Yellowstone County Sheriff’s 

Officer David Briese, who also 

died in the line of duty. 

David Briese was killed in 

November 2006 in an automobile 

accident on Interstate 

90 in Billings, Montana, while 

responding to a backup call 

OFFICER JOSHUA BRIESE 

for an officer who was dealing 

with a combative impaired 

driver, according to the Sheriff’s 

Office. 

County Sheriff’s Office released 

a statement regarding 

Joshua Briese’s death: 

“YCSO is heart broken and in 

disbelief upon receiving word 

this morning of the Line of 

Duty Death of Gila River Arizona 

Police Officer Josh Briese, 

Joshie as many of us called 

him,” the statement said. “All 

we can say is God Speed and 

rest easy. Knowing Dave & Josh 

are together again, both left this 

world serving their community 

and doing what they loved. RIP.”



CORPUS CHRISTI, TX. 

Senior Police Officer Vicente Ortiz succumbed to injuries sustained 10 days 

earlier when he was involved in a motorcycle crash while escorting a funeral 

BY Katie Nickas 

Corpus Christi Caller Times 

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX. – Corpus 

Christi police on Saturday, 

June 1, announced the death of 

Vicente Ortiz, a senior officer 

with the department. Ortiz died 

from injuries sustained from a 

vehicle accident while working 

as a police motorcycle escort. He 

worked with the department for 

15 years. 

“It is with tremendous sorrow 

that we inform the community 

of the passing of Senior Officer 

Vicente Ortiz,” the police statement 

said. “We mourn the loss 

of a great husband, father, son, 

brother, friend and co-worker.” 

The officer had been in the 

hospital for 11 days following a 

crash that happened on May 21 

at the intersection of Kostoryz 

Road and Sacky Drive, police 

said. 

The incident happened at 

about 1:36 p.m. that day. Ortiz 

was traveling south on Kostoryz 

Road, riding as part of a Corpus 

Christi Motors Unit that was 

conducting traffic control during 

a funeral procession, when the 

other driver, headed east on 

Sacky Drive, attempted to turn 

north on Kostoryz Road, striking 

the officer. Ortiz sustained 

life-threatening wounds and was 

transported to a local hospital, 

police said. 

Police Lt. Eryca Gonzalez said 

the driver who struck the motorcycle 

was cited for failing 

to yield the right-of-way to an 

emergency vehicle, along with 

interference with a funeral procession. 

The accident is still being 

investigated, and traffic investigators 

are working to determine 

OFFICER VICENTE ORTIZ, JR. 

whether charges will be upgraded 

and filed with the District 

Attorney’s office, she said. 

A GoFundMe page was created 

for the officer on May 24 to support 

his family while Ortiz was 

in the hospital. More than $21,700 

has been raised. 

Ortiz leaves behind his wife 

and two children. 

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CHARLES CITY CNTY, VA. 

Sergeant Floyd Miles suffered a fatal heart attack while 

struggling with a subject inside an ambulance. 

CHARLES CITY COUNTY, VA. 

– A deputy from Virginia died 

Sunday in the line of duty after 

suffering a medical emergency 

following a struggle with an 

individual. 

A spokesperson for the Charles 

City County Sheriff’s Office said 

Sergeant Floyd H. Miles, Jr. was 

monitoring traffic when a man 

on a moped fell on his vehicle. 

Miles noticed blood on the 

man and asked if he was OK, to 

which he responded that people 

were after him and trying to kill 

him. 

According to the spokesperson, 

“he repeatedly said that 

and the deputy then placed him 

into the rear of their vehicle and 

called EMS for further observation.” 

Charles City County Fire and 

EMS personnel moved the man 

into the back of an ambulance 

when they arrived. 

After several minutes, Miles 

went to the ambulance and the 

man became combative towards 

the deputy and hit him. 

“A struggle ensued between 

the subject against law enforcement 

and EMS. As a result of the 

struggle, the deputy suffered a 

medical emergency,” the spokesperson 

said. 

Miles was taken to the hospital 

for treatment, where he later 

died. A spokesperson for the 

sheriff’s office says Miles was 

born and raised in Charles City 

County, a place he truly loved. 

“Upon graduating Charles City 

County High School he enlisted 

in the United States Army. Sgt. 

Miles returned to serve Charles 

City County Sheriff’s Office 

proudly for 16 years. He was 

supervisor of Patrol and Animal 

Control. He had true genuine 

passion not only for the residents 

of Charles City County, but all 

residents of the Commonwealth 

of Virginia. He constantly excelled 

in his field most recently 

graduating from Animal Control 

SERGEANT FLOYD H. MILES, JR. 

School. He is survived by his 

mother and father, wife, three 

stepsons, brothers, sister and 

grandson,” the spokesperson 

said. 

The man on the moped was 

taken to an area hospital for examination 

and observation. 

Virginia State Police’s Bureau of 

Criminal Investigation is handling 

the investigation. 

“When a police officer is killed, 

it’s not an agency that loses an officer, 

it’s an entire nation.” 

Chris Cosgriff, ODMP Founder 


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SCOTTSDALE, AR. 

Detective Ryan So was accidentally shot and killed after serving a 

search warrant and conducting an arrest in Scottsdale. 

By Jenna Sundel 

SCOTTSDALE, AR. - The Scottsdale 

Police Department and 

community are mourning the 

loss of Det. Ryan So, who died 

after an accidental rifle discharge, 

and is only the second 

officer to be killed in the line of 

duty in the department’s history. 

So and several other detectives 

from the Special Assignment 

Unit were unloading a vehicle 

after executing a search warrant 

and arrest operation on Thursday 

when the tragedy unfolded, 

according to a Scottsdale Police 

Department press release sent 

to Newsweek. 

So was moving a bag containing 

a rifle when it fell on the 

ground and accidentally discharged. 

Fellow officers treated So at 

the scene before he was transported 

to a hospital. He later 

died from his injuries. 

So served with the Scottsdale 

Police Department for nine 

years and the United States Navy 

for four years. He is survived by 

a wife and three daughters. 

“The loss of Detective So is 

deeply felt throughout the entire 

community. We will forever 

40 The Blues - July ‘24 

honor his sacrifice and remember 

his legacy as a hero who 

dedicated his life to serving and 

protecting others,” Scottsdale 

police said in a statement. 

The Mesa Police Department, 

as part of the East Valley Critical 

Response Team, is investigating 

the officer’s death. 

“As you can imagine, this is an 

incredibly difficult time,” Scottsdale 

Assistant Police Chief Rich 

Slavin said at a press conference. 

“We ask for privacy for 

Ryan’s family and for the police 

department. Please keep Ryan’s 

family and the men and women 

of the Scottsdale Police Department 

in your thoughts and 

prayers.” 

Chris Ellis, a friend of So’s, 

told AZFamily he will be missed 

by the community. 

“I don’t think I’ve known someone 

whose had as big a servant 

heart as he does,” Ellis said. 

“He’s always helping other people.” 

Other police departments in 

Arizona have paid tribute to So 

on social media, including the 

Phoenix Police Department, 

Gilbert Police Department and 

Chandler Police Department. 

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s 

DETECTIVE RYAN SO 

Office also posted a remembrance 

of So. 

“Sheriff Skinner and the entire 

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office 

send sincere condolences to the 

family, friends, and colleagues 

of Scottsdale Police Department 

Detective Ryan So who passed 

away last night,” the sheriff’s 

office said on Facebook. 

“We thank and honor him 

for his dedicated service to 

the community. May he rest in 

peace.” 

The Fraternal Order of Police, 

Police Officers of Scottsdale 

Association and 100 Club are 

accepting donations for So’s 

family. 

So is the first officer to be 

killed in the line of duty since 

2002 and the second in the department’s 

history.

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The Blues - July ‘24 41 

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FAYETTE CNTY, PA. 

Phillip J. Michael, a longtime state constable from Fayette County Pennsylvania, 

died from injuries suffered in a car crash last month. 

FAYETTE COUNTY, PA. – A longtime 

state constable from Fayette 

County died Thursday more 

than a month after his vehicle 

was struck by another driver 

who allegedly ran a red light on 

Route 51 in Perryopolis. 

Philip J. Michael, 51, of South 

Union Township, died at UPMC 

Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh 

following injuries he 

suffered in the May 3 crash, according 

to the Allegheny County 

Medical Examiner’s office. 

“I don’t think you’re going to 

find anyone in the court system 

or the community that has 

anything bad to say about Phil,” 

Fayette County District Attorney 

Mike Aubele said Friday. “Just a 

super nice guy. Always smiling. 

He was never having a bad day. I 

can’t say enough about him.” 

Aubele, who got to know 

Michael while working in the 

courts as a defense attorney before 

winning election as district 

attorney last year, said the constable 

was a “great family man” 

who also cared deeply about his 

job and the community. Aubele 

said Michael’s experience made 

him the point person for working 

on training exercises with other 

constables in the county. 


“He was the go-to guy,” Aubele 

said. “He did a lot of the training 

and certification for the other 

constables. We consulted him 

for his expertise often, more than 

any other constable in the county.” 

It’s not immediately clear 

whether Michael was on duty 

when the crash happened last 

month. According to Perryopolis 

police, 18-year-old Brianna Krall 

was driving on Independence 

Street in the borough when she 

allegedly went through a red 

light and struck Michael’s vehicle 

as it was crossing through the 

intersection on Route 51. Krall is 

facing multiple traffic citations, 

including an additional summary 

offense of careless driving causing 

unintentional death that was 

filed Thursday. 

Perryopolis police could not 

be reached for comment Friday 

for additional information on the 

crash. 

In addition to serving as a state 

constable, Michael was a former 

Uniontown City councilman and 

current president of the Uniontown 

Rotary Club, according to 

his obituary. 

Fayette County Commissioner 

Vince Vicites said Michael was 

CONSTABLE PHILLIP MICHAEL 

both a friend and a neighbor 

of his in South Union Township. 

He recalled Michael as not only 

a constable for more than two 

decades in the county, but also 

a respected educator, teaching 

at school districts in Mapletown 

and West Mifflin, while also subbing 

at various schools across 

Fayette County. 

“He was just very community 

oriented. Public service meant a 

lot to him, helping people. … He 

was a community-minded person 

who really cared. He touched 

a lot of people,” Vicites said. “It’s 

just really tragic, really sad. He 

will be sorely missed.”



OAKLAND CNTY, MI. 

Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Bradley Reckling was shot and 

killed while conducting surveillance on a stolen vehicle in Detroit. 

DETROIT (WILX) - The Oakland 

County Sheriff’s Office is mourning 

the loss of a deputy who was 

shot and killed in the line of duty 

Saturday night. 

Police said in a press release 

that the shooting happened just 

before 11 p.m. on June 22 on the 

north side of Detroit. 

Bradley J. Reckling, 30, and 

two other members of the Sheriff’s 

Office Auto Theft Unit were 

working undercover to find a 

Chevrolet Equinox that was stolen 

earlier in the day at Red Oaks 

Water Park in Madison Heights. 

Reckling and his colleagues 

traced the car to a location in 

Detroit. Reckling spotted the car, 

the vehicle suddenly stopped and 

at least one of the three suspects 

in the car got out and began 

shooting. 

Reckling was struck multiple 

times and was sent to the hospital 

where he later died. 

Police in the area were quickly 

informed Reckling had been 

shot, and Detroit Police and the 

Michigan State Police flooded 

the area and quickly set up a 

perimeter. Three suspects were 

arrested. 

Reckling was hired back in 

2015 and honored multiple times 

by the sheriff’s office, including 

commendations for life-saving, 

meritorious and professional 

excellence. 

Deputy Mathew Morrision said, 

“Brad was a loving husband, 

father, and an amazing friend. 

He loved the outdoors. Was an 

amazing fisherman, loved to deer 

hunt, and enjoyed growing his 

farm and raising animals.” 

“This was a senseless murder 

and a terrible loss for our entire 

community,” said Oakland County 

Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald 

in a news release on Sunday. “It’s 

also another tragedy caused by 

gun violence, which continues 

to take a tremendous toll on our 

community.” 

Oakland County Executive Dave 

Coulter also released a statement 

saying, “I am heartbroken 

DEPUTY BRADLEY J. RECKLING 

to learn of the shooting death 

of one of our Oakland County 

Sheriff deputies. Please keep 

him, his loved ones, and county 

colleagues in your heart today. 

I’ve been in contact with Sheriff 

Bouchard to offer support to 

sheriff’s office employees during 

this difficult time.” 

This is still an ongoing investigation. 

News 10 will continue to 

provide updates. 

DON’T MISS THIS MONTH’S 

WAR STORY ON PAGE 154 



PUERTO RICO 

Agent Luis Algarin De Jesús, of the Puerto Rico Police Department, 

was killed when an SUV hit his motorcycle head-on. 

Our sincere condolences 

go out to the Puerto 

Rico Police Department 

and the family and friends 

of Agent Luis Algarin De 

Jesús, who was killed 

when an SUV hit his motorcycle 

head-on. 

Around 6:00 am, Agent 

Algarin De Jesús was 

traveling on the two-lane 

highway of Highway PR-1 

in the Jauca neighborhood 

when the driver of a vehicle 

crossed the center line, 

attempting to pass another 

vehicle. The SUV hit Agent 

Algarin De Jesús’ motorcycle 

head-on, killing him 

instantly. 

Agent Luis Algarin De 

Jesús had served with the 

Puerto Rico Police Department 

for 30 years and 

was assigned to the Santa 

Isabel District. 

AGENT LUIS ALGARIN DE JESUS 



HILLSDALE, MI. 

Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Deputy William Butler was shot and killed 

while assisting another deputy with a traffic stop. 

HILLSDALE COUNTY, MI. 

(WILX) - The Hillsdale County 

deputy who was shot and 

killed Thursday afternoon has 

been identified by the sheriff. 

Hillsdale County Sheriff Scott 

Hodshire said Deputy William 

Henry Butler Jr., 51, was serving 

as a backup for a detective 

sergeant with the Hillsdale 

County Sheriff’s Office who 

was conducting a traffic stop 

at the time of the shooting. 

The sheriff said during the 

traffic stop, the detective sergeant 

recognized the driver for 

having outstanding warrants. 

Eric Fiddler, 34, the passenger 

in the car, reportedly refused 

to give his identity. After his 

identity was known, the sheriff 

said they soon learned that 

Fiddler also had warrants out 

for his arrest. An arrest was 

attempted, but the sheriff said 

Fiddler resisted. 

Fiddler allegedly shot and 

killed Butler on June 27 just 

after 2 p.m. in the area of 

Beecher Road and Lamb Road 

in Hillsdale County. Fiddler ran 

from the scene. Michigan State 

Police told News 10 that Fiddler 

was found at around 6:15 

p.m. Thursday and was fatally 

shot by officers. 

DEPUTY WILLIAM BUTLER JR. 

The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s 

Office hasn’t had an officer die 

in the line of duty in nearly 100 

years. 




HOUSTON, TX. 

An illegal immigrant accused of raping and murdering 12-year old Jocelyn 

Nungaray, wore an ICE ankle monitor when the crime occurred. 

HOUSTON, TX. – A suspect in 

the murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn 

Nungaray in Houston last 

month was wearing an Immigration 

and Customs Enforcement 

agency (ICE) ankle bracelet at 

the time of the crime. 

Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, 

one of the suspects behind the 

murder, appeared in court at the 

Harris County Criminal Courts, 

where it was revealed that he 

was wearing the ankle monitor 

at the time he allegedly murdered 

Nungaray. 

The ankle bracelet was provided 

to him when he was arrested 

by Border Patrol agents after 

entering the country illegally 

and being released from custody, 

with ICE telling Fox News in a 

statement Friday that he “illegally 

entered the U.S. without 

inspection, parole or admission 

by a U.S. immigration officer on 

an unknown date and at an unknown 

location.” 

Judge Josh Hill, who presided 

over Monday’s proceedings, also 

noted that Ramos and 21-yearold 

Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 

the other suspect in the case, 

faced allegations that they were 

attempting to gather money to 

flee town. 

Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, was found strangled to death in a Houston creek 

this week. (Fox Houston courtesy of the Nungaray family) 

The judge set Ramos’ bail to 

$10 million during the appearance, 

more than double the $5 

million requested by prosecutors. 

Pena’s defense had suggested 

a bail set at $1 million, but the 

judge argued he represented an 

“astronomical” flight risk and 

said the chances of the suspect 

returning to court would be 

“near zero.” 

If Ramos were to make bail, 

the judge ordered that he must 

wear a GPS monitor, be on house 

arrest 24/7, remain in Harris 

County, have no contact with 

the other suspect or the victim’s 

family, not have contact with 

anyone under the age of 18, not 

be in possession of firearms, 

drugs, or alcohol, and to surrender 

his passport. 

Ramos and Martinez are accused 

of luring the young girl 

under a bridge in Houston before 

tying her up and killing her. 

“In this case the defendant 

lured a 12-year-old under a 

bridge, where he and his co-defendant 

remained with her for 

over 2 hours, took her pants off, 

tied her up, and killed her, then 

threw her body into the bayou,” 

Harris County Assistant District 

Attorney Michael Abner wrote. 

Investigators were able to use 


Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, left, and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez have been charged in the killing of Jocelyn 

Nungaray in Houston, Texas, on Monday, June 17. (Harris County Jail) 

surveillance video to track the 

movements of the two before 

and after the killing, police said. 

“In this case the defendant 

lured a 12-year-old under a 

bridge, where he and his co-defendant 

remained with her for 

over 2 hours, took her pants off, 

tied her up, and killed her, then 

threw her body into the bayou,” 

Harris County Assistant District 

Attorney Michael Abner wrote. 

Fox News reported that the two 

suspects from Venezuela had 

entered the U.S. illegally before 

being released from custody. An 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

(ICE) spokesperson 

confirmed the news on Friday, 

saying in a statement that “Martinez 

and Pena both illegally entered 

the U.S. without inspection, 

parole or admission by a U.S. 

immigration officer on an unknown 

date and at an unknown 

location.” 

“On March 14, Martinez was 

apprehended by the U.S. Border 

Patrol near El Paso, Texas. That 

same day he was released on an 

order of recognizance with a notice 

to appear,” the spokesperson 

added. “Pena was apprehended 

by the U.S. Border Patrol on May 

28 near El Paso. He was also 

released on an order of recognizance 

with a notice to appear 

the same day he was apprehended.” 

Investigators used surveillance 

video to track the movements 

of Martinez-Rangel and Peña Ramos 

before and after the killing, 

Houston police Lt. Stephen Hope 

said. 

Houston Mayor John Whitmire 

said that Nungaray had been at 

a convenience store, talking to 

her 13-year-old boyfriend on the 

phone after sneaking out of her 

family’s apartment. The boyfriend 

told investigators that he 

could hear Nungaray talking with 

two people. 

Martinez-Rangel and Peña 

Ramos, meanwhile, started their 

evening at a restaurant together 

on Sunday night, police said. 

They left the restaurant and 

then were seen meeting with 

Nungaray and talking to her 

for a few minutes. Later, Martinez-Rangel 

and Peña Ramos, 

along with Jocelyn, walked to a 

7-Eleven convenience store. 

Afterward, the three of them 

walked to a bridge, where investigators 

said Nungaray was 

murdered. Martinez-Rangel and 

Peña Ramos then walked to the 

apartment they shared and left 

the girl’s body behind, police 

said. Police believe the pair lived 

in the same apartment complex 

as Nungaray. 



BEL AIR, MD. 

An illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was charged in the rape and 

murder of Rachel Morin, a Maryland mom of 5. 

HARTFORD COUNTY, MD. – An 

illegal migrant from El Salvador 

is responsible for the murder of 

Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother 

of five, police announced. 

In a press conference on Saturday, 

Hartford County Sheriff 

Jeffery Gahler said that Victor 

Martinez-Hernandez was arrested 

late Friday night and booked 

on Saturday morning. 

“Five hours after meeting with 

[Morin’s] family and just before 

midnight our time, police in 

Tulsa, Oklahoma assisted by our 

federal partners, located and arrested 

Rachel’s murderer: Victor 

Antonio Martinez-Hernandez,” 

Gahler said. 

He was charged with first-degree 

murder and first-degree 

rape. 

The 23-year-old migrant illegally 

crossed into the United 

States in February 2023, police 

announced. 

“We all suspected that Rachel 

was not his first victim,” Gahler 

said. “It is my understanding that 

this suspect, this monster, fled to 

the United States illegally after 

committing the brutal murder of 

a young woman in El Salvador a 

month earlier, in January 2023.” 

Gahler said that their first DNA 


match for Martinez-Hernandez 

was from a Los Angeles attack in 

March 2023. 

“Once in our country, and likely 

emboldened by his anonymity, 

he brutally attacked a nine-yearold 

girl and her mother during a 

home invasion in March of 2023 

in Los Angeles,” Gahler said. “And 

as everyone I believe is aware, 

that was our first DNA match 

linking Rachel’s case to the one 

in Los Angeles.” 

The sheriff turned his attention 

to the crisis at the Southern border, 

directing his remarks to the 

White House and to “both members 

of Congress.” 

“We are 1800 miles north of 

the southern border,” Gahler 

Maryland mom Rachel Morin 

said. “And American citizens are 

not safe because of their failed 

immigration policies.” 

Hartford County woman has 

lost her life to a criminal in our 

country illegally,” he said, repeating 

his statement. “In both 

cases, they are suspects from 

El Salvador with ties to criminal 

gangs. This should not be happening.” 

“Victor Hernandez did not 

come to this country to make a 

better life for him or his family, 

he came here to escape the 

crimes he committed in El Salvador. 

He came here to murder 

Rachel and God-willing, no one 

else,” he said. 

“But that should have never

Victor Martinez Hernandez, 23, was arrested in the murder of Rachel Morin 

(Harford Co. Sheriff’s Office) 

been allowed to happen,” Gahler 

said. 

Morin, 37, was reported missing 

in August by her boyfriend, 

who said she never returned after 

going out for a run on the Ma 

& Pa Trail, a pedestrian trail in 

Bel Air, a quiet and typically safe 

town about 28 miles northeast 

of Baltimore, Aug. 5, 2023. 

Her body was found on a trail 

the following day. 

In February, police released 

new sketches of, now identified, 

Martinez-Hernandez. 

The sketches came after DNA 

evidence linked Martinez-Hernandez 

to the scene of a Los Angeles, 

California home invasion. 

Police used the Combined DNA 

Index System (CODIS), which led 

them to a single DNA match for 

an unidentified Hispanic male. 

The Los Angeles Police Department 

(LAPD) collected a hat left 

behind at the scene of the March 

2023 home invasion that turned 

violent, leaving multiple people, 

including minor children, injured. 

The suspect allegedly broke 

into the home in the middle of 

the night and assaulted the family 

inside before he was chased 

out. Surveillance video footage 

captured the man leaving, shirtless, 

through the front door. 

“I’m going to make this short 

because I’m very emotional,” 

Rachel’s mother, Patricia Morin, 

said. “I just want to take 

this time to thank all the law 

enforcement for all their hard 

work.” 

“They just really cared for our 

family and for our daughter,” she 

said. “They were going to diligently 

work and find the person 

who murdered her.” 



SYRACUSE, NY. 

Man suffocated woman on her 21st birthday and buried her body in 

a Syracuse park, prosecutor says. 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A 21-yearold 

man from Ecuador, suffocated 

a woman on her 21st birthday 

and then hid her body in a Syracuse 

park, prosecutors said. 

The man buried the woman in 

a shallow grave about 15 feet 

back from trees in Lincoln Park 

on the city’s North Side, according 

to prosecutor Alphonse Williams. 

The man was staying in 

an Airbnb diagonally across the 

street from the park, he said. 

The man, Jhon Moises Chacaguasay-Ilbis, 

was charged 

with second-degree murder and 

concealment of a human corpse, 

according to records from the 

Onondaga County Justice Center 

jail. He was booked in the jail 

Wednesday afternoon. 

Chacaguasay-Ilbis had travelled 

to Central New York last 

week to meet the woman, Joselyn 

Jhoana Toaquiza, for her 

birthday on Tuesday, June 18, 

Williams told syracuse.com | The 

Post-Standard. People have told 

prosecutors that the two had 

gone to primary school together 

in their home country of Ecuador, 

Williams said. 

Chacaguasay-Ilbis can be seen 

walking into the Airbnb at 916 

Hawley Ave. around 4:20 p.m. 

June 18 with Toaquiza, according 

to surveillance video the property 

owner shared with family and 

police. 

Three hours later, the video 

shows him carrying Toaquiza on 

his back, with her arms and legs 

wrapped around him. She appears 

limp and doesn’t move. It’s 

not possible to tell if she’s alive. 

Williams said the owner of the 

Airbnb told police that there was 

blood found in the home. 

Chacaguasay-Ilbis later returned 

to the Airbnb, and exited 

soon after with new clothes on, 

the video shows. 

He hopped into a waiting Lyft 

minivan to the local Greyhound 

station, Williams said, and 

boarded a bus with a ticket to 

New York City. 

Chacaguasay-Ilbis turned 

himself in to the police Tuesday 

evening in Spring Valley in Rockland 

County, Williams said. The 

suburban community is located 

about 35 miles northwest of New 

York City, near the New York- 

New Jersey line. 

It is not clear what he had 

been doing for the past week, 

if he is employed or where he 

resides, Williams said. 

Chacaguasay-Ilbis travelled 

Joselyn Jhoana Toaquiza 

to the United States last year 

and surrendered himself at the 

border, Williams said. He was 

released, Williams said, and may 

be applying for asylum. 

Syracuse police picked up Chacaguasay-Ilbis 

on Wednesday 

morning from Spring Valley and 

transported him back to Central 

New York, police said in a news 

release Wednesday evening. He 

is scheduled to be arraigned 

Thursday morning. 

Her uncle, Paul Toaquiza, said 

she lived with him, his wife and 

children on the city’s North Side. 



ALBANY, NY. 

An Illegal immigrant from Turkey accused of raping NY teen, had 

slipped into the US through San Diego. 

ALBANY, NY. – An illegal immigrant 

from Turkey is accused of 

raping a 15-year-old New York 

girl in his car after threatening to 

beat her with a pipe, according 

to local reports. 

Sakir Akkan, 21, forced the girl 

into his green Toyota Prius on 

May 14 but was not captured 

until June 18, the Albany Times- 

Union reported. 

Border Patrol agents arrested 

him in November 2023 at the 

U.S.-Mexico border in California 

and released him into the interior, 

according to the paper. Then 

he obtained a New Jersey driver’s 

license and a car and settled 

in Troy, New York. 

Albany police later confirmed 

to Fox News that Akkan is not a 

U.S. citizen. 

According to the incident 

reports, Akkan coerced the girl 

into his backseat with a pipe, 

removed her clothes and raped 

her there despite her attempts to 

push him away. 

He was being held in an Albany 

jail without bail. He is due back 

in court Thursday afternoon. 

Court records show Akkan had 

been stopped in another jurisdiction 

for an alleged traffic violation 

12 days before his arrest. 

He has pleaded not guilty to a 

first-degree rape charge. 



UVALDE, TX. 

Former Uvalde ISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo and a second 

school officer were both charged with child endangerment in the 

Uvalde school shooting response. 

BY ALEJANDRO SERRANO, 

The Texas Tribune 

A pair of indictments released 

Friday, levied multiple state jail 

felony charges of child endangerment 

against former Uvalde 

schools police Chief Pete Arredondo 

and one of his former 

officers for their response to the 

2022 Robb Elementary School 

shooting. 

The indictments detail the first 

criminal charges to be brought 

against law enforcement who 

were called to the deadliest 

school shooting in Texas history. 

The 10-count indictment against 

Arredondo, accuses him of placing 

10 children who survived the 

shooting in imminent danger by 

giving directions that delayed the 

police response and for failing to 

heed his training. 

Former district officer Adrian 

Gonzales was also indicted on 

29 counts of child endangerment, 

according to a separate 

indictment. Gonzales is accused 

of putting 29 children in imminent 

danger by failing to act to 

impede the shooter, suggesting 

that Gonzales had time to engage 

the shooter, after hearing 

shots and being advised of the 

shooter’s location, before the 

shooter entered the classrooms. 

Gonzales, the indictment reads, 

“failed to otherwise act in a 

way to impede the shooter until 

after the shooter entered rooms 

111 and 112 of Robb Elementary 

School and shot at a child or 

children in Rooms 111 and 112.” 

The May 22, 2022 shooting, 

left 19 children and two teachers 

dead before Border Patrol agents 

killed the shooter. 

The alleged failures by Arredondo 

include not identifying 

the situation as an active shooting 

after hearing shots fired 

and learning that a teacher and 

students had been wounded — 

Arredondo instead called for a 

SWAT team and ordered officers 

to evacuate a wing of the school 

— and not setting up a command 

center or enacting a response 

plan, which the indictment said 

paralyzed the response as law 

enforcement officers from local 

to federal agencies arrived at the 

school with no direction. 

Arredondo also failed to determine 

if the door to one of 

the classrooms where children 

remained with the shooter was 

locked and failed to provide 

keys and breaching tools to get 



into the classrooms in a “timely” 

manner, according to the indictment. 

The indictment calls Arredondo 

the designated incident 

commander at the scene; shortly 

after the shooting Arredondo 

said he did not consider himself 

the incident commander and that 

he never gave any orders. The 

indictment alleges that Arredondo 

decided to delay a breach 

until other classrooms were 

evacuated. Both Arredondo and 

Gonzales were booked into the 

Uvalde County Jail and released 

on bond. 

Hundreds of law enforcement 

waited 77 minutes before the 

Border Patrol team rushed the 

room where the shooter was 

located and ended the standoff. 

A grand jury returned the indictments 

six months after being 

convened and more than two 

years after the massacre. District 

Attorney Christina Mitchell said 

Friday that she had no comment. 

Since the shooting, reviews by 

the state and federal government 

identified an assortment of 

failures in leadership, communication 

and training that resulted 

in children becoming trapped 

with the gunman for more than 

an hour. 

Reporter Kayla Guo contributed 

to this story. 

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NEW YORK, NY. 

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg condemned for dropping charges against 

30 pro-Hamas rioters. 

BY Matthew Holloway 

NEW YORK, NY - A majority 

of the pro-Hamas rioters who 

illegally occupied Columbia University 

buildings in New York City 

have had their charges dropped 

by Manhattan District Attorney 

Alvin Bragg during hearings on 

Thursday generating severe criticism. 

Reporting published Friday by 

The Washington Times observed 

that 30 of 43 rioters arrested 

during the occupation of Hamilton 

Hall at Columbia University 

saw their cases dismissed with 

Bragg’s office, citing “absence 

of criminal histories and a lack 

of evidence.” Bragg’s office 

explained that the individuals 

were wearing masks at the time 

of their arrest and surveillance 

cameras were covered. 

Manhattan Assistant District 

Attorney Stephen Millan told 

Judge Kevin McGrath, “It would 

be extremely difficult for the 

people to prove any charge of 

misconduct.” 

Another 13 people were offered 

dropped charges contingent on 

avoiding arrest for the next six 

months, however, they declined 


and are scheduled to appear for 

another hearing on July 25th as 

reported by the Columbia Spectator. 

The group complained that the 

DA’s office didn’t dismiss all of 

the defendants’ cases. At a press 

conference, a spokesman for the 

group told reporters, “We refuse 

to abandon our co-defendants 

or to tacitly endorse the state’s 

definitions of legitimate and 

illegitimate protests, while the 

same state perpetrates genocide. 

We insist that property is not 

sacrosanct, but life is. We call on 

all people to stand in solidarity 

with those who take direct action 

to resist genocidal force.” 

The blow back against Bragg 

was nearly immediate. 

The Manhattan DA, who has 

taken enormous rhetorical fire 

for declining prosecutions while 

aggressively pursuing charges 

against former President Donald 

Trump, was blasted for the move 

by many prominent figures in 

New York and beyond. 

New York’s Kiryas Joel School 

District Superintendent Joel 

Petlin told The Times, “Pro

Hamas protesters caused tens of 

thousands of dollars in damages 

and attacked a custodian at 

Columbia University. How much 

damage do you need to do in 

order for the Manhattan DA to 

prosecute you if your name isn’t 

Donald Trump?” 

Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) told 

the outlet, “This decision undermines 

the rule of law and sends 

a dangerous message that unlawful 

behavior will be tolerated. 

Peaceful protest is a fundamental 

right, but these protests 

were anything but. Breaking into 

and occupying campus buildings. 

Threatening students. Supporting 

terrorist organizations…There 

needs to be consequences.” 

He posted to X, “I am deeply 

disturbed by the recent news 

that nearly all charges against 

the Columbia University protesters 

have been dropped by DA 

Alvin Bragg’s office. This decision 

undermines the rule of law and 

sends a dangerous message that 

unlawful behavior will be tolerated.” 

“This is turnstile justice,” Michael 

Nussbaum, a 25-year Jewish 

Community Relations Council 

of New York member told The 

New York Post, “This a green 

light for chaos, a green light for 

destroying property.” 

Several police officers who 

spoke to The Post anonymously 

expressed outrage. “Lack of 

evidence?” one of them told a 

reporter. “Apparently body-worn 

camera wasn’t enough?” 

Another NYPD veteran officer 

warned, “We have a DA giving 

them what amounts to a mandate 

to push the envelope further 

now.” 

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SAN DIEGO, CA. 

New San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl unveils sweeping changes 

to department structure. 

By Lyndsay Winkley 

The San Diego Union-Tribune 


SAN DIEGO, CA — After months 

of foreshadowing, San Diego 

Police Chief Scott Wahl 

announced just days into his 

tenure as top cop that sweeping 

changes are being made to the 

department’s decades-old organizational 

model. 

The new structure is leaner at 

the top, with four fewer assistant 

chief spots, and weaves in 

more civilian professionals at 

the department’s highest levels, 

including an assistant director 

of finance. The shifts mean 

some of the agency’s top leaders 

will be demoted — something 

that hasn’t happened in 

decades. 

The chief has been teasing his 

plans for a reorganization since 

his nomination by Mayor Todd 

Gloria in March. He’s noted a 

few times that the complexity of 

policing and the department’s 

growth has outpaced the current 

organization’s capabilities. 

Wahl said the new model is designed 

to help the department 

work more efficiently and with 

more balanced workloads so it’s 

well positioned to tackle urgent 

challenges such as recruitment 

and retention struggles, 

the community’s desire for more 

engagement and transparency, 

lengthy response times and racial 

disparities. 

“We’ve been using the same 

organizational structure for four 

decades now, and it was very 

effective in the ’90s,” Wahl said 

in an interview Wednesday. Now, 

however, policing is changing 

more rapidly than the old model 

can keep up with. “We’re just 

slowly sinking. So this change is a 

big reset.” 

Some of the current structure’s 

shortcomings have long been 

obvious. For example, one assistant 

chief oversees nine division 

captains while two other assistant 

chiefs have only one captain 

each. There are also department 

functions, like internal communications, 

management of the fleet 

of patrol vehicles, officer wellness, 

juvenile services and overtime, 

that could use additional 

development and oversight, Wahl 

said. Other responsibilities aren’t 

centralized the way they could 

be, like the efforts of the department’s 

community resource 

officers. 

To help address these issues, 

Wahl is adding 11 new lieutenant 

positions and four new captain 

spots and replacing four assistant 

chiefs with commanders — 

a lower rank that sits between

captain and assistant chief. 

The new spots were created by 

reclassifying existing positions, 

some of which have long been 

vacant, Wahl said. 

The new chief will be conducting 

interviews for all assistant 

chief and commander spots, 

with the hopes of having his new 

leadership team finalized by Aug. 

3 . That introduces the possibility 

that current assistant chiefs 

may not remain on the top floor, 

and it’s unclear if all will choose 

to stay. An assistant chief hasn’t 

been demoted since 2000. 

“I made it very clear my expectation 

is that commanders 

need to be a master at networking 

in the community and with 

our cops,” he said. “I see them 

as a bridge in our community 

policing efforts, in bringing that 

community-supported policing 

approach.” 

The department’s new structure 

can be broken down into 

five areas of focus. The largest is 

Operations, which encompasses 

all the department’s patrol divisions, 

its investigative teams and 

its specialty crews like SWAT and 

neighborhood services. Planning 

and Intelligence include units 

that handle special events and 

emergencies as well as internal 

affairs, and Logistics houses areas 

such as dispatch, human resources 

and training. 

The final two areas center on 

civilian employees. 

The first is Finance, which will 

be run by an assistant director 

— an equivalent to an assistant 

chief — who will oversee payroll, 

grants and other fiscal endeavors. 

The Police Department’s budget 

will be nearly $660 million next 

fiscal year. 

“Being fiscally responsible is 

important to me, and I think it’s 

important to our taxpayers,” 

Wahl said. “We’re not for profit, 

but we’re also not for loss. I want 

to make sure that we’re spending 

the tax dollars we have efficiently 

and effectively.” 

Over the years, some community 

members have argued the 

department’s budget is bloated 

and that more money should be 

funneled into community-based 

crime prevention programs. 

Francine Maxwell , a community 

advocate and former president 

of the San Diego NAACP branch, 

said that while she appreciated 

the swift reorganization — a shift 

some felt was overdue — she 

said she would have preferred to 

see more resources being moved 

back into the community instead 

of redistributed throughout the 

department. 

“What I envisioned was something 

that cut the fat at the top, 

not just bring it down,” she said. 

The second civilian-focused 

area is an advisory group featuring 

two new positions — a 

community liaison manager and 

a public affairs manager. These 

two additions will help the department 

center its community 

policing initiatives, something 

Wahl has talked about often over 

the last several months, and help 

the department better coordinate 

with City Hall on legislative 

or policy mandates, such as the 

city’s surveillance and street 

vending ordinances. 

Wahl said that empowering 

civilian staff members will allow 

the department to “maximize the 

amount of cops we have out in 

the field, instead of pulling them 

in to do office jobs.” 

He said he wants to make sure 

that, like sworn staff, civilian 

employees who want to stay 

with the department have room 

to grow professionally. The department 

will benefit from the 

perspectives these experts will 

bring, he said. 

“It’s expertise and advice from 

somebody that’s not conditioned 

the way a police officer is to see 

the world a certain way,” Wahl 

said. 

News of the reorganization 

caused a stir when it was announced 

internally at two separate 

meetings and in a department-wide 

video Wednesday 

morning. While many acknowledged 

some of the proposed 

changes were necessary, there 

were concerns. 

Some department and community 

members questioned whether 

it was the right move to add 

more lieutenants and captains to 

a department that has sometimes 

struggled to identify and develop 

its leaders. Police officials said in 

2022 that about 700 officers had 

five years or less of experience. 

Wahl acknowledged the additional 

promotions will require 

development on the front end 

but said he hoped a larger crop 

of leaders will help diversify the 

talent pool for top spots down 

the line. 

Over the next few weeks, the 

department will be fine-tuning 

the coming changes. The Police 

Department is made up of about 

2,500 employees, including about 

1,885 sworn employees, about 

500 professional staff and another 

150 or so part-time workers. 

The department has long 

struggled to fill vacant positions, 

including more than 180 officer 

spots. 



ACROSS THE US 

The Latest Breaking News as we go LIVE. 

911 TRANSCRIPTS DETAIL 

CHAOS OF MASS SHOOTING 

THAT KILLED MINNEAPOLIS 

POLICE OFFICER. 

By Liz Sawyer, 

Star Tribune 

MINNEAPOLIS — Bullets rang 

out while she was in the bathroom. 

The caller emerged to 

find a horrific sight: two men 

mortally wounded inside the 

south Minneapolis apartment. 

Her partner lay bleeding from a 

gunshot wound to the head and 

was barely breathing. 

She hid, fearing the shooter 

would return for her. 

“My boyfriend has been killed 

inside this house. I need you to 

hurry up … and save him,” she 

told the 911 operator. 

Newly released transcripts offer 

a real-time window into the 

frantic and chaotic moments before 

officers arrived at the scattered 

scene of a mass shooting 

in Whittier on May 30 that killed 

four people, including Minneapolis 

police officer Jamal Mitchell, 

and injured three others. 

The transcripts include dozens 

of panicked emergency calls 

from bystanders, witnesses and 

victims who watched the mayhem 

unfold on a busy Blaisdell 


Avenue street last month. They 

include accounts from a motorist 

who admits to ramming the suspected 

gunman as he attempted 

to rob a man of his scooter, 

an innocent driver shot while 

passing through the intersection 

with his toddler in the car, and a 

former police captain desperate 

for help evacuating his children 

from a nearby apartment building. 

The initial 911 call came in 

around 5:15 p.m., when the unidentified 

woman pleaded with 

dispatchers to send help after 

discovering her 36-year-old boyfriend 

unresponsive with obvious 

head trauma. Another man lay 

dead in the kitchen. 

“Okay, did you see who did it?” 

the dispatcher asked. 

“No, can you just please hurry?” 

the woman begs. She inquires 

about how to treat the 

wound — and whether she 

should move his body. 

The dispatcher instructs the 

woman to stay by his side and 

remain on the phone. 

“He’s all I have,” she later says, 

sobbing. “Please.” 

That man, Mohamed Bashir 

Aden, died at the hospital eight 

days later. Osman Said Jimale, 

32, died at the scene. It’s still not 

clear what led up to the rampage, 

which spilled outside and 

down the block. 

Officer Mitchell never made it

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to the apartment. He stopped his 

squad car just over a block away, 

rushing to render aid to two 

wounded men in the street. 

The first man he approached 

ambushed and killed him, firing 

several shots at close range. 

Responding officers soon killed 

that suspect — later identified 

as 35-year-old Mustafa Ahmed 

Mohamed — during an exchange 

of gunfire. 

In the moments proceeding 

the officers’ arrival, Mohamed 

apparently attempted to steal a 

random man’s electric scooter. A 

passing Subaru driver reported 

intentionally ramming Mohamed, 

likely breaking his leg, before 

fleeing the scene. 

“I just hit a guy with my car 

that I saw assaulting and robbing 

a man, um on Nicollet and um he 

was, he tried to jump onto this 

guy’s scooter and I hit him with 

my car,” he told dispatch. 

“I believe he started shooting,” 

he continued. “I, I, I saw him 

reach into his pocket and then 

I heard pop and I urn, I, I drove 

away.” 

Multiple witnesses described 

seeing Mohamed, lying in the 

street, fire upon several passing 

motorists, including a man who 

had his 2-year-old son in the 

backseat. That driver, identified 

by the Star Tribune as Alexander 

G. Hage , 38, had pulled over to 

dial 911 after seeing Mohamed 

bleeding in the roadway and 

crying out for help, his family 

confirmed. That’s when he was 

suddenly struck. 

“I got shot. I need help,” Hage 

repeated to dispatchers twice, as 

gunfire continued to ring out in 

the background. He could not say 

where he’d been hit. The child 


was physically unharmed. 

A firefighter and a second police 

officer were also wounded 

during the back-to-back shootings 

that day. 

Minnesota law requires that 

police agencies release body 

camera footage within 14 days 

of a deadly encounter, unless 

doing so would interfere with an 

ongoing investigation. 

Chief Brian O’Hara issued a 

statement saying that he has 

agreed to temporarily withhold 

body camera footage from the 

incident at the request of the 

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension 

(BCA) because “releasing it may 

interfere with its investigation.” 

He did not elaborate on why that 

might be, given that the suspect 

is deceased. 

“I pledge the MPD’s full cooperation 

with the BCA’s investigation, 

and I don’t anticipate a 

significant delay in the public 

release of the body-worn camera 

video,” he said. 

A BCA spokeswoman clarified 

Tuesday that the requested 

delay was in connection with 

the double homicide inside the 

apartment. 

ATLANTA POLICE RELEASE 

BWC FOOTAGE SHOWING AR- 

REST OF JUDGE ACCUSED OF 

ASSAULTING AN OFFICER 

By Joanna Putman 

Police1 

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Police 

Department released body camera 

footage showing a county 

judge being taken into custody 

after allegedly assaulting an officer, 

11 Alive reported. 

The incident happened on 

June 20 while an Atlanta police 

officer was working an approved 

extra job at a restaurant, the Atlanta 

Police Department said in 

a news release. 

According to police, the officer 

overheard commotion nearby 

and went to investigate. As the 

officer was helping security and 

attempted to de-escalate the situation, 

“an unidentified female, 

later identified as 38-year-old 

Christina Peterson, rushed toward 

the commotion and immediately 

started screaming at the 

security guard and the officer,” 

the department stated. 

“Peterson then forcibly pushed 

the officer in the chest and kept 

swiping his hands away as he 

attempted to assist the female


eing escorted out. After pushing 

the officer again, she was placed 

into custody,” the department 

said. 

Peterson is a probate judge in 

Douglas County, according to11 

Alive. 

The body camera footage 

shows Peterson sitting handcuffed 

in a police cruiser, where 

she hurled profanities at officers 

and repeatedly refused to identify 

herself. She was eventually 

taken to the Fulton County Jail, 

facing charges of battery against 

a police officer and felony obstruction 

of law enforcement, 

according to 11 Alive. 


BWC: MAN WITH 2 SWORDS 

THREATENS BYSTANDERS BE- 

FORE FATAL OIS 

By Joanna Putman, Police1 

BELOIT, WI. — Body camera 

video released by the Beloit 

Police Department shows a man 

running at a bystander with two 

swords before being fatally shot 

by an officer, Channel 3000 News 

reported. 

The officer-involved shooting 

occurred on April 28 when 

officers were called to the same 

location twice to respond to reports 

of a man acting erratically, 

according to the report. 

Body camera video shows Officer 

Nicholas Rodenbeck speaking 

with 911 callers, informing 

them that officers were working 

to avoid a potentially deadly 

confrontation with the suspect, 

who he said was “in crisis.” 

“Property can be replaced, but 

somebody’s life can’t be replaced,” 

Rodenbeck said to the 

callers, who were seated in a 

vehicle. 

After speaking with the occupants 

of the vehicle for several 

minutes, the suspect emerged 

from behind a home with a 

sword in each hand. The suspect 

appeared to be yelling at either 

the officers or the 911 callers as 

he approached them aggressively. 

The suspect repeatedly ignored 

Rodenbeck’s instructions to drop 

the swords and yelled at the 

officers. After the man appeared 

to threaten one of the callers 

and began walking toward their 

vehicle, Rodenbeck fired several 

shots, bringing the man to the 

ground. 

Officers rendered medical aid 

to the suspect until EMS personnel 

arrived to transport him to 

the hospital. He was pronounced 

deceased shortly after arrival 

at the hospital, according to the 

report. 

The Rock County District Attorney 

announced on June 20 that 

Rodenbeck was found to have 

been acting lawfully in the officer-involved 

shooting. 

“I stand firmly by Officer Rodenbeck 

and his commitment to 

upholding the law and protecting 

the residents of our community,” 

Beloit Police Chief Andre Sayles 

stated in a Facebook post. “Our 

officers are trained to make 

split-second decisions under 

extreme pressure, and in this 

instance, Officer Rodenbeck’s 

actions were necessary to prevent 

harm.” 

BWC: MAN DRAWS GUN, 

TURNS TOWARD N.C. OFFICER 

DURING FOOT PURSUIT BE- 

FORE OIS 

By Joanna Putman, Police1 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police 

Department has released 

body-worn camera footage of 

an officer-involved shooting of 

a man who pulled a gun from 

his waistline after being told to 

raise his hands, according to a 

City of Charlotte news release. 

On February 8, Metro Division 

officers responded to an armed 

subject call, according to the release. 

The area was being monitored 

by surveillance cameras 

as part of CMPD’s crime reduction 

initiatives. A real-time crime 

center video showed a suspect 

removing a firearm from his 

waistband, manipulating it, then

concealing it again. 

Upon arrival, officers observed 

what appeared to be a drug 

transaction involving the suspect 

in the parking lot, according 

to the release. As officers 

approached, the suspect fled on 

foot. 

Video shows the officers instructing 

the suspect to show his 

hands. During the short foot pursuit, 

the suspect pulled a firearm 

from his waistband and turned 

toward the officer. 

The officer fired a single shot, 

causing the suspect to fall to the 

ground. Officers quickly placed 

the suspect into custody, recovered 

the firearm, and began 

rendering medical aid. 

The Charlotte Fire Department 

and EMS personnel responded 

to the scene. The suspect was 

transported to an area hospital 

with non-life-threatening injuries, 

according to the release. 

No officers were injured at the 

scene. 

Upon release from the hospital, 

the suspect was transferred 

to the custody of the Mecklenburg 

County Sheriff’s Office and 

charged with possession of a 

firearm by a convicted felon, 

resisting a public officer and 

carrying a concealed weapon, 

according to the release. 

LOS ANGELES METRO TO 

FORM AN INDEPENDENT PO- 

LICE DEPARTMENT AMID RISE 

IN CRIME, SOME FATAL 

By Matthew Holloway 

LOS ANGELES, CA - The Los 

Angeles Metro Board, which 

oversees mass transportation in 

Greater LA, unanimously voted 

Thursday to establish its own 

police force akin to the MTA, and 

Port Authority Police in New York 

City or the BART Police in the San 

Francisco Bay area. 

As reported by Fox News LA, 

the decision has come following 

a series of brutal, fatal outbreaks 

of violence onboard or in 

proximity to the city’s buses and 

trains. The new department to 

be christened the Transit Community 

Public Safety Department 

(TCPSD) is planned to gradually 

be stood up over five years, coming 

fully online in 2029. 

Fox reported that between 

April and May, seven violent 

attacks have occurred, three of 

which resulted in fatalities. 

In a blog post pitching the new 

department to the public, the 

Metro broke down the justification 

for the new department into 

three categories: lack of oversight, 

lack of consistency, and 

skyrocketing costs. 

Presently, Metro LA is patroled 

under contract by the LA County 

Sheriff’s Department, the LAPD, 

and the Long Beach Police Department. 

The organization explained, 

“Since 2017, our Office of 

the Inspector General has been 


conducting annual assessments 

of the law enforcement contracts 

with LASD, LAPD, and LBPD. 

Over and over, they’ve found that 

these models simply don’t provide 

enough visible presence on 

buses, trains, and other critical 

infrastructure locations. 

“Moreover, because we can’t 

monitor and oversee the individuals 

assigned to our system, we 

can’t ensure they are fully patrolling 

it.” 

India Mandelkern, writing for 

Metro, noted that an independent 

Metro Police department existed 

from 1978-1997 and was eventually 

merged with the LAPD and LA 

County Sheriff in a merger that 

“had more to do with politics 

than the in-house police force’s 

effectiveness.” 

Fox LA reported that LA County 

Sheriff Robert Luna disagreed 

and expressed misgivings about 

the formation of a new department 

on the cusp of LA hosting 

the Olympics and the (2027) Super 

Bowl. He also cited concerns 

about how quickly the department 

can hire to full staffing. 

He told reporters, “As the 

county sheriff responsible for 

public safety in this county, I 

have to make sure that with the 

World Cup coming in, the Olympics 

and the (2027) Super Bowl 

— this is not a time to experiment 

with new projects. Public 

safety is too critical to do that 

with.” 

The TCPSD will reportedly employ 

a “zone-based” deployment 

model familiar to many departments 

splitting greater LA into 

six regions where officers will 

be “responsible for patrolling 

their assigned zones, riding buses 

and trains, conducting foot 


patrols at stations, and engaging 

with both riders and Metro staff 

within their assigned stations.” 

According to the post from 

Metro LA, the “Enhanced Service 

Model,” approved by the Metro 

Board, will maintain the current 

staffing level of 386 law enforcement 

officers in the field and increase 

the number of “unarmed, 

non-law enforcement personnel 

(TSOs, Ambassadors, homeless 

outreach, and crisis intervention 

teams) by 227 to 673.” 

The budget for the department 

will also allocate $5 million for 

“public safety infrastructure 

improvements at transit stations 

(CCTV cameras, weapons 

detection, enhanced fare gates, 

and more).” Overall the plan will 

decrease costs from the current 

multi-agency model at $194 million 

to $192.6 million. 

OFF-DUTY ST. PAUL OFFICER 

FOILS ARMED ROBBERY 

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A St. Paul police 

officer was off-duty and out 

to dinner with family at a neighborhood 

restaurant when he 

found himself needing to spring 

into action to foil an armed robbery. 

The incident took place on 

Sunday, June 16, just before 6 

p.m. on the Greater East Side and 

resulted in the arrest of Drew 

Charles Larson, 39, who has 

since been charged with two 

counts of first-degree aggravated 

robbery in Ramsey County 

District Court. 

The incident was detailed in a 

post on the St. Paul Police Department’s 

Facebook page: 

“When dinner with your family 

turns into protecting the community. 

Off duty Saint Paul police 

officer Jonathan Valencia was 

enjoying dinner with his family 

on the 1600 block of White Bear 

Avenue when suddenly, a man 

stole the tip jar from restaurant 

counter. 

When the staff confronted 

the man, he pulled out a knife, 

raised it as if he intended to stab 

the staff member. 

Off duty Saint Paul police officer 

Jonathan Valencia was in 

the restaurant and jumped into 

action to save lives. He drew his 

firearm, identified himself as a 

Saint Paul police officer, and 

ordered the man to drop the 

knife, which he did immediately. 

Officer Valencia and staff members 

held onto the suspect until

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on duty Saint Paul police officers 

arrived to take him into custody. 

The suspect was charged with 

Aggravated Robbery by the Ramsey 

County Attorney’s office in 

relation to this incident. 

This goes to show that duty 

and the oath to protect do not 

have a day off. Saint Paul police 

officers are always vigilant, 

whether they’re on duty or off 

with their families.” 

Larson was granted a public 

defender at a court appearance 

last week and remains in custody 

in Ramsey County Jail on 

$25,000 bond or $2,500 cash 

bail. Larson’s next court appearance 

is scheduled for July 15. 

‘TARNISHED THE BADGE’: 

TENNESSEE POLICE CHIEF IN- 

DICTED ON 17 CHARGES FOL- 

LOWING RESIGNATION 

BY Matthew Holloway 

CHATTANOOGA, TN - Former 

Chattanooga Chief of Police 

Celeste Murphy has been indicted 

on 17 charges, according 

to the Tennessee Bureau of 

Investigation, just one day after 

she resigned from the police 

department. The former chief 

surrendered at the Hamilton 

County Jail and was released on 

a $19,000 bond. 

As reported by WRCB-TV, the 

Hamilton County Grand Jury 

indicted Murphy on charges of 

Illegal Voter Registration, False 

Entries on Official Registration 

or Election Documents, False 

Entries in Governmental Records, 

Forgery, Perjury, and Official 

Misconduct. 

The Tennessean explained that 

TBI investigators were referred 

to investigate Murphy by District 

Attorney General Pro Tem D. 


Michael Dunavant on allegations 

that she falsified government 

documents related to her establishing 

residency in the city, 

citing a press release from the 

agency. 

The initial controversy seems 

to have begun in March when 

the City of Chattanooga told the 

Nashville Fox affiliate, “The city 

auditor found allegations about 

Chief Murphy’s residence to be 

unsubstantiated. We are confident 

Chief Murphy can meet 

legal residency requirements and 

address any issues with her outof-date 

homestead exemption in 

Georgia. Mayor Kelly will execute 

the one-year extension of Chief 

Murphy’s contract as planned...” 

Local news outlet WTVC 

reported that a homestead tax 

exemption form filed by Murphy 

listed her legal residence as being 

in Fulton County, Georgia just 

a week before she was sworn 

in as Chief of Police in 2021. 

Current property tax records in 

Fulton County still demonstrate 

that Murphy is still receiving the 

homestead exemption for her 

Atlanta home. 

Subsequent to Murphy’s contract 

extension, a TBI investigation 

was launched. At that time 

Murphy stated in a Facebook 

post, “A TBI investigation was 

recently initiated about my place 

of residence. I will cooperate 

fully with the TBI investigation. 

I previously initiated an Internal 

Affairs investigation concerning 

the aforementioned inquiry. 

That IA investigation will now be 

paused until the TBI investigation 

is completed...” 

Hamilton County Mayor 

Weston Wamp wrote in a post 

to X, “Today is a sad day for our 

community. Those of us who 

have been entrusted to serve the 

public have a responsibility to 

keep that trust. The Chattanooga 

Police Department is a revered 

law enforcement agency and I 

am confident it will thrive again 

under new leadership.” 

City Council Chairman Chip 

Henderson also spoke to reporters 

Wednesday and applauded 

Murphy’s decision to resign, “I 

think since some of the controversy 

surrounding Chief Murphy 

had become a distraction, this 

was the right decision for CPD. 

The police department will be in 

good hands with interim Chief 

Summers until a new Chief can 

be found.” 

The Fraternal Order of Police 

released a statement on the 

matter, which read, “It is a disappointing 

day for law enforcement 

when an Officer or Chief 

is indicted for acting outside the 

law and tarnishes the badge we 

all proudly wear. We appreciate 

the thorough investigation by the 

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. 

We will support our interim 

Chief and will offer our sup-

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operated THEME studio 

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port to the Mayor’s Office in the 

search for Chattanooga’s next 

police chief. 

“While we are entering a time 

of uncertainty, our resolve to 

provide exceptional front-line 

services to the residents of Chattanooga 

remains steadfast. They 

deserve and expect that from 

our Membership.” 

DASH CAM VIDEO: SUSPECT 

VEHICLE COLLIDES WITH OHIO 

CRUISER HEAD-ON DURING 

PURSUIT 

By Kristen Spicker 

Dayton Daily News, Ohio 

HUBER HEIGHTS, OH. — Dash 

camera footage of a police 

chase early Saturday in Huber 

Heights has been released. 

Officers arrested a juvenile 

male after he fled a traffic stop 

around 1:43 a.m. 

He was booked into the Montgomery 

County Juvenile Justice 

Center for assault, obstructing 

official business and failure to 

comply with the order or signal 

of a police officer. 

Officers initiated a traffic stop 

on a white Chevrolet Cruze that 

had its lights off and was struggling 

to stay in its lane, according 

to police. Dash camera footage 

showed the car veering to 

the left before cutting back over 

to the right side of the road. 

Police initiated a traffic stop, 

believing the driver may be intoxicated. 

Once the officer turned on the 

cruiser’s overhead lights the 

Chevrolet accelerated and failed 

to stop at a stop sign. 

Police conducted multiple PIT 

(precision immobilization technique) 

maneuvers during the 

chase, but the Chevrolet managed 

to continue fleeing. 

At one point the car drove over 

a curb and onto a sidewalk after 

turning. 

During one of the PIT maneuvers 

video footage showed the 

Chevrolet spin around before 

coming to a brief stop facing the 

cruiser. The Chevrolet and cruiser 

then collided head on. 

The driver was able to continue 

fleeing in the car and 

eventually drove onto a lawn 

near apartments in the Bufort 

Boulevard and Fisher Drive area. 

The driver got out of the car and 

went into the apartment complex, 

according to police. 

Officers later found the driver 

in the area and took him into 

custody. 

NYPD HONORS FALLEN OFFI- 

CER BY GIVING COP GRANDSON 

HIS SHIELD NUMBER, RENAM- 

ING STREET 

By Joanna Putman 

Police1 

QUEENS, N.Y. — In a tribute to a 

fallen NYPD officer, the officer’s 

grandson, who also serves as an 

NYPD cop, was honored with a 

shield displaying the same number 

as his grandfather’s, the New 

York Post reported. 

Lt. Henry Schmiemann, who 

was shot and killed during a 

robbery while walking to work 

50 years ago, was honored with 

a street renaming ceremony on 

June 22, according to the report. 

In a poignant tribute, his grandson, 

also named Henry Schmiemann, 

received a police shield 

bearing his grandfather’s number 

during the ceremony. 

“It’s an honor to wear my 

grandfather’s shield number,” 

the younger Schmiemann said. “I 

feel like I’ve been given a responsibility 

greater than what 

is behind the NYPD, which is 

immense. I’m just glad everyone’s 

here celebrating my grandfather.” 

The new street sign was unveiled 

during the event, according 

to the report. 

“Our father left way too early, 

but we know that Henry is going 

to get the guidance and help 

from my father as he does his 

job,” said Peter Schmiemann, 

Henry’s uncle. 

The elder Schmiemann’s kill- 


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er, John Smith, is serving a life 

sentence at Wende Correctional 

Facility in Erie County but has a 

parole hearing scheduled for August, 

according to state records. 

OFFICERS CRITICIZED FOR 

SHAKING HANDS WITH TRUMP 

BEFORE 

Footage of presumptive Republican 

presidential nominee Donald 

Trump shaking hands with a 

line of police officers ahead of 

a rally in Racine, Wisconsin, has 

sparked anger on social media 

with former CIA director Michael 

Hayden saying they should 

be “ashamed” given the former 

president’s recent felony conviction. 

At the end of May, Trump was 

convicted of 34 felony charges 

of falsifying business records, 

which prosecutors said he did 

to cover up the payment of hush 

money to former pornographic 

actress Stormy Daniels ahead 

of the 2016 presidential election. 

Trump, who pled not guilty to 

the charges, has branded the trial 

“rigged” and is widely expected 

to appeal. 

Trump held a rally in the city of 

Racine, Wisconsin, on Tuesday as 

he campaigns for votes in what 

is expected to be one of the crucial 

swing seats in November’s 

election, Newsweek reports. 

The video was also posted 

on X by the Really American 

PAC, which campaigns against 

Trump-supporting Republicans. 

The account wrote: “It is absolutely 

DISGRACEFUL to see so 

many members of Wisconsin 

law enforcement ‘bend the knee’ 

to a convicted felon who still 

faces dozens of indictments. 

‘Law and order’ is now chaos and 

disorder.” 

However, Paul Szypula, a conservative 

activist with 174,000 

X followers, took a different 

view, sharing the footage with 

the comment: “President Trump 

just thanked the Wisconsin Law 

Enforcement Officers before 

getting on his plane to continue 

campaigning. 

“Joe Biden would never show 

such respect to police or any 

Americans.” 

N.C. OFFICER DIES BY SUI- 

CIDE WHILE ON DUTY 

Editor’s Note: Suicide is always 

preventable. If you are having 

thoughts of suicide or feeling 

suicidal, please call the National 

Suicide Prevention Hotline immediately 

at 988. Counselors are 

also available to chat at www. 

suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Remember: 

You deserve to be supported, 

and it is never too late to 

seek help. Speak with someone 

today. 

By Jeff A. Chamer and Ryan 

Oehrli 

The Charlotte Observer 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —An officer 

died Monday from an apparent 

self-inflicted gunshot wound 

near Charlotte Douglas International 

Airport, Charlotte-Mecklenburg 

police said. 

Brent Simpson was a K-9 officer 

who had worked at CMPD 

since 2006, according to the department. 

Before that, he served 

in the Navy as an operation specialist 

with the Military Police, 

according to CMPD. 

Police Chief Johnny Jennings 

called it a “very sad” day for his 

department at a press conference. 

He stressed the importance 

of talking about mental health. 

He asked for respect for the officer’s 

family. 

“Very sad day for our department 

which also stresses the 

fact of the importance that we 

talk about every day, when it 

comes to the mental health of 



our officers and the fact that they 

see and do things that normal 

people don’t see and do,” Jennings 

said. “And that takes its 

toll.” 

Simpson was on break off 

Steele Creek Road when his 

“e-button” was hit, according 

to dispatch radio traffic. Police 

found him at the Steele Creek 

Presbyterian Church Cemetery, 

according to the radio communication. 

Dozens of police cars were 

racing to the 7300 block of 

Steele Creek Road shortly after 

noon. That area is about a halfmile 

south of the airport. 

This is the second tragedy in 

the past few months for Charlotte 

law enforcement. 

In late April, four law enforcement 

officers were killed and 

four others injured in a mass 

shooting in east Charlotte. 

The suspect, Terry Clark 

Hughes Jr., also died in that 

shooting. An investigation into 

that shooting continues. 

BWC VIDEO SHOWS TEEN 

POINT REPLICA GUN AT N.Y. 

OFFICERS BEFORE FATAL OIS 

By Philip Marcelo and Stefanie 

Dazio, Associated Press 

NEW YORK — Video released 

late Saturday shows an officer in 

upstate New York fatally shooting 

a 13-year-old boy after he 

ran from police and pointed a 

replica handgun at them. 

The teen was killed a little 

after 10 p.m. Friday in Utica after 

officers in the city about 240 

miles (400 kilometers) northwest 

of Manhattan stopped two 

youths in connection with an 

armed robbery investigation, 

police said. 

The youths, both 13, matched 

the descriptions of the robbery 

suspects and were in the same 

area at around the same time the 

day after, police said. One was 

also walking in the road, a violation 

of state traffic law. 

The body camera video 

released by police captures 

an officer saying he needs to 

pat them down to ensure they 

don’t have any weapons in their 

possession. Immediately one of 

the two, identified by police as 

Nyah Mway, runs away. 

Authorities froze frames of 

the video where a running Nyah 

Mway appears to point the gun 

at the pursuing officers. Police 

also edited the video to insert 

a red circle around the weapon 

to show it to viewers. 


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WORKING TO ERADICATE 

VETERAN HOMELESSNESS. 

MORE THAN 3,300 RECEIVED HOUSING 

AND SERVICES IN 2023 ALONE; 

THOUSANDS MORE ARE BEING HELPED. 

NEVER FORGET 

FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller 

gave his life while saving 

others on September 11, 2001 

THE FOUNDATION HAS BEEN SUPPORTING OUR 

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OUR EVENTS INSPIRE 

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Aaron 

Tu 

RELENTL 

Words by: Dr. Tina Jaeckle 

Photos: Sgt. David Ramirez 


ESS DEFENDER 

Slater and Danielle Delgado: 

rning Passion into a Mission 


Founders of ReLEntless Defender, 

Aaron Slater and Danielle Delgado 

In preparation for this cover story, 

I had the wonderful opportunity to 

get to know Aaron Slater a bit better 

so I could understand what drives his 

passion and ultimate mission to give 

back. Along with his wife, Danielle 

Delgado (also a retired LEO), Slater 

founded ReLEntless Defender and 

they have dedicated their work to 

serving and providing the best Thin 

Blue Line clothing to those who dedicate 

so much to society. In 2014, Re- 

LEntless Defender set out to design 

clothing apparel that officers could 

wear with pride. Their team discovered 

the available market was saturated 

with clip art designs printed on 

cheap shirts, hats, hoodies and more, 

mostly from companies that purported 

themselves to be ‘police owned’. 

ReLEntless Defender, the brand, was 

established as a Thin Blue clothing 

Line, built on a platform of support 

for our brothers and sisters in blue. 

Whether you’re a retired peace officer 

or just getting started, they understand 

the obstacles officers face 

each day. Many are spit at, threatened, 

abused, hated and killed, all by 

those we selflessly serve. In defiance 

of these obstacles, law enforcement 

continue to gear up and face them 

head on, becoming an unbreakable 

Thin Blue Line that separates the 

predator and its prey While the company 

is young, the staff has decades 

of combined law enforcement experience, 

careers that have successfully 

traversed every facet of our police 

culture. 



Deep Ties to Law Enforcement 

Slater, as he’s affectionately known 

by his peers, is a veteran of law enforcement 

experienced in Patrol, Field 

Training, SWAT, Criminal Investigations, 

Undercover Narcotics Investigations, 

Mid-level Supervision, and 

Command Level Supervision. He holds 

a Bachelor of Science in Organizational 

Leadership, a Master of Science 

in Criminal Justice Leadership 

and Management, is a Master Peace 

Officer, and is a graduate of the Law 

Enforcement Management Institute of 

Texas – Leadership Command College. 

He is most notable for his progressive 

leadership, innovation and implementations 

of Fitness Programs for L.E., 

Recruitment Programs, Departmental 

Rebranding, Community Policing Programs, 

Problem-Based Police Training, 

Strategic Planning and Social 

Media Programs for L.E. Agencies. He 

is the co-creator of the ROSENBERG 

Police FACEBOOK page which has 

been featured throughout the world, 

such as People Magazine, Good Morning 

America, Fox News, Police One 

Magazine, the Queen Latifa Show, and 

Australian and United Kingdom news. 

Currently, Slater is an instructor for 

(PATC) Public Agency Training Council, 

teaching the increasingly popular 

Community Oriented Policing & Social 

Media (COPSocial Media) class. 



A Mission of Giving Back 

At ReLEntless Defender, they have 

made it a priority to donate a portion 

of all sales to various police charities. 

They pride themselves in always having 

at least one item in stock, where 

they have made the commitment to 

donate 100% of the proceeds to a 

police charity of their choosing. In 

addition, ReLEntless Defender initiated 

a program in which a sales portion of 

all Thin Blue Line flags sold, will go 

towards providing a Fallen Officer’s 

family, an embroidered Thin Blue Line 

flag, at no cost to them. A final gesture 

of remembrance to honor their 

ultimate sacrifice. They are always 

looking for ways to help, but consistently 

ask for the LE community’s assistance 

to identify those in need. 

In 2016, after learning about the 

deaths of several Dallas police officers, 

Slater and Delgado took action. 

“I worked all night to create a t-shirt 

design that I launched at 5:30 am,” 

Slater said. “Then, it started blowing 

up. We raised $220,000, which we 

donated to the surviving family members. 

Ten days later, officers in Baton 

Rouge were killed, so we did the 

same thing. Then, the team’s fundraising 

efforts started snowballing from 

there. We’ve had the honor of donating 

almost $2.3 million to surviving 

family members and other causes.” 

Now, Relentless Defender supports 

many families in need. “They find us,” 

said Delgado, whose father died in the 

line of duty three years ago. “We don’t 

start fundraisers for fallen offices 

now unless a law enforcement organization 

or family member contacts 

us.” 

Learning about the team’s philanthropic 

effort isn’t hard for people. 

Slater and Delgado also sit on nonprofit 

boards like the National Law 

Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund 

and Concerns of Police Survivors 

(C.O.P.S.) Local Chapters. “We’re just 

heavily involved in the whole niche,” 

Slater said. “When an officer has 

been killed in the line of duty, someone 

will reach out and ask us to make 

memorial t-shirts to help them raise 

funds for the family. We’ve never 

turned anyone down.” 

While they have been familiar faces 

at several events as guests supporting 

survivors, the line-of-duty death 

of Danielle’s father has them now 

attending under new titles; Survivors. 

Danielle said, “C.O.P.S. has become 

more than a partnership, they have 

become family to us. Back in 2016, 

when we started the partnership, I 

never expected our bond to be this 



strong. It has never been about selling 

a product for us, it’s been about 

building bonds and making a difference.” 

Danielle’s father, Bay City 

(TX) Police Detective Juan Delgado, 

contracted COVID while on duty and 

died July 15, 2021. Detective Delgado 

had served in law enforcement 

for 43 years. All three of his children 

also serve in law enforcement. The 

family shared that the first year was 

the hardest, as is the case with most 

survivors. Danielle added, “There will 

always be a void that can never be 

filled, but we have to remember that 

our officers passed doing something 

amazing, something heroic, something 

they would do all over again if 

given the chance. It’s our job as survivors 

to say their names and make sure 

they are never forgotten.” 

Aaron and Danielle referred to their 

grief as a roller coaster that nobody 

wants a ticket to ride on. Each day 

has ups and downs. Danielle added 

some advice to newer survivors, 

saying, “At times, it’s ok to not be 

ok. C.O.P.S. survivors know grief and 

know exactly what you are going 

through, so utilize the resources they 

have available for you.” 

Achievements and Challenges 

Slater shared the following, “My 

greatest achievement is the ability to 

donate millions back to the first-responder 

community. I am also extremely 

proud to be a board director 

for the National Law Enforcement 

Officers Memorial Fund in Washington 

DC. There are probably way too 

many failures in my journey to list, 

but I have been able to overcome each 

challenge though faith and knowing 

there is a purpose for each. Stick with 

God’s plan”. 

Slater was asked what he considers 

the most urgent community, crime, 

and social issues that need to be addressed 

and he offered that “Most 

urgent is leadership. Leadership has 

suffered greatly in LE over the last 

decade. Managers have become puppets 

of the political environment. Regardless 

of how obvious many of the 

unrighteous attacks have been on LE, 

many of the new leadership falls right 

in line. Some of those examples are 

the kneeling after George Floyd incident, 

terminations of police involved 

in shootings just hours after without, 

and investigation bowing to the mob, 

etc. In the past, leadership lead with 



integrity and stood up for what was 70 plus hours a week. Second, in simple, 

true 

A Mission 

and righteous, even 

of 

if it 

Giving 

meant 

Back 

Stay Relentless! There will be 

putting their jobs the line. We need many obstacles that will make you 

to build a culture in law enforcement want to quit. Not every idea is a success 

there. but We’ve keep had pushing the honor through of donat- 

the 

that At ReLEntless brings more Defender, of a servant they leadership 

made it back a priority into the to field. donate Today a portion it is frustrations ing almost $2.3 and million fail forward to surviving towards 

have 

obvious of all sales that to the various Brotherhood police charities. is becoming 

They pride a rarity. themselves When in strong always lead- 

hav- 

Now, Slater Relentless elaborated Defender on his future supports plans 

a family continued members success”. and other causes.” 

ership ing at least is in place one item the in mentorship stock, where becomes 

they have contagious. made the I commitment also believe that to would said Delgado, like to see whose the father success was of a killed 

in many five families to ten years. in need. “In five “They years, find I us,” 

law donate enforcement 100% of the should proceeds be managed to a social in the line media of duty marketing three years company ago. I am 

more police like charity a business of their with choosing. the profits In currently “We don’t establishing. start fundraisers This will for fallen allow 

being addition, the ReLEntless community Defender support”. initiated me offices to work now unless with non-profits, a law enforcement companies 

organization and agencies or family all over member the world con- 

a Slater program offered in which the following a sales portion wisdom of 

to all new Thin officers Blue Line currently flags sold, entering will go the with tacts their us.” merchandising. I get asked 

field. towards “Make providing a difference a Fallen in the Officer’s world all Learning the time about to help the with team’s branding philan-anthropic 

effort for isn’t their hard social for media people. ac- 

you family, police. an embroidered This is a calling, Thin a Blue mis-Linsion, 

flag, at that no you cost get to rewarded them. A final for ges- 

with counts. Slater and I have Delgado taught also social sit on media non-all 

a ture paycheck. of remembrance This is not to simply honor a their job over profit the boards country like to the agencies National as Law well. 

marketing 

that ultimate you should sacrifice. be They counting are always down the As Enforcement ten years, Officers I am not Memorial sure if Fund I can 

years looking until for retirement”. ways to help, For but those consistently 

want ask for to start the LE a community’s similar company as- 

but (C.O.P.S.) I know Local with Chapters. my current “We’re medical just 

who ever and Concerns completely of retire. Police I Survivors love to work, 

may 

like sistance ReLEntless to identify Defender, those Slater in need. advised 

In 2016, “First, after be learning ready to about work harder the starting Slater said. to get “When worn an down officer faster has than 

condition heavily involved (Multiple in the Sclerosis) whole niche,” I am 

than deaths you of ever several have. Dallas Owning police a compancers, 

is never Slater based and Delgado on time, took it is action. based mentor one will the reach people out and around ask me us to make take 

offi- 

I been expected. killed I in feel the my line job of now duty, is some- 

to 

on “I worked task. You all work night until to create the tasks a t-shirt are the memorial torch and t-shirts move to it help forward”. them raise 

completed design that and I launched typically at that 5:30 requires am,” funds for the family. We’ve never 

Slater said. “Then, it started blowing turned anyone down.” 

up. We raised $220,000, which we While they have been familiar faces 

Achievements 

donated to the surviving family members. 

Ten days later, officers in Ba- 

survivors, the line-of-duty death of 

and 

at 

Challenges 

several events as guests supporting 

ton Slater Rouge left were me with killed, these so we important did the and Danielle’s insightful father final thoughts. has them “Make now attending 

out for you. under Be new the servant titles; Survivors. you were 

life 

same about thing. following Then, your the path team’s that fundraising 

put efforts here to started be, knowing snowballing life is not from always about what you receive and is more 

God lays 

about what you share to make the world a better place”. 


The The Blues Blues - July - July ‘24 ‘24 89 89

State of the Art Production 

The Relentless team includes a staff of highly skilled artists, who design 

all the t-shirts, headgear and gear in the Relentless Apparel Catalog. 


Production equipment includes four fully automatic screen presses priniting 

over 700,000 prints per year, 17 embroidery heads for hats/jackets/polos, 

a huge sublimation press to print flags/blankets/towels, a direct to film 

printer that allows to press film on just about anything, and two engraving 

machines for memorial bands/plaques/awards ... 

The The Blues Blues - July - July ‘24 ‘249191

.. to a one million dollar, fully automated direct to garment printer, capable 

of printing a different design every 22 seconds.. 

92 92 The The Blues - - July ‘24

“We are one of the only shops in Texas that has EVERYTHING under one rooftop.” 

The The Blues - July - July ‘24 93

What to Do This Summer? 

Head Down to 

Galveston Island 

Welcome to Galveston Island – the Playground of the South! 

If you’re looking for the perfect spot for your next vacation, you’ve come to the right 

place! Being less than an hour south of downtown Houston, Galveston Island is Texas’ 

friendliest and most accessible portal to the Gulf. 

There are 32 miles of beaches in Galveston, whether you’re looking for a relaxing afternoon 

soaking up the sun or an adventure through the waters as you swim, fish or sail. 

Galveston Island may be small, but offers a wide variety of things to do, no matter the 

season or interests; adventure, amusement parks, water parks and other water activities, 

sports, thrift and boutique shopping, a vast array of restaurants, biking, sports, history, 

and more tours than most can imagine. The possibilities are truly endless on your Texas 

coastal vacation! 

With Galveston Island’s friendly community of locals and its sub-tropical weather, the 

island has become a favored home-away-from-home for tourists from around the world. 

94 Go The to visitgalveston.com Blues - July ‘24 to plan your trip today.


Head Down to 


What to See & Do. 

Making the Most of Island Time. 

Galveston Island is home to some of the best attractions Texas has to offer, including Moody Gardens 

as well as Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark and the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier 

amusement park. Galveston also offers a plethora of unique museums, including The Bryan Museum, 

Texas Seaport Museum, Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum and Galveston Railroad Museum. 

Having one of the largest and well-preserved concentrations of Victorian architecture in the country, 

Galveston allows visitors to explore the island’s interesting history by touring one of its popular historic 

mansions. 

Cruise Ships 

The Port of Galveston is the fourth busiest 

home port in the United States with 

departures from Carnival, Royal Caribbean 

and Disney Cruise Lines. Need an itinerary? 

We’ve got suggestions no matter 

how much time you have before that ship 

sails. 

Historic Homes 

Although most of the original structures are long 

gone, the stories of early islanders live on in renovated 

structures and new establishments created in 

memory of the past. Visit the Homes Tour during the 

month of May. 



Head Down to 


What to See & Do. 

Making the Most of Island Time. 

Galveston Beaches 

With 32 miles of shoreline and a variety of 

parks, Galveston Island offers something for 

every kind of beach goer. And with warm Gulf 

waves from spring through October, there’s 

plenty of time to explore each beach’s unique 

personality. Whatever your sun seeking fancy, 

Galveston has a beach for you. 

Tours & Sightseeing 

Whether you prefer to stroll down quaint 

alleyways by foot or trot through the 

streets in a carriage, all paths can lead 

you on an unforgettable journey back in 

time. You’ll be entertained and enlightened 

by knowledgeable guides giving tours on 

foot, carriage, shuttle or even boat. If you 

prefer to do you own thing, we’ve assemble 

self-guided tours of popular sights 

with maps designed for mobile devices. 



Head Down to 


When You’re Hungry. 

Best Places to Eat. 

Shrimp ‘N Stuff 

3901 Avenue O Galveston, TX 77550 (409) 763-2805 

Since 1976 we have had many 

guests visiting our fine city 

from across the U.S. who tell 

us they wished they had found 

Shrimp ‘N Stuff the first day 

they arrived and assured us 

they will be back several times 

before they leave Galveston. 

If you haven’t eaten at Shrimp 

‘N Stuff then you are in for a 

real treat because we are a 

crowd pleaser. We have affordable, 

delicious seafood 

dinners, po-boys, gumbo 

and salads and have been an 

island tradition since opening 

our doors. We take our reputation 

for freshness, flavor and 

value seriously and work hard 

to ensure that every meal that 

is served meets our high standards 

of excellence. 


Katie’s Seafood House 

2000 Wharf Rd., Galveston • 409-765-5688 

For more than 20 years, Katie’s Seafood 

Market has provided the highest quality 

seafood to Galveston locals and visitors. 

In September of 2019, Katie’s husband, 

Buddy, opened Katie’s Seafood House right 

next to the store. The market supplies the 

restaurant with its fresh seafood, which is 

a unique attribute among restaurants and 

takes each dish to the next level. Stop in 

for a delicious shrimp platter and enjoy a 

house cocktail next time you in Galveston! 

The Spot 

3204 Seawall Blvd., Galveston • 409-621-5237 

Rudy & Paco 

2028 Post Office Street, Galveston • 409-762-3696 

When visiting Galveston Island, you simply 

can’t miss the Island’s most unique 

dining experience, Rudy & Paco. Awarded 

Top 100 Restaurants of 2017 and Top 100 

Romantic Restaurants of 2018, Rudy & 

Paco features grilled seafood and steak 

with a South and Central American sabor. 

Relax and unwind with your favorite 

cocktail while enjoying delicious Antojitos. 

Whether you’re dining for a special 

occasion or just grabbing a drink at the 

bar, coming to Rudy & Paco will surely 

be an experience like no other. 

Island Famous: Five Venues, One Spot: The 

Spot, Tiki Bar, SideYard, Rum Shack and 

Squeeze! You can’t go wrong at The Spot, Galveston 

Island’s premier beachfront dining and 

entertainment destination. Dive into a mouthwatering 

burger or fresh seafood, grab a beer 

and find a sweet spot to relax inside or out on 

our multi-level beachfront patios. Whether you 

want to catch the game on one of our many 

HDTVs or enjoy the sparkling views of the Gulf 

of Mexico, every seat’s the best seat in the 

house. It’s the perfect setting to hang out with 

your friends and meet new ones. 


AIRBORNE 

APSCON 2024 

WELCOME 

BELL HELICOPTER 

In 1948, Bell developed and fielded the world’s first-ever police 

helicopter – the Bell Model 47D that was delivered to the 

New York Police Department. Not only is Bell still partnered 

with that same agency, but today, Bell has expanded its reach 

by partnering with hundreds of police agencies around the 

world and on every continent. This includes more than 2,200 

airborne public safety helicopters that are in service and directly 

supported by Bell today. 

As the only American-made company that offers a range of 

five police helicopters options in total - from single engine 

patrol focused helicopters to twin engine helicopters capable 

of carrying 14 fully equipped tactical police officers, Bell is a 

global leader in the pursuit of high-intensity airborne public 

safety aviation. 

Through listening to our customers, Bell noted that there 

were various police units interested in launching an aviation 

unit. Because of this, Bell officially launched the ‘New Police 

Aviation Unit Start-Up Consulting’ option, which is a unique offering 

that is focused not just the technology innovation side of 

police aviation, but the operational developmental side as well. 

This includes two distinct focuses. First is the potential “new 

start-up” police aviation unit. Bell utilizes a specialized cadre 

of segment managers that come from the police and police 

aviation industry. Former police aviation operators, managers 

and technicians that are in place to directly assist the operational 

development of the new start-up or existing operating 

alike. This consultant-based service is free of charge to any 

police agency. The second point uniquely centers around the 


AVIATION 

Houston, Texas 


AIRBORNE 

APSCON 2024 

Booth 100 

world’s newest police helicopter, the Bell 505, where we can physically demonstrate 

the new start-up potential in the jurisdiction itself. Collectively this product and development 

stems directly from customer demand and direct referral. 

The Bell 505 incorporates and is certified under the latest aviation technology and 

safety standards, as well as the latest police mission equipment that is available on 

the market today. The same police cameras, search lights, tactical radios and other 

police mission equipment is mounted on today’s traditional police helicopters 

is mounted to the Bell 505. And although the Bell 505 is nearly half the cost of the 

older police helicopters (both in acquisition and operation), it can respond to urgent 

public safety calls at a top speed of 155mph, can carry a maximum police payload 

of 1500 pounds and provide the unique aerial perspective that only a police helicopter 

can provide. It has a patrol endurance of more than three hours and if need be a 

maximum range of more than 350 statute miles. 

At the time of this interview, Bell is working with no less than 17 agencies globally 

that are in process of establishing new police aviation units. This level of new 

start-ups is perhaps unprecedented as the number of existing police aviation units 

has typically been finite for the last 20+ years. We attribute this in part to the introduction 

of the world’s newest police helicopter, the Bell 505, and the commitment to 

supporting the new operational startups with our Key Segment Mangers. 

Not only is airborne public safety now expanding again, with public safety is enhanced. 

In turn, lives and property are saved. When matched with today’s innovative 

helicopter technology and specialized mission equipment, today’s police helicopter 

crews can respond quicker, provide faster parameters, detect within larger areas, 

and better integrate with all services than perhaps any other function in policing. 

The result…more lives saved, more subject apprehensions, and perhaps, most important, 

a greater overall officer safety. Quite simply, it’s a force-multiplier. 


AVIATION 

Houston, Texas 

Unrivaled Mission Readiness. 

World-class Global Support. 

You have to be ready for anything. That’s why Bell has been an unwavering 

partner to law enforcement agencies since 1948, delivering a range of 

trusted platforms for varied missions. Backed by our industry-leading global 

support, your team remains ever-prepared for any call that comes your way. 

bell.co/publicsafety 

CML_Blues Mag Ad_8.675x11in_070824_R00.indd 1 


7/8/24 7:37 AM


Air Beat Magazine Conference Preview Issue 2024 

CONTENTS 

8 

APSCON 2024: 

Welcome to Houston, Texas 

11 

APSCON 2024 Courses 

16 

APSCON 2024 Classes 

20 

Come Fly With Us: 

APSCON Unmanned Expands with 

Flying Arena & NIST Test Lanes 

22 

APSCON Unmanned 2024 Courses 

30 

Host Agency Profile: 

Houston Police Department 

Air Support Division: 

34 

Houston: Innovation, Industry & 

Texas-Size Scenary 

37 

Two Sides of the Coin: 

The Official 2024 APSCON & 

APSCON Unmanned Challenge Coin 

38 

Exhibit Hall Floor Plan 

24 

APSCON 2024 Networking Events 

26 

Frequently Asked Questions 

27 

APSCON 2024 Lodging 

28 

APSCON 2024 Schedule 

, 

40 

Exhibitor Directory 

57 

APSCON 2024 

Registration Form 

58 

APSCON Unmanned 2024 

Registration Form 

Air Beat magazine is published bimonthly, along with a bonus Conference Preview Issue and annual Buyer’s Guide, by the Airborne Public Safety Association, Inc. (APSA), a public benefit, nonprofit 

California corporation. Annual subscriptions are $75 (U.S.). APSA is comprised of air crew and air support personnel in public safety and others who support the educational and air safety 

objectives advanced for public safety aviation. © Copyright 2024 by the Airborne Public Safety Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this journal in whole or in part without written 

permission from the Editor is prohibited. Product and corporate names mentioned in this journal are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. The views, thoughts, 

and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the APSA, its Board of Directors, staff or membership; nor shall their publication imply endorsement on the part of APSA of 

any content or claims made therein. APSA disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and makes no judgment regarding the accuracy of posted information. In no event will APSA be liable to 

any party for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages resulting from the publication or any subsequent public distribution thereof. 


www.publicsafetyaviation.org l 5

Unrivaled Mission Readiness. 

World-class Global Support. 

You have to be ready for anything. That’s why Bell has been an unwavering 

partner to law enforcement agencies since 1948, delivering a range of 

trusted platforms for varied missions. Backed by our industry-leading global 

support, your team remains ever-prepared for any call that comes your way. 

bell.co/publicsafety 


FROM YOUR APSA BOARD 

AIRBORNE PUBLIC SAFETY 

ASSOCIATION, INC. 

50 Carroll Creek Way, Suite 260 

Frederick, MD 21701 

(301) 631-2406 • (301) 631-2466/fax 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CEO 

Daniel B. Schwarzbach 

Houston (TX) Police Department (ret.) 


e-mail: dschwarzbach@publicsafetyaviation.org 

PRESIDENT 

Richard Bray 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

PRESIDENT 

Richard Bray 

Alachua County (FL) Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit 

(352) 260-7116 

e-mail: rbray@publicsafetyaviation.org 

Houston will be the site for APSCON/APSCON Unmanned this summer. This is the 

53rd anniversary of the conference, and the city is also the site of the association’s 

very first APSCON. 

In mid-April, Executive Director/CEO Dan Schwarzbach called me and said more 

space was needed. The conference had already filled our contracted exhibit area 

but our corporate affiliates still wanted booths. The George R. Brown Convention 

Center luckily had an adjoining space available which we also began to fill up. In 

short, this will be our biggest conference ever and we hope you are able to experience 

it in person. 

On the manned side, there will be more than a dozen aircraft on display and UAS 

operators will have an actual indoor flight area within the convention center. There will 

be plenty of informative and new classes and training events taking place during 

conference week, as well as the social and networking opportunities in the evening. 

And don’t forget the APSA Awards Reception on Friday evening where the good work 

of our colleagues is recognized. Get registered for APSCON and APSCON Unmanned, 

and we look forward to seeing you in Houston! 

Richard 

Share your public safety aviation 

photos and news with us on Twitter, 

Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. 

6 AIR BEAT MAGAZINE l Conference Preview l 2024 

VICE PRESIDENT 

Dave Ellis 

Spokane County (WA) Sheriff's Office 

Air Support Unit 

(509) 477-3290 

e-mail: dellis@publicsafetyaviation.org 

SECRETARY 

Murray Maschmeyer 

Edmonton Police Service 

(780) 984-1577 

e-mail: mmaschmeyer@publicsafetyaviation.org 

TREASURER 

Lee Majors 

Leon County (FL) Sheriff’s Office Aviation Section 

(850) 528-8431 

e-mail: lmajors@publicsafetyaviation.org 

REGION DIRECTORS 

CANADIAN REGION 

Kyle Palyga 

Calgary (AB) Police Service Air Support Unit 

(403) 567-4151 

email: pol4735@calgarypolice.ca 

CENTRAL REGION 

Brandon Rose 

Texas Parks and Wildlife 

(210) 885-7540 

email: brose@publicsafetyaviation.org 

MIDWEST REGION 

Cole Martin 

Michigan State Police 

(810) 287-2128 

email: cmartin@publicsafetyaviation.org 

NORTHEAST REGION 

Sean Lonergan 

Westchester County (NY) Police Department 

Special Operations Division Aviation Unit 

email: slonergan@publicsafetyaviation.org 

SOUTHEAST REGION 

Todd Tolbert 

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 

(850) 554-1386 

email: ttolbert@publicsafetyaviation.org 

WESTERN REGION 

Jason Stanley 

King County (WA) Sheriff's Office 

(206) 423-9742 

e-mail: jstanley@publicsafetyaviation.org 

CORPORATE REPRESENTATIVE 

Terry Miyauchi 

Bell 

(928) 279-2274 

e-mail: tmiyauchi@publicsafetyaviation.org 


AIR BEAT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Daniel B. Schwarzbach 


e-mail: dschwarzbach@publicsafetyaviation.org 

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR 

Lisa A. Wright 

(727) 808-4578 

e-mail: airbeat@publicsafetyaviation.org 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

Shea Gibbs 

(773) 456-3306 

e-mail: sgibbs@publicsafetyaviation.org 

ART DIRECTOR 

Zack Mullikin 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Dan Knight 

APSA Training Program Manager 

Thad Sarton 

Sergeant, Houston (TX) Police Department 

Air Support Division 

Carl Sedita 

Sergeant, Houston (TX) Police Department 


Additional photography courtesy of: 

Houston First Corporation, Houston (TX) Police 

Department Air Support Division, Eric Jensen, 

Lauren Mudrock, Zack Mullikin, 

Tim Pruitt, Carl Sedita, visithoustontexas.com 

ADVERTISING 

Emily Tarr 

Sales Representative • (205) 563-9313 

e-mail: etarr@publicsafetyaviation.org 

GRAPHIC DESIGN 

& PRODUCTION 

Wright Publishing Group, Inc. 

www.wrightgrp.com 

Thursday, August 1 • 1300-1430 

Join APSA’s Safety Program Manager Cory DeArmitt 

and his panel of aviation experts as they address 

the safety issues that affect our survivability 

at work. Issues such as loss of control, IIMC, 

SMS implementation, fatigue and more will 

be discussed. No topic is off limits here; 

it’s all about safety and saving lives! 

George R. Brown 

Convention Center 

Room 372CF 

Be sure to attend this important symposium. 

110 “TO SERVE, The Blues SAVE AND - July ‘24 

PROTECT FROM THE AIR” 



By Dan Knight, APSA Training Program Manager 

Nicknamed the "Bayou City", "Space 

City", "H-Town", and "the 713" -- 

Houston, Texas is known for many 

things that have put it on the world 

map such as its connection to space exploration, 

diverse food scene, sports teams, 

energy industry, medical research, museums 

and cultural institutions, and so much more. 

Houston, Texas is a special place for 

APSA, as it is the city where our association’s 

conferences & expositions began 53 

years ago. Since then, Houston has a steep 

tradition of supporting APSCON, and we look 

forward to being able to show all our 

members what a great city it is. The George 

R. Brown Convention 

Center will be the location 

for APSCON 2024 

and it is in the heart of 

downtown Houston 

surrounded by athletic 

stadiums, great dining 

establishments and many 

other activities. Did you 

know that the Houston 

Astros baseball team will 

be in town during the 

conference? 

This year, we are 

offering nine courses that 

we feel are the core 

traditions of APSA. 

During the first part of 

conference week, 

Monday, July 29 to 

8 AIR BEAT MAGAZINE l Conference Preview l 2023 2024 


Wednesday, July 31, we will be offering the 

Aviation Safety Officer Course, Aviation Unit 

Manager Course, Fixed-Wing Operator 

Course, Tactical Flight Officer Course, and a 

new-and-improved Airborne Thermographer 

Certification & IR Tactics Course. On Tuesday 

and Wednesday, we will add to our 

courses the Flight Instructor Refresher 

Course as well as the Aviation Safety 

Management Systems Course. On Wednesday, 

the Inspection Authorization Renewal 

Course will be offered again for our 

awesome maintainers. New for this year, we 

are excited to offer the Coordinated 

Response to Sideshow Enforcement, a oneday 

course offered on Wednesday. This 

course demonstrates how to deter and 

prevent illegal sideshows, street racing and 

intersection takeovers. 

As we move through conference week, 

the exhibit floor opens Wednesday evening 

and attendees will get their first glimpse of 

the event floor and multitude of exhibitors 

that have brought something for everyone. 

Thursday is purposely kept light of educational 

classes and courses so that our attendees 

and exhibitors can spend time together 

on the floor. We do offer a small number of 

classes however, including Water 

Survival/Egress training presented by 

Survival Systems USA, Inc. It will start in one 

of our classrooms at the GRB Convention 

Center and then move to the pool at the 

Hilton Americas hotel. 

Thursday will include a general session 

led by the Federal Aviation Administration, a 

Safety Symposium led by our Safety 

Program Manager Cory DeArmitt with Dudley 

Crosson and Bryan Smith, as well as a 

Search and Rescue Roundtable exploring 

trends and concerns led by Charley Shimanski. 

Friday’s classes resume from 0830- 

1700 and on Saturday 0800-1200. 

Since APSA encompasses many partners 

in the “public safety” sector, we strive to 

bring in classes that represent the gambit of 

members we have. This year, we will have 

classes focused on regulatory or legal 

issues, maintenance, search and rescue, 

natural resources, aerial firefighting, airborne 

law enforcement tactics, fixed-wing operations, 

drone operations, public aircraft operations, 

procuring military excess aircraft, 

aviation safety, unit management and 

survival stories. Most classes will run 60-90 

minutes in length. 

The GRB Convention Center classroom 

layout on the 3rd Floor lends itself perfectly 

to this type of training and it allows the 

The Blues www.publicsafetyaviation.org - July ‘24 113 l 9

members to schedule their own personal 

agenda and move from classroom to classroom, 

topic to topic as they desire. As in the 

past, should you need any assistance from 

APSA and the educational staff while you are 

there, we will maintain an office in the same 

area as all the classes and courses and will 

strive to be readily available. 

APSCON 2024 will once again have Tech 

Talks on the exhibit floor. These short tech 

talks are an ideal way to hear from exhibiting 

corporate members on the latest and greatest 

technology, training, equipment, or 

anything else they may want to share. Be 

sure to look for the schedule in your 

APSCON Program Guide, which will be 

distributed on site, for the list of classes and 

times. Our corporate members would appreciate 

your stopping by, and you are sure to 

get some very good information from them 

to take home. 

APSA provides some of the best training 

available to the public safety aviation 

community through a network of very skilled 

and experienced instructors. I know for me, 

personally, having been an APSA and ALEA 

member for several years, I often reached 

out to those instructors for advice or guidance. 

And it should come as no surprise, 

they were always willing to assist. So, make 

plans to attend as many of the sessions as 

possible and make new contacts. And don’t 

forget that this event brings in people from 

all over the states from various sectors we 

represent. Get to know them, make new 

contacts, or reconnect with an old one, 

because you never know when you’ll be 

tasked to start something new, purchase 

something or take over a program. Remember 

that someone has done it already and 

you could learn a lot from them. 

If you haven’t been to Houston, come 

join us, you won’t regret it. Awesome training, 

great food, great hotels and great 

company. Houston has it all! Check our 

website at www.publicsafetyaviation.org for 

updates and registration 

information. 

It is a very exciting time 

for APSA as we gear up 

for conference week. For 

me, I am excited to be 

helping to pull this 

awesome event together 

as the new Training 

Program Manager. I am 

simply just one cog in a giant wheel to make this 

event successful, but I am very happy to be doing 

my part. Many thanks to those who have helped 

to plan APSCON 2024 and thank you members 

for participating. See you in Houston! 



APSCON COURSES 

All of these conference courses will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center. 

Airborne Thermographer 

Certification & 

IR Tactics Course 

Mon. July 29 – Wed. July 31 

0800 - 1700 Daily 

Location: 370CF 

Tactical Flight Officer Course 

Mon. July 29 - Wed. July 31 

0800 - 1700 Daily • Location: 372AD 

The Tactical Flight Officer Course is designed to provide 

aircrew members the tactical skills and information necessary 

to safely and successfully support ground units engaged in a 

variety of law enforcement missions. Although specifically 

designed for tactical flight officers, this course is applicable to 

pilots and crew members alike and it is also a valuable course 

for unit supervisors. Attendees will learn the elements of crew coordination, gain knowledge 

on how to set up a perimeter, direct the activities of ground units from the air, 

manage a vehicle pursuit and conduct a thermal imagery search using the latest in 

airborne tactics. Additionally, attendees will learn what specialized equipment is available 

and how to properly use the most common tools. This class is essential to the professional 

development of aviation law enforcement personnel and meets one of the requirements 

for TFO training related to accreditation. This course is sponsored by MD Helicopters, 

Inc. Maximum enrollment is 70. 

Cost: $395 members; $495 non-members 

Sponsored by 

Taught by Sponsored by 

industry 

experts with 

thousands of 

hours of 

actual experience. New for 2024, on 

Day 2, students will break out to their 

individual rotor- or fixed-wing track and 

receive instruction from rotor- or fixedwing 

specific instructors on techniques 

that are individual to the aircraft. 

Students return to continue learning 

together on Day 3. The course offers 

certification as an Airborne Thermographer 

to qualified students who attend 

all 24 hours of training, pass the written 

exam and demonstrate proficiency 

on the use of a static airborne thermal 

imagery system. The Airborne Thermographer 

Certification portion of the 

course is presented by Brian Spillane 

of Teledyne FLIR, who is a Certified 

Thermographer Instructor. Also 

included is an incident debrief hosted 

by Kris Kubasta, who won the APSA 

2018 TFO Award for his role in 

handling a hostage taking and subsequent 

OIS in San Jose, CA. Kris will 

walk students through the incident and 

explain lessons learned in the critical 

incident aftermath. This course is an indepth 

study of airborne thermal 

imagery use in the areas of tactics, 

technology and theory. The course is 

sponsored by Teledyne FLIR and 

presented by Tactical Flying, Inc. Maximum 

enrollment is 65. 

Cost: $395 members; 

$495 non-members 

www.publicsafetyaviation.org l 11 




Aviation Safety 

Officer Course 


0800 - 1700 Daily 

Location: 371AD 

This course Sponsored by 

is designed 

to provide 

both the 

newly-assigned and/or experienced 

Aviation Safety Officer (ASO). The class 

incorporates all aspects of successfully 

implementing a Safety Management 

System (SMS), understanding the duties 

and responsibilities of an ASO, public 

aircraft laws, initial and preliminary accident 

investigation, and more that a ASO 

must know. Successful completion 

requires attendance at all 24 hours of 

classroom instruction. This course is 

intended for public safety ASO’s that 

are responsible for the safety program 

of a public safety aviation unit. It is 

highly recommended that students have 

attended SMS training prior to attending 

this course. Sponsored by Loft Dynamics 

AG. Maximum enrollment is 70. 



Public Safety Aviation 

Unit Manager Course 


0800 - 1700 Daily 

Location: 371BE 

This course is Sponsored by 

designed to 

provide both the 

newly-assigned 

and/or experienced aviation unit 

managers with the latest information 

relative to aviation unit management in 

support of public safety operations. The 

student will obtain valuable guidance 

from experienced public safety professionals 

that will allow them to effectively 

and efficiently manage and lead their 

agency’s aviation unit. Specific topics 

include aviation safety, personnel selection, 

organization, training, creative 

finance and budgeting, legal responsibilities, 

maintenance and SOP development 

– all geared toward what a public safety 

aviation unit manager must know. 

Successful completion requires attendance 

at all 24 hours of instruction. This 

course is sponsored by Airbus. Maximum 




Aviation Safety 

Management 

Systems Course 

Tues. July 30 – Wed. July 31 

0800 - 1700 Daily 


Effective risk management compels 

organizations to genuinely examine how 

they conduct their operations and make 

the safety decisions involving those 

activities. A Safety Management System 

(SMS) is an organization-wide, comprehensive 

and proactive approach to 

controlling the impact of hazards. This 

course is designed as an introduction to 

SMS and will properly equip participants 

with the necessary knowledge and skills 

to effectively implement a real-world 

SMS in their unit or agency. Successful 

completion requires attendance at all 24 

hours of classroom sessions. This 

course meets the SMS training requirement 

for the APSAC accreditation standards. 

Presented by CY Consulting Solutions. 

Maximum enrollment is 70. 







Maintenance IA 

Renewal Course 

Wed. July 31 

0800 - 1700 

Location: 370AD 

This course provides Sponsored by 

several sessions relevant 

to aviation maintenance 

and maintenance 

management. The course is developed 

as an 8-hour dedicated maintenance 

course for members that are maintenance 

technicians. The classes are instructed by 

maintenance experts from across the 

aviation industry and includes a variety of 

topics. FAA IA Renewal Course Approval 

Number: C-IND-IM-190411-K-012-001 

(4/30/2026). This course is sponsored 

by RMCI, Inc. 

Cost: FREE for APSA Members, 


Coordinated Response 

to Sideshow/ 

Intersection 

Takeovers Course 

Wed. July 31 

0800 - 1700 


This course is designed to provide 

instruction to prevent and deter illegal 

“sideshows”, such as street racing and 

intersection takeovers. Instruction covers 

every facet of sideshow enforcement to 

include the dangers of sideshows, their 

evolution to what they have become 

today, tactics and failed tactics previously 

attempted, officer safety in enforcement, 

proven tactics in shutting down and deterring 

sideshows, legal implications, as well 

as establishing local ordinances and prosecution 

of arrests and citations. Students 

will receive instruction from instructors 

Nick Byrd, Christian Smith and Kris 

Kubasta who pioneered effective strategies 

in successfully addressing sideshows 

and intersection takeovers from their own 

experience with their own agency. Maximum 




Flight Instructor 

Refresher Course 

Tues. July 30 – Wed. July 31 

0800 - 1700 Daily 


This course is a FAA-approved Flight 

Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC). All 

of the training will be provided by a 

team of professional instructors from 

Helicopter Institute, Inc. The FIRC 

course is designed for flight instructors 

who wish to renew their current flight 

instructor certificates under Federal 

Aviation Regulation Part 61, while 

honing their knowledge and skill with 

the latest developments in standards, 

regulations and helicopter flight instructional 

techniques. Presented by Helicopter 

Institute, Inc. Maximum enrollment 

is 70. 



Fixed-Wing 

Operations Course 

Mon. July 29 – Wed. July 31 

0800 - 1700 Daily 


This course is Sponsored by 

designed to 

provide the 

student with 

an extensive education related to the 

operation of fixed-wing aircraft for public 

safety use. In times of fiscal constraints, 

fixed-wing aircraft have proven to be an 

economical solution to providing aviation 

assets for public safety agencies. The 

curriculum for this course will guide the 

student through the various missions and 

applications of fixed-wing aircraft operations. 

In addition, the course extensively 

covers the use of these aircraft in all 

aspects of public safety airborne operations. 

Successful completion requires 

attendance at all 24 hours of classroom 

instruction. Sponsored by Pilatus Business 

Aircraft. Maximum enrollment is 70. 









MONDAY • JULY 29, 2024 

TIME COURSE ROOM 

Airborne Thermographer Certification & IR Tactics Course 

Sponsored by Teledyne FLIR; Presented by Tactical Flying, Inc. 

370CF 

0800 – 1700 

Aviation Safety Officer Course 

Sponsored by Loft Dynamics AG 

Fixed-Wing Operations Course 

Sponsored by Pilatus Business Aircraft 

371AD 

370BE 

Public Safety Aviation Unit Manager Course 

Sponsored by Airbus 

371BE 


Sponsored by MD Helicopters, Inc. 

372AD 

TUESDAY • JULY 30, 2024 




370CF 

0800 – 1700 

Aviation Safety Management Systems Course 

Presented by CY Consulting 





Flight Instructor Refresher Course 

Presented by Helicopter Institute, Inc. 





371CF 

371AD 

370BE 

372BE 

371BE 

372AD 




WEDNESDAY • JULY 31, 2024 


0800 – 1700 



Aviation Safety Management Systems Course 

Presented by CY Consulting 



Coordinated Response to Sideshow/ 

Intersection Takeovers Course 



Flight Instructor Refresher Course 

Presented by Helicopter Institute, Inc. 

Maintenance IA Renewal Course 

Sponsored by RMCI, Inc. 





370CF 

371CF 

371AD 

372CF 

370BE 

372BE 

370AD 

371BE 

372AD 



APSCON CLASSES 

All APSCON classes will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Tech Talks will be 

conducted on Thursday and Friday at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The Tech Talk 

schedule will be posted in the onsite APSCON 2024 Program Guide for your convenience. 

THURSDAY • AUGUST 1, 2024 

Water Survival/ 

Egress Classroom Instruction 

0800 – 1630 

Survival Systems USA, Inc. will conduct Water Survival 

and Egress Training, where students will learn from a 

team of experts how to egress after ditching in water 

and how to use your emergency air and survival vest. 

Equipment and techniques will be discussed in a classroom-ground 

school setting, followed by practical application 

in the dunker at the hotel pool. The registration 

fee for members is $295, plus a waiver form that must 

be completed prior to training. 

Survival Systems USA, Inc. 

Room 371AD / 

Hilton Pool 

1030 – 1600 NETWORKING & TRADESHOW Exhibit Hall 

EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS 

1000 – 1130 General Session: FAA Security Issues Instructor TBD 

Room 

372CF 

Facilitated by Cory DeArmitt, 

APSA Safety Program Manager 

1300 – 1430 

Safety Symposium 

Panelists: 

Dudley Crosson, PhD, 

APSA Aeromedical Liaison/Delta P, Inc. 

Dan Knight, 


Room 

372CF 

Chris Young, 

Pik West Insurance Agency 

1500 – 1630 

SAR Round Table- Trends, Concerns, 

Working Group and Online Meetings 

Dan Knight, 


Charley Shimanski, 

ICAR President 

Room 

372CF 


16 AIR BEAT MAGAZINE l Conference Preview l 2024


FRIDAY • AUGUST 2, 2024 

Accidents in Helicopter Rescue Operations 

(Search and Rescue) 



Cory DeArmitt, 

APSA Safety Program Manager 

Room 

370BE 

Covering Smuggling Techniques and Scenarios 

Involving Kilo Packages Across the Country 

(Tactics) 

Kenny Maldonado, 

FAA LEAP 

Room 

370AD 

Degraded Visual Environment Induced 

Spatial Disorientation (Natural Resources) 

Tyson Phillips, 

AT Systems, LLC 

Room 

371CF 

0830 – 1000 

PPE and Fire Resistant Clothing (Safety) 

Skip Tackett, 

Brunner Aerospace, LLC 

Room 

372AD 

Public Aircraft Operations: Review and Update 

(Aircraft Acquisition) 

Don Roby, 

Airborne Public Safety Association 

Room 

370CF 

Public Safety Aviation Unit Commanders Round 

Table (Unit Manger/Round Table) 

Richard Bray, 

APSA President/Chief Pilot, 

Alachua County (FL) 

Room 

371BE 

TFO Selection and Assessment 

(Training) 

Clay Lacey, 

Texas Department of Public Safety 

Room 

371AD 

Air Support to K-9 Operations 

(Tactics) 

Clay Lacey, 


Room 

370AD 

An Aircraft Ditching in Austin - A Survival Story 

(Training) 

Dwyane Havis, 


Room 

371AD 

CFI Roundtable Discussion (Training) 

Randy Rowles, 

Helicopter Institute/ 

FAA Designated Examiner 

Room 

371BE 

FAA UAS Update - What's New 

(UAS) 

Mike O'Shea, 

FAA Program Manager, Public 

Unmanned Aircraft Operations 

Room 

381C 

1030 – 1200 

Human Performance Part 1 

(Aeromedical) 

Dudley Crosson, 


Room 

372AD 

Lost Person Behavior 


Ken Solosky, 

NYPD Air Support (Ret.) 

Room 

370BE 

Manned / Unmanned Airspace Deconfliction 

(Tactics for Drone and Manned Aviation) 

Robert Cameron, 


Room 

371CF 

Jason Day, 


Success Stories in the Use of Drone 

in Public Safety (UAS) 

Matthew King, 

Aurora Uncrewed Test Site 

Room 

381B 

Robert Dooley, 

Florida Highway Patrol 

US Army Exchange Sales Program 

(UH60, C-12, UAS) 

Gerald Dwyer, 


Room 

370CF 

The www.publicsafetyaviation.org Blues - July ‘24 121 l 17


FRIDAY • AUGUST 2, 2024 

Airborne Use of Force 

(Tactics) 

Mike Peck, 

Paladin Resources Group, Inc. 

Room 

370AD 

Drone Support of K-9 Operations 

(UAS) 

Doug Daniels, 

APSA Deputy Director, 

Midwest Region 

Room 

381B 

1300 – 1430 

Effective Leadership Traits and Styles 

(Unit Manager) 

Terry Miyauchi, 

Bell/Arizona Dept. of 

Public Safety (Ret) 

Room 

371AD 

Introduction to Grants 


Tony Minnis, 

Commander (Ret) 

Orange Co. (FL) Aviation Section 

Room 

370CF 

SOP's and SOG's in Helicopter Rescue 




Room 

370BE 

Gen 5 Aircrew Tactics - Modern Tactics 

for Effective Public Safety Air Support 

(Safety/Tactics) 

Bryan Smith, 

Pinellas County (FL) 

Sheriff’s Office Flight Unit 

Room 

372AD 

1330 – 1500 

The Impact of AAM on Public Safety - 

Walmart/Amazon/Wing 

(UAS/Manned/Regulatory/Roundtable) 

-Moderator- 

Jason Day, 


Room 

381C 

Maintenance Technician Roundtable 

(Training/Round Table) 

Mike Broderick, 

Rotor Doc, LLC 

Room 

371BE 

Overview Of Texas Parks and Wildlife 

(Natural Resources) 

Brandon Rose, 

APSA Central Region Director/ 


Room 

371CF 

Airborne Public Safety Operational Development - 

New Unit Start Up, Sustainment and Expansion 


Terry Miyauchi, 

Bell/Arizona Dept. of 

Public Safety (Ret) 

Room 

370CF 

Flight Simulator Training and Virtual Reality 

(Training) 

Woody McClendon, 

Loft Dynamics 

Room 

371AD 

1500 – 1630 

Pro-Active Fixed Wing Tactics 

(Tactics/Fixed Wing) 

John Nielsen, 

Director of Airborne Law 

Enforcement, Air Bear 

Tactical Aircraft 

Room 

370AD 

Water and Swift Water Rescue 


Ken Solosky, 

NYPD Air Support (Ret.) 

Room 

370BE 




Airborne Public Safety Accreditation 

Commission Update 

(Public Safety Operations) 

Don Roby, 

APSAC Secretary 

Don Shinnamon, 

APSAC Lead Assessor 

Room 

371CF 

1530 – 1700 

Human Performance: How Are We 

Compromising Safety? (Part 2) (Aeromedical) 

Dudley Crosson, PhD., 

APSA Aeromedical Liaison/ 

Delta P, Inc. 

Room 

372AD 

Natural Resource Aircrew Roundtable- 

Wildlife Surveying 

(Natural Resources/Roundtable) 

Jason Jenson, 

Minnesota Department 

of Natural Resources Law 

Enforcement Aviation Division 

Room 

371BE 

SATURDAY • AUGUST 3, 2024 

0900-1030 Aircrew Round Table 

Facilitated by Bryan Smith, 

Pinellas County (FL) 

Sheriff’s Office Flight Unit 

Room 

381A 

Dan Knight, 


1030-1200 

APSCON 2024 Conference 

Wrap Up / Critiques 

Don Roby, 

APSAC Secretary 

Room 

381A 

Dan Schwarzbach, 

APSA Executive Director/CEO 






By Dan Knight, APSA Training Program Manager 

APSA would like to welcome you 

to APSCON Unmanned, an event 

that’s dedicated to public safety 

UAS operators. Bringing both 

segments of aviation together, manned 

and unmanned, in one location has 

allowed the sharing of thoughts, ideas, 

training and networking. The response to 

the combined event has been very positive 

and well received. 

The event will be held at the George R. 

Brown Convention Center in downtown 

Houston on July 29-31, 2024. In conjunction 

with APSCON 2024, the location is 

ideal and it brings great hotels, great food 

venues, great activities, and a great 

convention center together in one place. 

But we think our event is the best reason 

for coming to Houston and attending 

APSCON Unmanned. 

APSA has have made tremendous 

strides to ensure a phenomenal experience 

for the attendees this year. From 

subject matter experts in the field of 

drones to comprehensive courses and 

classes, this year will be an incredible 

year to attend. 

For instance, we will be offering the 

ability to have an UAS flying venue in the 

convention center next to the exhibit hall. 

That allows us to bring in specific courses 

and allows flight opportunities to be added 

to all the courses. We know that the drone 

community wants to be actively using and 

testing their equipment and this also 

allows corporate drone exhibitors to 

potentially offer demonstrations with the 

latest and greatest equipment. 

APSA is also happy to offer courses 

based on the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST) sUAS Test Methods, 

Monday, July 29 through Thursday, August 

1. On Monday and Tuesday, the 2-day 

Basic/Open Course covering NIST Open 

Test Lanes 1-3 will take place. The 3-day 

Advanced/Confined Course covering NIST 

Test Lanes 1-5 is being offered Tuesday 

through Thursday. On Friday, August 2, we 

plan to offer NIST check rides for attendees 

to test their proficiency with a NIST proctor. 

For in-depth educational courses, there 

are four two-day courses being offered: 

Drone Unit Manager Course, UAS Basic 

Operators Course, UAS Advanced Operators 

Course and brand new this year is 

the Counter Drone Measures Course. 

Since we can fly on the exhibit hall floor, a 

flying component may be added to all of 

these courses. 

A full day of 60- to 90-minute classes 

with a UAS focus are planned for Wednesday, 

July 31. They include: 

Drone Maintenance & 

Continued Airworthiness 

Counter Drone Measures 

Remote ID 

Aerial Mapping & Orthomosaic 

(accidents, crime scenes, firefighting) 

Integration of UAS into Search 

and Rescue 

Use of Drones in Fire Applications 

Drone Support of K-9 Operations 



Training Program Management for 

Public Safety Drones 

Thermal Imaging for Drone Operators 

Manned and Unmanned Airspace 

Deconfliction 

Movement to Contact 

UAS Smuggling Cases from 

FAA LEAP 

Operation Lone Star- Review of the 

Use of sUAS to Secure the Border 

Tactical Awareness Kit (TAK) 

Standards for the Operations of 

Public Safety Drones 

FAA UAS update 

At the conclusion of the courses and 

classes on Wednesday, the Opening Reception 

takes place in the exhibit hall with fun, 

food and drinks, and is open to all APSCON 

Unmanned attendees. To take full advantage 

of what the week has to offer, including 

more classes, time with the vendors, social 

events and networking with your peers, 

register for the APSCON/APSCON 

Unmanned full conference and stick around 

through Saturday, August 3. On Friday, 

August 2, we'll be offering another round of 

UAS-focused classes. 

APSCON 2024 will once again have 

Tech Talks on the exhibit floor. These short 

tech talks are an ideal way to hear from 

exhibiting corporate members on the latest 

and greatest technology, training, equipment 

or anything else they may want to 

share. Be sure to look for the schedule in 

your APSCON Program Guide, which will be 

distributed on site, for the list of classes 

and times. Be sure to visit our corporate 

members and learn about the products and 

service they offer public safety aviators. 

Thursday and Friday will also provide 

opportunities for flight testing, flight demonstrations 

and networking opportunities. NIST 

attendees will be flying the courses so there 

will be an opportunity to observe and interact 

with the students and instructors. Additional 

space will be provided for other flying 

events, so be sure to check your Program 

Guide for more details. 

I am excited for APSCON Unmanned 2024 

and hope you are too. There is a lot being 

offered by some of the best in the industry! 

Come join us, meet new friends, connect with 

some old ones, establish networking connections 

and be part of a rapidly growing community. 

APSA is proud to have you as a member. 

Check our website at www.publicsafetyaviation.org 

for updates and registration 

information. See you in Houston! 



APSCON UNMANNED 

COURSES 


Basic UAS Operator Course 

Mon. July 29 – Tue. July 30 • 0800 - 1700 

Location: Room 382B 

This comprehensive course is meticulously crafted to equip 

students with a thorough understanding of public safety drone 

operations, including missions, applications, and compliance with 

FAA regulations. With a detailed examination of flight tactics, this 

course is indispensable for agencies seeking to train their newest 

team members. Completion of all 16 hours of classroom and 

flight training is essential for success. This course is tailored for 

public safety personnel who are new to their team and seeking 

comprehensive training. Additionally, it is ideal for beginner pilots 

within public safety UAS units. Maximum enrollment is 70. 


Advanced UAS Operator Course 


Location: Room 381B 

Developed to elevate every facet of public safety operations, this 

course provides cutting-edge knowledge and tools to enhance 

existing drone units. Covering tactical operations, a specialized 

class in Tactical Flight Officer (TFO) style, and drone laws, instruction 

is delivered by experts in public safety aviation drone operations. 

Geared towards experienced public safety personnel 

aiming to refine their skills, this program is not suitable for those 

who have only completed the basic NIST course. Maximum enrollment 

is 70. 


Drone Unit Manager Course 


Location: Room 381C 

Tailored specifically for managers and supervisors of small 

unmanned aircraft systems units within public safety agencies, 

this course delivers the latest insights and tools for effective leadership. 

Topics encompass unit administration, budgeting, safety 

protocols, SOP management, training program oversight, legal 

and regulatory compliance, and personnel selection strategies, 

ensuring comprehensive skill enhancement. This course caters to 

public safety sUAS managers responsible for overseeing drone 

operations within their agencies, including law enforcement, fire 

departments, and search and rescue teams. Maximum enrollment 

is 70. 


Counter Drone Measures Course 


Location: Room 382C 

Drone attacks are occurring almost daily across the globe. It is 

only a matter of time until they occur here in the United States. 

These low-cost, high-tech, and easily weaponized aerial vehicles 

can cause terror just about anywhere. This 2-day course provides 

students with the latest technology and tactics to prevent and 

respond to a drone attack. This course is tailored for public 

safety personnel who operate drones in a public safety capacity. 

Additionally, it is ideal for all levels of drone operators in public 

safety UAS units. Maximum enrollment is 70. 


Course registration includes Day 3 of APSCON Unmanned classes and the 

APSCON 2024 Exhibit Hall Opening Reception at the George R. Brown Convention Center. 


22 AIR BEAT MAGAZINE l Conference Preview l 2024

APSCON 2024 SCHEDULE 

All events to take place at the George R. Brown Convention Center unless otherwise noted. 

SUNDAY, JULY 28 

Registration Open • 1600 – 1800 

(Exhibit Hall E Lobby - Ground Level) 

‘The Hangar’ APSA Store Open • 1600 – 1800 


MONDAY, JULY 29 





APSCON Conference Courses (Day 1) 

0800 – 1700 

(Level 3 Classrooms) 

APSCON Unmanned Courses (Day 1) 

0800 – 1700 


Aircraft Fly-In Briefing • 0730 

Aircraft Fly-In • 0900 

TUESDAY, JULY 30 






0800 – 1700 


APSCON Unmanned Courses (Day 2) 

0800 – 1700 


Exhibitor Set-Up • 0800 – 1700 

(Exhibit Halls D/E - Ground Level) 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 






0800 – 1700 


APSCON Unmanned Classes • 0800 – 1700 


Exhibitor Set-Up • 0800 – 1500 


Exhibit Hall Opening Ceremony • 1700 – 1715 


Exhibit Hall Opening Reception • 1715 – 2000 

Sponsored by Bell Textron 


THURSDAY, AUGUST 1 





Water Survival Training • 0800 – 1600 

George R. Brown Conv. Center (AM - Room 371AD) 

Hilton Americas Houston (PM - Pool) 

Opening Breakfast/General Membership Meeting 

0900 – 1030 • (Grand Ballroom B/C - Level 3) 

Breakfast sponsored by Trakka Systems 

Exhibit Hall Open • 1030 – 1600 

(Exhibit Hall D/E - Ground Level) 

Tech Talks • 1100 – 1500 

(Exhibit Hall D/E Theaters - Ground Level) 



Conference General Sessions • 1300 – 1700 


Teledyne FLIR Vision Awards • 1800 – 2000 

Hilton Americas-Houston (Ballroom of the Americas) 

CNC Technologies Event • 2000 – 2300 

Location TBA 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2 





APSCON Conference Classes • 0830 – 1700 


Exhibit Hall Open • 1000 – 1400 


Tech Talks • 1000 – 1300 

(Exhibit Hall D/E Theaters - Ground Level) 

Exhibit Hall Attendee Lunch • 1200 – 1300 


Exhibitor Move-Out • 1400 – 2100 


Aircraft Fly-Out • 1400 

APSA Awards Reception • 1800 – 1900 

Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel 

(Ballroom of the Americas DE) 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 



Exhibitor Move-Out • 0800 – 1200 


Conference Classes • 0830 – 1200 


All events to take place at the George R. Brown 

Convention Center unless otherwise noted. 



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HOST AGENCY PROFILE 

By Thad Sarton, Sergeant, Houston (TX) Police Department Air Support Division and Carl Sedita, Sergeant, Houston (TX) Police Department 


The Houston (TX) Police Department’s 

Air Support Division has 

a long history of service to the 

community. Officially founded 

in 1970, the original “Helicopter Patrol” was 

created to assist the police department with 

patrol support and traffic control in Houston 

as part of the Traffic Division. Shortly after, 

the unit became its own division, and its 

duties were expanded to the role filled to 

this day. 

The original fleet began with three 

Hughes 269B helicopters, and each had a 

registration number that ended with “F”. 

Within the department, the helicopters 

became known as “Fox”, a moniker and 

informal mascot that is still used today. The 

original fleet size has grown and contracted 

over the years and currently consists of 12 

aircraft, which includes seven MD 500Es, 

three Schweizer 300Cs, one Airbus H125 

and one GippsAero GA8 Airvan. 

The HPD Air Support Division serves the 

Houston geographic area of almost 700 

square miles and over 2.3 million residents 

as well as the surrounding Houston 

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The 

Houston MSA consists of 10 counties, 

covers 10,062 square miles, and has a 

population of over 7.5 million people, 

making it one of the largest and most populated 

metropolitan areas in the United 

States. The Houston MSA is also home to 

the Port of Houston, which is known as one 

of the largest and busiest ports in the 

world and the largest petrochemical 

complex in the nation. While the primary 

jurisdiction of the HPD’s Air Support Division 

is the City of Houston, the ASD regu- 

AIR BEAT MAGAZINE l Conference Preview l 2024 






TFO Jason Knox was 35 years old when his watch came to an end on May 2, 2020. 

It was the first fatal crash in the agency's 50-year history. His badge number, 2374, 

is written in black on their Airbus H125 aircraft as its FAA registration number. 

The Houston Police 

Department Air 

Support Division 

and APSA have enjoyed 

a long, mutually 

beneficial relationship 

over the years. Having 

been founded around 

the same time, 

their history has 

been intertwined. 

larly provides airborne law enforcement 

services to public safety agencies throughout 

the area. 

As one of the smallest divisions in the 

department, the Air Support Division 

consists of 44 full-time employees, of which 

32 are sworn and 12 are civilian. The 

employees of the ASD can generally be 

broken down into three groups: administrative, 

flight operations and maintenance. 

The administrative group consists of 

one commander, one lieutenant, one supervisor 

over the department’s Unmanned 

Aircraft Systems program, and five administrative 

and support personnel that handle 

the budget, inventory, facilities and other 

administrative duties. 

The Flight Operations group is made up of 

27 people divided among two shifts and also 

includes the Training and Safety Unit. Currently, 

the day shift consists of 10 pilots and five tactical 

flight officers, while the night shift is 

comprised of seven pilots and five TFOs. 

These sergeants and officers keep watch 

over Houston from the air and are regularly 

involved in a myriad of flying: 

Patrol operations 

Critical incidents 

High-risk support, such as 

SWAT operations and protests 

Surveillance 

Investigative photo and video flights 

Dignitary protection flights 

Post-storm damage assessment 

Critical infrastructure checks 

Static displays and relational 

policing events 

The maintenance group includes nine 

Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanics 

for in-house maintenance and repairs, four 

of which are Inspection Authorization (IA) 

certified. The highly-skilled mechanics are 

spread across two shifts to maintain as 

much coverage as possible to keep the 

fleet operational around the clock. 

Since the founding of the unit and the 

training of the original flight crews, HPD has 

conducted training for TFOs and pilots inhouse. 

The starting position within the division 

is the TFO, who performs all law 

enforcement related communication and 

documentation for their respective flight. 

Classified officers and supervisors generally 

serve in the TFO role for approximately three 

years before qualifying for pilot training. 

Pilot training is conducted by the fulltime 

training cadre of flight instructors 

made up of a sergeant and a senior police 

officer. The FAA certification curriculum 

consists of approximately 300 hours of 

ground school, countless hours of selfstudy, 

approximately 150 hours of flight 

training, and 100 hours of solo flying. 

Once the certification flight training is 

completed, the students transitioned into 

the mission aircraft and attend the factory 

school before being integrated into the 

flight schedules on a regular shift, based 

on availability. To date, the Air Support 

Division has trained 149 commerciallyrated 

pilots within the department. 

Houston is one of the first cities to establish an airborne law enforcement program in the United States. The HPD Helicopter Patrol Unit was established 

January 1, 1970 as part of the Traffic Enforcement Division. The Houston Police Department (HPD) celebrated the 50th anniversary of its aviation unit in 2020. 




A non-fatal accident in 2019 and a fatal 

accident in 2020 caused the Air Support 

Division to re-examine and restructure the 

division’s Training and Safety Unit to reduce 

the risk of further accidents, prevent the 

loss of life and protect the department’s 

assets. These changes included: 

Improved documentation of training 

and safety issues 

Standardization and objectivity of 

training for pilots and TFOs 

Improving the training and documentation 

of quarterly and annual 

recurrent training 

Updated Standard Operating 

Procedures 

Simulator and computer-based training 

In 2023, the Air Support Division flew a 

total of 4,600 hours while responding to 

almost 10,000 calls for service, including 

385 vehicle pursuits and 495 foot pursuits, 

that resulted in 1,159 arrests - many for 

violent offenses. Additionally, thousands of 

checks of critical infrastructure sites were 

performed to ensure the region’s resources 

were protected. 

Like other modern agencies around the 

country, the Houston Police Department has 

the challenges of staffing and budget 

constraints. Despite these challenges, our 

personnel remain dedicated and determined 

to keep the future of the Air Support Division 

bright and continue to provide safety and 

security for the public we serve. 

HPD's UAS Fleet Enhances Public Safety Missions 

The Houston Police Department’s twenty-eight remote pilots (RPIC) operate a diverse 

fleet of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to support various tactical and operational 

needs. The UAS fleet consists of several makes and models tailored to specific tasks. 

They include: three Skydio X2D, three FLIR R70 Skyranger, four Autel Evo II Dual Thermal, 

six Aardvark Loki E1, one DJI Matrice M30 Thermal, one DJI Mavic M3 Thermal and one 

DJI Avata "1". 

HPD utilizes these UAS to accomplish the department’s mission across various scenarios, 

including search and rescue, disaster response, missing persons, fugitive apprehensions, 

building searches, bomb calls and hazardous material observations, monitoring 

dangerous and armed subjects, managing large planned or unplanned events and mapping. 

The HPD UAS units have been instrumental in 

recent major events such as the 2022 Major 

League Baseball World Series, Astros Victory 

parade, 2023 NCAA Final Four, 2024 NCAA 

College Football Playoff, Houston Marathon and 

various community celebrations like the Juneteenth 

Parades, Pride Parade, and the 2023 Freedom 

Over Texas Fourth of July Celebration. 

Since 2022, the request for and utilization of 

UAS to support public safety missions have quadrupled, 

underscoring the growing importance and 

effectiveness of these tools in enhancing community 

safety and operational efficiency. 



The following conferences represent only a few of the better 

police conferences you should attend in 2024. A list of EVERY 

police conference will appear later this month in this section. 

If your group has a conference or training session scheduled 

for2024, please send the information to: bluespdmag@gmail. 

com. 

2024 Crimes Against Children Conference 

When: August 11-15, 2024 

Where: Dallas, TX2021 CACC 

The annual CACC event, typically held in Dallas, Texas, is organized 

by the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center and brings 

together up to 10,000 law enforcement and children advocates 

focused on preventing and addressing the repercussions of 

crimes against children. 

2024 National Interdiction Conference 

When: August 18-23, 2024 

Where: Anaheim, California 

Why Attend: This event focuses on training and influencing a 

pro-active “All Crimes” approach to criminal interdiction and is 

coordinated by the National Criminal Enforcement Association. 

Annual SMILE CONFERENCE 2024 

When: September 18-19, 2024 

Where: Palm Beach, FL. 

Why You Should Go: Hosted by the Scottsdale Police Department, 

the SMILE annual conference is the leading event devoted 

to Social Media, the Internet and Law Enforcement initiatives. 

The organization pioneered the adoption of social media by law 

enforcement agencies across the world for public outreach, 

crime prevention, and forensics. 

High Technology Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA) 

When: September 19-22, 2023 

Where: Phoenix, AZ 

Why You Should Go: HTCIA features some of the world’s top industry 

leaders and is one of the most respected high technology 

investigation conferences in the world. Current practitioners 

who engage in high technology daily serve as both presenters 

and attendees. 

National Association for Civilian Oversight in Law Enforcement 

Conference 

When: October 13-17, 2024 

Where: Tucson, Arizona 

Why Attend: NACOLE started with its first event in 1995, and 

continuously works to put together comprehensive, informative, 

and inclusive programs that address skills training and current 

or emerging topics. This conference is best suited for civilian 

oversight practitioners, law enforcement officials, journalists, 

elected officials, students, community members, and others. 

International Association of Chiefs of Police 2024 Conference 

When: October 19-22, 2024 

Where: Boston, Massachusetts 

Why You Should Go: The IACP annual conference provides law 

enforcement leaders with the new strategies, techniques, and 

resources they need to successfully navigate the ever-evolving 

policing environment. 

Ontario Gang Investigators Association 2024 Conference 

When: November 2024 

Where: TBD 

The ONGIA conference brings together members of the law enforcement 

community to learn the latest in gang trends, investigations, 

and intelligence while providing professional development 

for Police, Probation and Parole, Correctional Officers, 

Crowns Attorneys, CBSA Officers, Victim Witness Assistance 

Program (MAG) and others. 

Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association 

46th Annual Symposium 

When: TBD IN 2025 

Where: Los Angeles, CA 

Why Attend: The HAPCOA is the oldest and largest association 

in the U.S. of Hispanic-American command officers from law 

enforcement and criminal justice agencies at the municipal, 

county, state, and federal levels. This year’s national training 

symposium will also feature a career fair. 

National Law Enforcement Exploring Leadership Conference 

When: TBD 

Where: TBD 

Why Attend: This conference is designed to inspire and educate 

law enforcement explorers who will be future law enforcement 

professionals and leaders. 

Crimes Against Children Conference 

When: TBD 

Where: TBD 

The annual CACC event, typically held in Dallas, Texas, is organized 

by the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center and brings 

together up to 10,000 law enforcement and children advocates 

focused on preventing and addressing the repercussions of 

crimes against children. 


PURCHASE TICKETS 

FREE LEO TICKETS 


Foundational Homicide 

Investigations Course 

The IHIA and the Tacoma Police Department 

will be holding our Foundational Homicide 

Investigations Course in Tacoma, Washington 

Topics Include: 

• Responsibilities of the 

Homicide Investigator 

• Investigative Considerations 

• Crime Scene Investigation 

• Evidence Processing 

• Lab Capabilities 

July 22-26, 2024 

Tacoma Police Department 

3701 S. Pine Street, Tacoma, WA 98409 

$ 435 

Non Member 

Includes all training materials, IHIA membership, coffee each 

morning, and a networking event. 

The Buy 3, Get 1 Free promotion is eligible for this course. 

(For further info, email us here.) 

REGISTER HERE 

$ 385 

IHIA Active Member 

BOOK HOTEL 

For questions, please contact: 

Lt. Steve Lewis (ret), (813) 299-9921, slewis@ihia.org 

Sr. Investigator Ed Striedinger, (206) 992-5610, estriedinger@ihia.org 

or visit IHIA.org 

Department credentials will be required at check-in. Individuals who do not have 

issued department credentials should contact us directly prior to arrival. 

• Suspect Development & 

Elimination 

• Interview & Interrogation 

• Exploitation of Digital 

Evidence 

• Cellular Analysis 

• Media & Public Information 

Officer Relationship 

• Criminal Investigative 

Analysis 

• Role of the Medical 

Examiner/Coroner 

• Investigative Resources 

(FBI ViCAP) 

• Child Abductions/Death 

Investigations 

• Documentation/Report 

Writing 

• Defense Attorney/ 

Prosecutor Relationship 

• Legal Matters 

• Courtroom Testimony 




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HONORING OUR 

TROOPER FIRST CLASS AARON PELLETIER 

140 140 The The BLUES Blues POLICE -- July MAGAZINE ‘24 

CONNECTICUT STATE POLICE, CONNECTICUT 

END OF WATCH THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2024 

AGE: 34 TOUR: 9 YEARS BADGE: 536 

Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier was struck and killed by a truck while conducting a traffic stop on I-84 East 

near Exit 31 in Southington. At 2:45 p.m., Trooper Pelletier pulled over a vehicle on the right shoulder of the 

highway with his emergency equipment activated on his cruiser. While he was speaking with the driver of the car, 

a truck crossed the dividing line into the shoulder lane, sideswiped his cruiser, and struck him. The driver fled in 

the vehicle and was apprehended approximately five miles away in a wooded area. Trooper Pelletier was killed 

instantly. His canine partner, Roso, was in the cruiser when it was struck, but he was not injured. 

Trooper Pelletier had served with the Connecticut State Police for nine years and was assigned to Troop H in 

Hartford. He is survived by his wife and two children.

FALLEN HEROES 

POLICE OFFICER JAMAL MITCHELL 

MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT, MINNESOTA 

END OF WATCH THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2024 


Police Officer Jamal Mitchell was shot and killed after being ambushed while responding to a shooting call. 

Just after 5:00 p.m., officers responded to a shots fired call at an apartment on 22nd Street near Blaisdell Avenue 

in Minneapolis. When officers arrived, the suspect fired at officers, and a gunfight ensued. Officer Mitchell 

stopped to render aid to who he thought was a wounded victim when that man shot him multiple times. Two 

officers arriving on the scene witnessed the suspect shooting Officer Mitchell. The suspect turned and started 

shooting at them. They returned fire, killing the suspect. Officer Mitchell was transported to Hennepin Healthcare 

where he succumbed to his wounds. Officer Mitchell had served with the Minneapolis Police Department 

for two years. He is survived by his son and fiancée. 


HONORING OUR 

AGENT DAVIS GEOVANNI MARTINEZ 

MARYLAND DEPT. OF PAROLE AND PROBATION, MARYLAND 

END OF WATCH FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2024 


Agent Davis Martinez was stabbed while conducting a home visit on a convicted sex offender 

in the 2800 block of Terrace Drive in Chevy Chase. Officers from the Montgomery 

County Police Department went to check on Agent Martinez after he failed to return to his 

office. The officers discovered his body at the offender’s apartment, suffering from multiple 

stab wounds. The subject had fled the scene but was arrested in Hurricane, West Virginia, 

the following day by members of a United States Marshals Service task force. He has been 

charged with second-degree murder. Agent Martinez had served with the Maryland Division 

of Parole and Probation for six years and was assigned to the Silver Spring Field Office. 

142 142 The The BLUES Blues POLICE - July MAGAZINE ‘24

FALLEN HEROES 

POLICE OFFICER JOSHUA BRIESE 

GILA RIVER POLICE DEPARTMENT, TRIBAL POLICE 

END OF WATCH SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2024 

AGE: 24 TOUR: N/A BADGE: N/A 

Police Officer Joshua Briese was shot and killed while responding to a disturbance call at 

2:00 a.m. at a home in Santan, District 4 of the Gila River Indian Community. When Officer 

Briese and his training partner arrived on the scene, they were met with gunfire. Both officers 

were transported to a local hospital where Officer Briese succumbed to his wounds. The other 

officer is in stable but serious condition. Officer Briese’s father, Deputy Sheriff David Leroy 

Briese, Jr. of Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, Montana, died in the line of duty on November 

3, 2006. Officer Briese had served with the Gila River Police Department for less than 

one year and was still completing field training. 


HONORING OUR 

SENIOR POLICE OFFICER VICENTE ORTIZ, JR. 

CORPUS CHRISTI POLICE DEPARTMENT, TEXAS 


AGE: N/A TOUR: 15 YEARS BADGE: 746 

Senior Police Officer Vicente Ortiz succumbed to injuries sustained 10 days earlier when he 

was involved in a motorcycle crash while escorting a funeral procession. He was traveling 

southbound on Kostoryz Road when another driver attempted to cross the road at the intersection 

with Sacky Drive. Officer Ortiz was unable to stop and struck the other vehicle. He 

was transported to a local hospital where he underwent multiple surgeries before succumbing 

to his injuries. Officer Ortiz had served with the Corpus Christi Police Department for 15 

years. He is survived by his wife and two children. 

144 144 The The BLUES Blues POLICE - July MAGAZINE 

‘24

FALLEN HEROES 

SERGEANT FLOYD H. MILES, JR. 

CHARLES CITY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, VIRGINIA 

END OF WATCH SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2024 


Sergeant Floyd Miles suffered a fatal heart attack while struggling with a subject inside an 

ambulance at the intersection of John Tyler Memorial Highway and Wayside Road. He was 

transported to MCV/New Kent Medical Center where he passed away. 

Sergeant Miles was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the Charles City County Sheriff’s 

Office for 16 years. He is survived by his wife, three stepsons, mother, father, brothers, a 

sister, and a grandson. 


HONORING OUR 

DETECTIVE RYAN SO 

SCOTTSDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT, ARIZONA 

END OF WATCH THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2024 

AGE: N/A TOUR: 9 YEARS BADGE: 1473 

Detective Ryan So was accidentally shot and killed after serving a search warrant and 

conducting an arrest on 78th Street near N Greenway Hayden Loop in Scottsdale. At 7:30 

p.m., while unloading equipment from a vehicle, a rifle fell out of the bag, hit the ground, 

and discharged, striking Detective So. Despite fellow officers rendering aid, he succumbed 

to his wounds at the hospital. 

Detective So was a United States Navy veteran and had served with the Scottsdale Police 

Department for nine years. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. 


FALLEN HEROES 

CONSTABLE PHILIP JOHN MICHAEL 

PENNSYLVANIA STATE CONSTABLE - FAYETTE CNTY, PA 



Constable Philip Michael succumbed to injuries he received in a vehicle crash on May 3, 

2024, while en route to serve a warrant. 

Constable Michael was traveling on Route 51 in Perryopolis when a driver ran a red light at 

Independence Street and struck his vehicle. He was transported to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital 

where he passed away on June 6, 2024. 

He is survived by his wife, two sons, and two brothers. 


HONORING OUR 

DEPUTY SHERIFF BRADLEY J. RECKLING 

OAKLAND COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, MICHIGAN 



Deputy Sheriff Bradley Reckling was shot and killed while conducting surveillance on a stolen vehicle in Detroit 

at about 10:00 pm. He and other detectives with the Auto Theft Unit were searching for a car stolen from the 

Red Oaks Water Park earlier in the day. Detective Reckling located the vehicle with three occupants and started 

following it as he coordinated with the other detectives. While he continued surveillance of the vehicle the driver 

suddenly stopped, and the occupants opened fire on Deputy Reckling’s vehicle. Deputy Reckling was transported 

to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Deputy Reckling had served with the Oakland County 

Sheriff’s Office for nine years and was assigned to the Auto Theft Unit. He had received numerous awards 

during his career. He is survived by his expectant wife and three children. 

148 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 


FALLEN HEROES 

AGENT LUIS ALGARIN DE JESÚS 

PUERTO RICO POLICE DEPARTMENT, PUERTO RICO 

END OF WATCH MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2024 

AGE: 51 TOUR: 30 YEARS BADGE: N/A 

Agent Luis Algarin De Jesús was killed when his motorcycle was struck on Highway PR-1 in Santa Isabel, 

Puerto Rico. Around 6:00 am, Agent Algarin-De Jesus was traveling on the two-lane highway of Highway 

PR-1 in the Jauca neighborhood when the driver of a vehicle crossed the center line, attempting to pass 

another vehicle. The SUV hit Agent Algarin-De Jesus’ motorcycle head-on, killing him instantly. Agent Luis 

Algarin-De Jesus had served with the Puerto Rico Police Department for 30 years and was assigned to the 

Santa Isabel District. On Officer Mitchell’s third day working for the Minneapolis Police Department, he rescued 

an elderly couple from a burning home. In 2024, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of 

Honor and a Purple Heart. 


HONORING OUR 

YOUTH COUNSELOR COREY PROULX 

150 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 


WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, WISCONSIN 

END OF WATCH TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2024 


Youth Counselor Corey Proulx succumbed to injuries he received when he was assaulted by a juvenile inmate at 

the Lincoln Hills School at W4380 Copper Lake Avenue in Irma. Shortly before 8:00 p.m. on June 24, 2024, 

a juvenile threw a cup of hair conditioner into the face of a female staff member. He repeatedly punched her in 

the torso and face before fleeing from the Krueger Living Facility. Counselor Proulx followed the juvenile outside 

to detain him when the teenager struck him multiple times in the head and face. He fell to the ground, hitting his 

head on the concrete, and was unresponsive. Counselor Proulx was airlifted to Aspirus Wausau Hospital where 

he was declared brain dead on June 25, 2024. He remained on life support until his organs could be donated. 

Counselor Proulx is survived by his daughter and fiancee.

FALLEN HEROES 

DEPUTY SHERIFF WILLIAM BUTLER, JR. 

HILLSDALE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, MICHIGAN 


AGE: 51 TOUR: 12 YEARS BADGE: N/A 

Deputy Sheriff Bill Butler was shot and killed while assisting another deputy with a traffic stop near the intersection 

of Beecher and Lamb Road in Jefferson Township around 2:30 p.m. The driver had warrants out for 

his arrest and did not cooperate with the deputies. During the struggle, the subject pulled out a gun, striking 

Deputy Butler before fleeing on foot. Deputy Butler was transported to the hospital where he succumbed to 

his wounds. The subject was found about two miles away several hours later. When he fired on troopers, they 

returned fire, killing the subject. 

Deputy Butler was an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran and had served with the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s 

Office for 12 years. He is survived by his wife and three children. 




BY MICHAEL BARRON 

“..he fell out!” 

I know we’ve run this ‘war story’ 

a couple of times in the past. 

But with the return of APSCON to 

Houston, it seemed only natural 

to expose a whole new set of 

readers to the Cessna Pilot who 

‘fell out.’ 

“He fell out” 

The day started out as one of 

those beautiful fall mornings on 

Galveston Island where the blue 

sky and water seemed to meet 

and look the same. The water 

was crystal clear and smooth as 

glass. Something you rarely see 

on the Island and when it does, 

you can’t wait to get in the air 

and experience it from a couple 

hundred feet. 

But paperwork and the task of 

assigning flights for the week 

had me desk bound for at least 

the better part of that beautiful 

morning. That is until the Sheriff 

from a neighboring county 

called with a rather strange 

question. 

“Hey sarge, this is the Sheriff 

over at Jefferson County. Being 


a pilot and all, can you tell me 

how hard it is to fall out of an 

airplane?” 

You mean like parked on a 

ramp? 

“No like in the air” 

What kind of airplane? 

“I think it’s a Cessna One-Fifty 

something” 

A Cessna 152? 

“Yeah, that’s it” 

Nope. Not likely, why? 

“Well, I got a young kid/pilot 

over here at the airport and he 

claims he and this gentlemen 

were up doing lessons or something 

and they were doing some 

steep turns and the door popped 

opened and the man fell out.” 

Are you serious or you pranking 

me Sheriff? 

“Naw, I’m serious that’s what 

he’s saying. I’m not partial to 

believing his story, sounds kinda 

fishy to me. Would you mind flying 

over here and talking to him? 

I sure would appreciate it. We’ll 

buy ya’ll some gas for the trip.” 

Let me get one of my guys and 

we’ll head that way. I can’t wait 

to meet this young man. Don’t let 

him talk to anyone until we get 

there. 

I grabbed my chief pilot and 

said, “come on, we’re going to 

see a man about a flying fish.” 

It was a short flight over to 

Beaumont Municipal and we 

were cleared for a straight in for 

the Runway 13. As we taxied onto 

the ramp, there was a bright red 

Cessna 152 parked right out front 

with the left door partially open. 

I can’t wait to hear this story. 

Morning Sheriff, beautiful day 

isn’t it. 

“Damn sure is, pity someone 

had to die on a day like this.” 

Wait, what? You didn’t mention 

anyone dying. 

“Huh, must have slipped my 

mind. He’s up in the conference 

room just up the stairs.” 

WTF, I thought. What the 

hell are we getting into here. I 

opened the door and here was 

this 20 something young man 

that was obviously scared shitless. 

Hello, my name is Sgt. Barron, I 

understand you had some kind of 

accident, and someone fell out

of your airplane? Tell me exactly 

what happened. 

“Well, I was at work and this 

student of mine called and said 

he wanted to come take a lesson. 

I scheduled him for a onehour 

flight, and he showed up 

this morning as he always does. 

We pre-flighted the plane, did 

our pre-checks, did a run-up, 

got clearance from the tower 

and then took off. 

And then what? 

“He said he wanted to do some 

steep turns, so we climbed to 

3500’ over near the lake, that’s 

pretty much our usual training 

area and ….” 

Wait. Was he flying? 

“Yes” 

And he was in the left seat? 

“Yes” 

Ok, go on. 

“So, he started making a steep 

left-hand turn, about 45 degrees 

and then he rolled the plane to 

almost 60 degrees and that’s 

when the door popped open.” 

And then what happened? 

“He just rolled out” 

What do you mean, he just 

rolled out? Like the door opened 

and he fell out? 

“Yes” 

Son, are you aware that lying to 

a police officer is a crime? 

“..but that’s what happened, I 

swear.” 

Son, come with me. I led the 

young man downstairs with the 

Sheriff and his men in tow, down 

to the ramp and outside to the 

parked Cessna. 

The sheriff is like “Sarge what 

are we doing?” 

You’ll see. Ok young man, get 

in the left seat where your student 

was. And by the way, did he 

have his seat belt and harnesses 

fastened? 

“I don’t remember” 

Uh huh. Well, we’re going to 

assume no. So, sit inside. Which 

he did. Ok, put your hands on the 

yoke. Turn the yoke all the way 

to the left. Which he did. Now 

I’m going to hold this door open 

while you roll out. OK? 

“Uhhhhhh OK” 

OK roll out. The boy leaned 


towards the open door and hard 

as he tried, he couldn’t fall out. 

Hell, he didn’t even budge 2 

inches off that seat. 

The inside of a Cessna 152 is 

so small and tight, it takes a lot 

of maneuvering just to get inside 

much less get out. No way in hell 

you’re going to ‘fall out.’ 

Come on, roll out. What are 

you waiting on? 

Wait, you were going pretty 

fast I assume, let me push 

hard on the door while you roll 

against it to simulate the wind 

blowing 100mph against it. 

He just looked at me and burst 

into tears. 

Ok, that’s enough of this bullshit. 

We’re going back inside and 

you’re going to tell us what really 

happened from start to finish 

or you’re going to jail. Ok? 

“Yes sir” 

So, he says the guy comes in 

and wants a flight lesson. They 

take off. Get to 5000 feet or so. 

The man hands the young man 

an envelope with cash and says 

“here this is all I got. I’m sorry, 

but I can’t go on and I’m going to 

jump. 

The pilot freaks out, tries to 

talk him out of jumping but the 

man threatened to crash the 

plane if he doesn’t let him jump. 

So scared they will both die, 

the instructor takes the controls 

while the man undoes his seat 

belt, struggles to open the door 

and after about 5 minutes or so, 

manages to get outside the door 

and onto the wing strut and then 

let’s go. 

WTF. Then what? 

“I tried to close the door, but 

I couldn’t get it closed. So, I 

turned back to the airport and 

landed. 

“ I told the flight office he fell 

out, they called the cops, they 

showed up and then you showed 

up and …..am I going to jail?” 

More tears. 

Do you think you can find the 

spot where he jumped? 

“I think so” 

OK then. The sheriff called DPS 

and we all loaded in the helicopter 

and for the next hour we 

searched for the victim. As we 

hovered near the lake, almost 

exactly where the young man 

said he jumped, I saw a couple 

of cows gathered around something 

on the ground. As we got 

close, sure enough, we found 

our man. And yep, he was plenty 

dead alright. 

As we landed to verify it was 

in fact the flying man without a 

parachute, the young man looks 

at me, pulls an envelope out of 

his pockets and says... 

“Does this mean I have to give 

the money back?” 

Ahh, yeah. I think so. 

• • • 

We left them with tons of paperwork 

to do. 

A young flight instructor that 

would probably never give another 

flight to a student. 

And a long look at a deep 

blue Gulf of Mexico as we sailed 

along the coast at 500 feet admiring 

what a beautiful day it 

was here on the coast. 

It was a shame that it had to 

have a tragic ending. 


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WORDS BY MICHAEL BARRON 

Tragedy Over Houston Skies... 

Four years ago, The Houston 

Police Department had the 

unthinkable happen. For the first 

time in its nearly fifty-year history, 

they had a fatal crash of one 

of its many MD 500 Helicopters. 

Jason Knox, the tactical officer 

was killed and the pilot, Chase 

Cormier was severely injured. 

Jason was a loving father of 

two young children and a beautiful 

wife. His loss that night 

is still so hard to imagine. His 

father Mike Knox, A Houston City 

Councilman, says his son died 

doing what he loved, protecting 

his city, and flying with his best 

friend Chase. 

Cormier was a hero that night. 

His extraordinary skill as a pilot 

guided a virtually uncontrollable 

airship away from an apartment 

complex that surely would have 

suffered multiple casualties had 

the helicopter crashed on the 

roofs of occupied apartments. 

Cormier and Knox had been 

responding to call on the North 

side of Houston about a possible 

drowning near Greens Bayou. 

As they orbited near the bayou, 

the ship suddenly entered a spin 

and continued to spin until it 

158 The Blues -- July ‘24 

struck a small building alongside 

the apartment complex in the 

Greenspoint area. The Houston 

Fire Department and paramedics 

arrived on the scene and were 

able to extricate both pilots from 

the crumpled helicopter. Unfortunately, 

Knox’s injuries were 

just too severe and despite the 

extraordinary efforts of the doctors 

at Hermann Hospital, they 

were unable to save his life. That 

night, Cormier underwent the 

first of multiple surgeries that 

would ultimately save his life 

and one day, allow him to walk 

again. 

The official NTSB report reads 

as follows: 

On May 2, 2020, about 0203 

central daylight time, a model 

369E MD Helicopter, N8375F, was 

destroyed when it was involved 

in an accident near Houston, 

Texas. The pilot sustained serious 

injuries and the other flight 

crewmember sustained fatal injuries. 

The helicopter was operated 

as a Title 14 Code of Federal 

Regulations Part 91 public aircraft 

flight. According to initial 

information from the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA), a 

Houston Police Department

...and again in Huntington Beach. 

Then two years later, another 

MD 500 Helicopter crashed, 

this time a NOTAR 500N model. 

A Huntington Beach Police 

Department aviation unit 

flying patrol along the coast of 

Huntington Beach, experienced 

what some say, is a somewhat 

common trait of the NOTAR – 

instances of loss of tail rotor 

authority, or in this case NOTAR 

authority. 

Huntington Beach tactical 

flight officer Nicholas Vella and 

his partner were on a routine 

patrol down the beach front 

when then were dispatched to 

a fight in progress just south of 

their location. Once on scene, 

the pilot began orbiting the 

helicopter to the right to give 

Vella a better angle for the 

infrared camera to locate the 

suspects involved. 

At some point, the pilot 

slowed the ship and entered a 

tight turn when the helicopter 

entered a slow spin until 

then struck the water in almost 

horizontal position. The NTSB 

report filed reported the accident 

as follows: 

On February 19, 2022, about 

1834 Pacific standard time, 

a McDonnell Douglas 500N, 

N521HB, was substantially 

damaged when it was involved 

in an accident in Newport 

Beach, California. The 

pilot sustained minor injuries, 

and the tactical flight officer 

(TFO) was fatally injured. The 

helicopter was operated as 

a public aircraft flight by the 

Huntington Beach Police Department. 

The helicopter was 

owned by the City of Huntington 

Beach and was providing law 

enforcement air support under a 

contract service agreement for 

the City of Newport Beach. The 

helicopter departed its home 

base, Huntington Beach Police 

Department Heliport (CL65), in 

1800, and for the next 30 minutes 

flew a routine patrol along 

the coast of Huntington Beach, 

inland to Costa Mesa, and then 

south to Newport Beach. The 

pilot reported that as they were 

about to depart the Newport 

Beach area, they received a 

transmission over the primary 

police radio channel that there 

was a fight taking place just 

south of their location. The pilot 

stated that he redirected the 

helicopter toward the area and 

began a right-hand orbit while 

the TFO (who was seated in the 

right seat) turned on the infrared 

camera and began searching the 

ground. The TFO spotted a group 

fighting, and the pilot began to 

maneuver the helicopter in a 

tighter right orbit while the TFO 

relayed his observations over the 

police radio channel. Ground patrol 

officers arrived on the scene, 

and the pilot continued the orbits 

about 500 ft above ground level, 

while simultaneously viewing 

the activity through his monitor, 

and maneuvering the helicopter 

so the TFO could continue 

to observe the altercation. The 

pilot stated that he watched as 

ground patrol officers got out 

of their car and approached the 

group, who by this time had 

mostly dispersed. He was concerned 

that one of the groups 

was about to start fighting with 


Houston 

helicopter was on a local flight 

near the George Bush Intercontinental/Houston 

Airport (IAH), 

near Houston, Texas, and its pilot 

had contacted air traffic control. 

The pilot was using flight following 

while he was conducting 

a search flight for a person near 

a bayou. A Department of Public 

Safety (DPS) helicopter contacted 

the controller, asked for 

clearance into the airspace near 

IAH, and was given that clearance. 

The DPS helicopter crewmember 

asked if the controller 

was still in contact with the 

police helicopter. The controller 

advised that radar contact was 

lost with the police helicopter. 

The DPS helicopter crew member 

advised that there was an 

indication that the helicopter had 

impacted terrain. An FAA inspector 

examined the wreckage site 

and documented it. The helicopter 

had impacted an unoccupied 

building and terrain. The wreckage 

was recovered and retained 

for further detailed examination. 

The helicopter was equipped 

with an augmented reality mapping 

system. The data recording 

device from that mapping system 

has been retained to see if 

it contains information pertinent 

to the accident flight. The pilot 

held an FAA commercial pilot 

certificate and a second-class 

medical certificate. At 0153, the 

recorded wind at IAH was 170° at 

4 kts and visibility was 10 statute 

miles. According to United States 

Naval Observatory indications, 

the Moon had set, it was more 

than 30° below the horizon, and 


it provided no illumination at the 

time of the accident. According 

to a video taken by a witness, 

the helicopter rotated while in 

the air and descended. The conditions 

present in the video were 

consistent with the observatory 

indications. 

I spoke with Chase just before 

we published this issue. His most 

recent surgery was a huge success. 

Doctors had to replace all 

the pins, screws, and plates in his 

back from the original surgery 

two years ago. Despite doctors 

telling him he’d most likely never 

walk again; I am proud to report 

that he is in fact walking. Never 

tell a veteran that something is 

impossible. Cormier served his 

country and the citizens of Houston 

in a way no ordinary man 

could do. On a night when all 

odds were against him, he managed 

to save hundreds of innocent 

lives on the ground. He took 

command of a situation that 

ultimately cost his best friend his 

life and crippled himself in doing 

so. Cormier is the true definition 

of an American Hero. Houston 

will also remember what you 

did to protect its citizens. 

Godspeed to Jason Knox as he 

watches us from above and God 

Bless my friend Chase Cormier.

Huntington Beach 

slowed the helicopter 

to keep the camera 

aimed at the scene 

longer, so that they 

would not lose sight 

of it behind a building. 

Suddenly the helicopter 

yawed aggressively 

to the right, and he 

immediately applied 

full left foot pedal and 

forward cyclic to try 

and arrest the rotation, 

but there was no response. 

He continued to 

apply corrective control 

inputs, but the helicopter 

did not respond, 

and began to progress 

into a spinning descent. 

The TFO transmitted 

over the police radio 

channel, “We’re having 

some mechanical 

issues right now”, followed by, 

“we’re going down, we’re going 

down”. The pilot stated the rotation 

became more aggressive as 

the helicopter began to descend. 

He continued with corrective 

control inputs, which appeared 

to be partially effective but did 

not stop the rotation. He stated 

that the engine was operating 

throughout, and his goal was 

to continue to fly the helicopter 

with the engine still running, 

rather than reducing power and 

performing an autorotation to 

a populated area. Because it 

was dark, he had no horizon or 

accurate external reference, but 

he could see the lights of houses 

approaching, and sensed impact 

was imminent, so he pulled the 

collective control in an effort to 

bleed off airspeed. They then hit 

the water hard in a downward 

right rotation, on TFO’s side. The 

pilot recalled a sudden smash 

and saw water and glass coming 

toward him as the canopy shattered. 

He felt the rotor blades 

hitting the water, everything 

then stopped, and within a few 

seconds he was submerged. The 

pilot stated that he continued 

to hold on to the collective as 

a reference point, then cleared 

the mouthpiece from his rescue 

air bottle, and began to use it 

to breath. Continuing to hold 

the collective with one hand he 

reached down and released his 

seat harness and egressed by 

pushing himself away with the 

collective and through the door 

opening. He exited the helicopter 

and ascended to the surface, 

and a short time later, onlookers 

began to arrive, and pulled him 

away and toward a boat. 

Huntington Beach lost a hero 

that night. Officer Nicholas Vella 


A BADGE OF HONOR 

healing our heroes 

BAND-AIDS ON 

BULLET HOLES 

By Retired NYPD Detective, 

John Salerno, Co-founder of 

A Badge of Honor 

As a young cop in the NYC 

Police Department, some of 

the first things I learned in the 

academy was to make sure 

you always wear your body 

armor, it will protect you, 

always carry your radio in 

case you need to call for help, 

it will Save you. The tools on 

your gun belt will keep you 

alive. If you are in a bad situation, 

use the code 10/13 which 

will alert Officers to respond 

fast and get you backup. 

Every Law Enforcement Officer 

in the nation has a code 

for assistance, it is our lifeline 

when we are in distress or 

injured. It is the way we communicate 

with each other to 

ask for help. 

But what happens when we 

are off duty? What code do 

we use to call for help when 

we are stripped of all our 

protective armor? When we 

have no radio to request assistance? 

When we are most 

vulnerable? When we are in 

distress.? These codes do not 


exist. Or do they? 

Just like we were trained, 

we need to train our Loved 

ones, our friends and those 

in our closest social circles 

the signs and symptoms of 

Post-Traumatic Stress. Let 

them in on your own distress 

code. This way they know 

how to respond. Many want 

to help; they just do not know 

how. 

So, it is important that we 

take the step and educate 

those around us. 

The hardest thing for us to 

do is ask for help. Sadly to 

say, many will not. The open 

wound is covered by a Band- 

Aid. We mask our hurt and 

our pain with what our culture 

has trained us to do. This 

process seems to work in the 

beginning as we shield ourselves 

until the next tour. 

IT’S A DOUBLE EDGE 

SWORD, IF WE DO NOT ASK 

FOR HELP and our families 

and friends do not know how 

to offer help. 

The quick fix for us is to get 

back to the JOB and allow 

more wounds and more pain 

to cover the past ones. This 

SAMANTHA HORWITZ & 

JOHN SALERNO 

is a cycle that is ongoing and 

infectious. We never treat our 

wounds, we only treat the 

pain. 

Many Officers use alternative 

means to ease this pain, such 

as alcohol, drugs and seclusion. 

But what we do not see 

is the infection as this wound 

continues to fester. 

The soreness becomes red, 

the redness soon turns to 

black, everything around it becomes 

numb, the nerve endings 

soon begin to die, until 

there is absolutely no feeling. 

Mental Health is no different. 

When we cover up our injuries 

in our brain, the things we 

see, hear and experience daily, 

WILL cause damage, sometimes 

irreversible. 

When one of the band-aids 

falls off, it makes the wound 

visible to others exposing the 

damage, sparking a response 

that says, “YOU NEED TO 

SEEK HELP FOR THAT.” 

But by that time, the wound 

is already numb and dying.

Therefore, it is so important 

for others to notice the bandaids 

before they fall off. This 

will help treat the infection 

before the damage becomes 

irreversible or at the very 

least, difficult to repair. 

Even the smallest of 

wounds need to be addressed, 

no matter how 

insignificant you think they 

may be. The smallest of untreated 

cuts may cause us to 

lose something irreplaceable, 

your marriage, your kids, your 

family, or maybe your life. 

Every wound can be treated 

differently. Some may 

just need a quick antibiotic, 

whereas others may take a 

longer healing process. But 

99.9% of all wounds are treatable, 

if they are addressed 

early on. 

It's time to stop putting 

Band-Aids on bullet holes. 

Rubbing dirt on it, walking it 

off and sucking it up, are the 

days of the past. 

We have the knowledge 

now to identify, address and 

treat every aspect of PTSD 

from the crisis onset to post 

outpatient care if needed. 

The Buy-in of each department 

is the key that will 

unlock the tools which can 

dismantle and Smash the 

Stigma. 

John and Sam host MAD (Making a 

Difference) Radio, Wednesdays 7pm 

central live on FB @Makingadifferencetx. 

For more about Sam & John 

and the wellness and resiliency 

workshops for first responders, visit 

ABadgeofHonor.com. 

The BLUES 

Delivered to Your 

Email Every Month 

click or scan here 


DARYL LOTT 

daryl’s deliberations 

Appearances & Honor 

Americans, it appears, no longer care 

what something looks like. 

I remember when the actual 

truth on the ground took a back 

seat to what any action I took 

looked like. In other words, my 

decision as a police lieutenant 

had to consider the optics of the 

situation. Did my decision make it 

look like I was playing favorites? 

Did it make it look like I favored 

one race or gender over another? 

Did my decision look like I was 

placing my fingers on the scales 

of justice? 

After all, I 

represented 

all the 

citizens of 

Houston 

and I had 

the duty 

to support 

not only the 

facts on the 

ground, but 

to consider 

the citizens’ 

perceptions 

of my 

actions. The 

Houston 

Police Rules Manual dictated that 

I must use “sound judgment.” 

In recent years, issues arose in 

our country that affected perceptions 

and notions of fair play and 

objectivity. Of course, this is not 

limited to one ideology or politi- 


cal party. It gives rise to reactionary 

politics. Reactionary politics 

dictate that when one side does 

X, the other side must do Y as 

a reaction. Reactionary politics 

make no accommodation for 

compromise. I give a few examples 

of what concerns me. 

When the pandemic struck the 

world, some people used the 

term “Chinese Covid” as the name 

of the disease. The mainstream 

DARYL LOTT 

media in America derided the 

term as it made China look like 

the culprit in the whole episode. 

It’s nothing new to tack the origin 

of a virus on the name of the 

sickness. For example, “German 

Measles”, “Russian Flu”, “Spanish 

Flu”, etc. As the mainstream 

media dug in their heels over 

this, they did not care if it looked 

like they were 

pawns of the 

Chinese Communist 

Party. 

They manufactured 

the 

angle that if 

anyone called 

it “Chinese 

Covid”, they 

were racists 

against Asian 

people. Why 

not just report 

the facts? 

As the pandemic 

took its 

toll around the 

world, Democrats in the U.S. decided 

to change voting laws so no 

one would be “disenfranchised” 

because of the quarantines. Anything 

more than someone driving 

by and casting a vote without 

identification confirmation was

“Jim Crow.” Democrats wailed 

about Voter ID being discriminatory, 

yet they gave no evidence 

of anything to that effect. Meanwhile, 

Republicans (and most 

Democrats) believed the only 

reason one would not want Voter 

ID is to cheat. That really is the 

only logical conclusion. During 

the pandemic many irregularities 

occurred. I’m not saying the election 

was stolen. I am saying that 

if the Democrats wanted to make 

it appear the election was stolen, 

they succeeded beyond their 

wildest dreams. 

Republicans took to the streets 

of Washington DC on January 

6th. I assume they believed the 

election was stolen because it 

appeared that way. The same 

appearance situation occurred 

in reverse. If a group of people 

wanted to make it look like they 

were trying to overthrow the 

government of the United States, 

they hit the mark. Read the room, 

people! 

It seems like neither side asks 

what their actions will look like 

to the other side or objective 

people around the world. Honor 

requires such a consideration. 

Democrat prosecutors have 

gone after President Trump with 

a vengeance. They have no complainants 

and the obscure laws 

they pull up have never been 

prosecuted like this before. It’s 

no wonder that Trump’s poll 

numbers have gone up. It looks 

like Democrats have manufactured 

some really flawed legal 

proceedings to prosecute their 

political opposites. Apparently, 

most Americans believe the worst 

about Democrat motivations for 

prosecution. 

The old adage “Perception is 

Reality” has never been truer than 

today. Americans have respected 

the other side’s perceptions 

throughout our history, and now 

reactionary politics rule the day. 

Above all, there is no honor. 

The first president elected in a 

two-party system was Andrew 

Jackson. He sincerely believed his 

first run for the office was stolen 

in the House of Representatives in 

what history called “The Corrupt 

Bargain.” He was probably correct, 

but he congratulated the 

victor and honored his country. 

He told his supporters they would 

have to get more votes the next 

time so the election wouldn’t be 

thrown to the House. They got 

more votes, and he won convincingly 

the next time. 

Jackson said, “Every good citizen 

makes his country’s honor his 

own and cherishes it not only as 

precious but as sacred. He is willing 

to risk his life in its defense 

and is conscious that he gains 

protection while he gives it.” 

The Apostle Paul wrote to the 

Christians at Thessalonica and 

admonished them to “Abstain 

from the appearance of evil.” 

The same apostle wrote to the 

Romans, “Outdo one another in 

showing honor.” 

What we’re doing now can’t be 

good for us. Just sayin’. 



Over 13 Million 

Views in 2023! 

CLICK HERE FOR 2024 MEDIA KIT & RATES 


DR. TINA JAECKLE 

blue mental health 

The Psychological Impact of 

Criminal Accountability 


As our nation has encountered 

the devastating consequences 

of an increased number of mass 

shootings, especially when it 

involves innocent children, we 

are now seeing more calls for 

criminal charges for responding 

officers. When there is a potential 

question of negligence on 

the part of law enforcement, 

both the surviving families and 

prosecutors are now moving 

forward with seeking accountability 

through criminal charges. 

However, these cases are often 

legally difficult to prove as 

demonstrated by the criminal 

trial of former Broward County 

deputy Scot Peterson. A jury 

acquitted him on all charges of 

felony child neglect, three counts 

of culpable negligence and one 

count of perjury. Peterson, a 

school resource deputy, stayed 

outside during the February 2018 

massacre at Marjory Stoneman 

Douglas High School in Parkland, 

Florida. 

Now another tragedy continues 

to play out on the national stage. 

According to the Washington 

Post (Voisin, June 2024), a grand 

jury indicted the former chief of 

the school police force in Uvalde, 

Tex., in connection with the 

botched response to the 2022 

mass killing at Robb Elementary 

School, finding that he bears responsibility 

for the lengthy delay 

in killing the gunman. The indictment 

released Friday echoes 

much of what state and federal 

law enforcement leaders have 

concluded in their own reviews 

of the attack that left 19 students 

and two teachers dead. Prosecutors 

allege Pedro “Pete” Arredondo 

failed to identify the attack as 

an active shooter incident, even 

after hearing gunshots and being 

informed that a teacher had 

been shot and there were children 

still inside. The indictment 

also asserts that Arredondo was 

the incident commander, something 

he has disputed. Arredondo 

was charged with one felony 

count of abandoning or endangering 

a child for each of the 10 

children who survived the attack 

inside classrooms 111 and 112 by 

pretending to be dead or hiding 

among the dead. He was booked 

at the county jail on Thursday, 

June 27, and later posted bail. 

In addition, a former officer, 

Adrian Gonzales, was also indicted. 

Prosecutors said he and 

Arredondo were the first on the 

scene. Gonzales was indicted 

on 29 counts of abandoning or 

endangering a child. That figure 

represents the combined total 

of 19 child victims and 10 child 

survivors. 

The officers are the first to face 

DR. TINA JAECKLE 

criminal charges in a shooting 

that sparked outrage over both 

the violence of the 18-year-old 

gunman and law enforcement’s 

lengthy delay in entering the 

classroom and killing him. Texas 

leaders initially praised the law 

enforcement response but later 

acknowledged officers had 

waited 77 minutes to confront 

the gunman. Legal experts said 

the charges appear to mark an 

unprecedented application of the 

child-endangerment statute. Legal 

experts could not recall any 

previous case in which Texas law 

enforcement officers had faced 

child-endangerment charges, 

which are typically brought 

against parents, caregivers or 

individuals related to victimized 

children. But there is a subsection 

of the law that gives prosecutors 

room to charge an individual 

they think knowingly acted or 

failed to act in a way that led to 

a child experiencing imminent 

danger of death or bodily injury. 

There is ample evidence show-

ing law enforcement’s inaction 

that day on body-camera videos, 

radio communications and other 

records. However, whether Christina 

Mitchell, the Uvalde district 

attorney, wins a conviction, the 

charges “send a message directly 

to law enforcement that if 

you are police officer and know 

a child is in danger, you cannot 

wait an hour to engage with a 

bad actor.” 

As these cases unfold, the 

entire law enforcement community, 

as well as the grieving 

families, are closely watching. 

But there is, without question, a 

psychological impact on those 

who serve and protect and increased 

questions on responsibility 

and accountability in these 

situations. Fortunately, there are 

countless officers in our country 

who would never hesitate 

to put their lives on the line to 

save others, especially children, 

and we are deeply grateful for 

their heroism and sacrifice. These 

criminal cases may indeed send 

a strong message to those law 

enforcement officers who hesitate 

to respond. Time will certainly 

tell. 


NOT SO BRIGHT AWARD 

Light Bulb Award 

BLOOD IS ON THEIR HANDS 

BIDEN. HARRIS. MAYORKAS. All three have the blood of these 

innocent victims on their hands. 

We should just rename this 

section – The JOE BIDEN Moron 

Awards instead of LIGHT BULB. 

And believe it or not, I’m not 

talking about the debate. Although 

that was a unmigrated 

disaster. But we all knew Joe 

would screw that all up and he 

did not disappoint. 

This month’s MORON AWARD 

goes to the entire BIDEN team, 

whoever the hell is running this 

country and more importantly, 

who is ultimately responsible for 

the disaster at the Border. Because 

who ever you are, whoever 

is pulling the strings behind 

the Joe Biden curtain, you have 

the blood of dozens of innocent 

victims on your hands. Including 

12-year old Jocelyn Nungaray 

from Houston, 21-year old Joselyn 

Jhoana Toaquiza from New 

York, Rachel Morin, a Maryland 

mother of five and the senseless 

rape and assault of a 15- year 

old girl from New York. And 

that’s just last month. 

Mayorkas should be held 

accountable for every crime 

committed by illegal aliens and 

charged alongside the criminals. 

His blatant disregard for 

the safety of American citizens is 

just unfathomable. How anyone 

can stand before the American 

THE VICTIMS 

people and say the border is 

secure is beyond me. I can sum 

it up in 4 words – he’s a fucking 

idiot. 

And what about our Border 

SZAR. Kamala Harris? Another 

frickin’ idiot. That kackling moron 

doesn’t have a clue what the 

hell she is doing and I’m not sure 

she even knows where the border 

of the United States begins 

or ends. She has no business 

overseeing anything much less 

the border and God forbid she 


THE MORONS 

ever had to step in and become 

the commander in chief. 

And as if that wasn’t bad 

enough, DHS Says over 400 Migrants 

Crossed the Border with 

the Aid of ISIS Affiliated Group. 

Homeland Security has identified 

over 400 immigrants who have 

come to the U.S. from Central 

Asia and elsewhere as “subjects 

of concern” because they were 

brought by an ISIS-affiliated human 

smuggling network, three 

U.S. officials tell NBC News. 

While over 150 of them have 

been arrested, the whereabouts 

of over 250 remain unknown, 

the officials said, and Immigration 

and Customs Enforcement is 

looking to arrest them on immigration 

charges when they are 

located according to reports by 

NBC. 

“In this case, it was the information 

that suggested a potential 

tie to ISIS because of some 

of the individuals involved in 

[smuggling migrants to the 

border] that led us to want to 

take extra care,” said a senior 

Biden administration official, 

“and out of an abundance of 

caution make sure that we 

exercised our authority in the 

most expansive and appropriate 

way to mitigate risk because of 

this potential connection being 

made.” 

The official added that since 

ICE began arresting migrants 

brought to the U.S. by the ISISlinked 

smuggling group several 

months ago, no information has 

emerged tying them to a threat 

to the U.S. homeland. 

Recent terrorist attacks in 

Russia have fueled heightened 

concern about ISIS and 

its offshoot ISIS-K. In recent 

months, DHS has been looking 

more closely at migrants from 

Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, 

Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Russia, 

countries where ISIS-K has been 

active. 

People made fun on Trump 

when he said countries were 

emptying their jails and mental 

institutes sending some ‘really 

bad people here.’ He was 100% 

correct. The criminals crossing 

our border are in the hundreds of 

thousands. Trump says if elected 

he would begin the largest 

deportation of illegal aliens in 

the history of the US. I’m not sure 

how you would even find all these 

people. 

One thing is for sure. The killing, 

robbing, stealing, and raping is 

only going to get worse under the 

Biden regime. We must rid ourselves 

of this moron and his band 

of idiots. This November you need 

to vote and bring back a secure 

border. We need TRUMP back. 



172 The Blues - - January July ‘24 ‘24

The Blues The Blues - January - July ‘24 173




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180 180 The The Blues - July - July ‘24 ‘24

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ALDINE ISD 

POLICE DEPARTMENT 

JOIN OUR TEAM 

EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS 

• Sick Leave 

• Paid Vacation 

• Paid Holidays 

• Personal Days 

• Teacher Retirement System 

TCOLE CERTIFICATION INCENTIVE 

• Intermediate PO: $2,400 

• Advanced PO: $4,800 

• Master PO: $7,200 

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS 

• Must be 21 Years Of Age 

• Must Hold an Active Tcole Peace Officer License 

• Must Complete the Following: 

• Pass Physical Agility Test 

• Background Investigation 

• Psychological Evaluation 

• Drug Screening 

DEPARTMENT BENEFITS 

• Uniforms Provided, Including Duty Weapon 

• Department Provided Training 

• Starting Pay Depends on 

Qualifications / Experience 

• TCOLE Certification / Education Pay 

• Most Officers work Day Shift with Weekends Off 

(INCENTIVE PAY FOR DETECTIVES, K-9 HANDLERS, AND 

FIREARM INSTRUCTORS.) 

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT 

SGT. HALL AT 281.442.4923 

OR VISIT ALDINEISD.ORG 

APPLY AT 

ALDINEISD.ORG 

STARTING SALARY $55,000 WITH NO EXPERIENCE 

UP TO $85,000 DEPENDING ON EXPERIENCE 

ALDINE ISD PD OFFERS 

SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS 

• Criminal Investigations 

• Emergency Response Team 

• Honor Guard 

• Gang Task Force 

• Community Outreach Division 

• K-9 Division 

• Firearm Instructor 

$1,000 SIGNING BONUS 

 

The Blues -- July ‘24 185

NOW HIRING 

PRIORITY BOLO 


FIND YOUR ISD 

POSITION HERE 

186 The The Blues - July July ‘24 ‘24

Now Hiring 

School District Police Officer 

Must be TCOLE Certified 

www.pfisd.net/police 

226 day work schedule with starting 

salary between $52,884 and $60,821 

depending on experience 

Overtime Opportunities Available 

Stipends for TCOLE Advanced & Master 

Licenses, MHO Certification, College 

Degrees, and Bilingual Proficiency 

Thanksgiving, Winter, & 

Spring Breaks off 

Take Home Vehicle Program 

Great Insurance & Benefits 

Package with TRS 

Retirement 

SPRING BRANCH ISD POLICE DEPARTMENT 

WE’RE 

HIRING 

Patrol & Onsite Officers (HS/MS) 

Gang Officer 

Mental Health Officers 

Community Relations Officer 

Emergency Management 

Criminal Investigations 

K-9 programs 

*All equipment provided including duty weapon 

**Training opportunities available 

DEPARTMENT 

HIGHLIGHTS 

55 officer department 

44 square mile district 

47 schools 

35,000 population 

24/7 Patrol 

We want you to preserve, protect, and defend our future. 

Starting Pay $63,000 (TCOLE Basic Peace Officer certification with no experience) 

Language pay 

Shift differential pay 

Intermediate, Advanced and 

Master Peace Officer 

certificate pay 

Paid time off 

Ample overtime opportunities 

Apply online today. springbranchisd.com/join-our-team 

The The Blues Blues -- July July ‘24 ‘24 187 187

NOW HIRING 

LE job positions 

Fort Worth Marshal’s Office Get Info Deputy Marshal 07/01/2024 

Bailey County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Deputy 07/03/2024 

Fort Worth Police Department Get Info Lateral Police Officers 07/01/2024 

Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Patrol Deputy 07/06/2024 

San Saba County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Deputy 07/06/2024 

Port Aransas Police Department Get Info Patrol Officers 07/30/2024 

Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department Get Info Patrol Officer 07/08/2024 

Manvel Police Department Get Info Patrol Officer 07/13/2024 

Temple Police Department Get Info Police Officer 07/14/2024 

Center ISD Police Department Get Info Police Officer 07/15/2024 

Rollingwood Police Department Get Info Police Officer 07/20/2024 

University Park Police Department Get Info Police Officer Apply Here! 07/31/2024 

Haltom City Police Department Get Info Police Officer Civil Service Exam 07/28/2024 

Travis County Sheriff’s Office Facilities Court House Deputy 07/15/2024 

Gunter ISD Police Department Get Info Police Officer 07/15/2024 

Baylor County Sheriffs Office Get Info Deputy 07/20/2024 

Harris County Constable’s Office Precinct 4 Lateral & Current TCOLE Certified Cadets 07/23/2024 

Frisco Police Department Get Info Police Officers (Certified, Out of State Lateral and Recruits) 07/01/2024 

Wallis Police Department Get Info Police Officer 07/28/2024 

Rains ISD Police Department Get Info Police Officer 08/01/2024 

West Lake Hills Police Department Get Info Police Officer 07/30/2024 

Stratford Police Department Get Info Patrol Officer 07/28/2024 

Kleberg and Kenedy CNTY District Attorney’s Office Lt. Investigator 07/15/2024 

University of North Texas at Dallas Get Info Police Officer 07/15/2024 

Blanco County Constable Office PCT. 1 Deputy 07/05/2024 

Rockport Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/04/2024 

Gillespie County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Deputy 08/04/2024 

South San Antonio ISD Get Info Police Officer 08/06/2024 

Clyde Police Department Get Info Patrol Officer/School Resource Officer 07/31/2024 

TSTC Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/09/2024 

Woodsboro Police Department Get Info School Resource Officer / Patrol Officer 08/10/2024 

Greenville Police Department Get Info Police Officer 07/10/2024 

Colleyville Police Department Get Info School Resource Officer 08/10/2024 

Colleyville Police Department Get Info Police Officer 08/10/2024 

Oak Point Police Department Get Info School Resource Officer 07/15/2024 

Allen Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 07/31/2024 

Cleveland Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/09/2024 

Muenster Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/01/2024 

Booker Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/11/2024 

Saginaw Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 08/10/2024 

Bryan Police Department Get Info Police Officer 08/13/2024 

Bandera County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Patrol Deputy 08/12/2024 

Comptroller of Public Accounts Get Info State Police Officer / Corporal 08/12/2024 

Sunrise Beach Police Department Get Info Police Officer 08/09/2024 

De Kalb Police Department Get Info Patrol Officer 08/13/2024 

The Port of Corpus Christi Authority Get Info Police Officer 07/28/2024 

Lago Vista Police Department Get Info Police Officer 08/16/2024 

Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Law Enforcement Deputy 08/16/2024 

Sour Lake Police Department Get Info Police Officer 08/17/2024 

Dallam County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Deputy Sheriff 08/17/2024 

Lexington Police Department Get Info Patrol Officer 08/17/2024 

City of White Deer Get Info Police Officer 08/20/2024 

Aubrey ISD Get Info Peace Officer 08/20/2024 

San Antonio Airport Police Department Police Officer 08/23/2024 

City of Lockhart Get Info Police Officer 07/15/2024 

Southwestern Baptist Get Info Part-Time Police Officer 08/23/2024 

Harlingen Police Department Get Info Entry Level Police Officer 08/23/2024 


NOW HIRING 

LE job positions 

Uhland Police Department Get Info 

Police Officer 08/23/2024 

Lakeway Police Department Get Info 


Hutto Police Department Get Info 


Central Texas College Police Department Get Info 


Alamo Colleges Police Department Get Info 


Austin Police Department Get Info 

Police Cadet 08/26/2024 

Dallas County Marshal Service LEO Get Info 

Peace Officer – Corporal 08/26/2024 

Robertson County Sheriff’s Office Get Info 

Patrol Deputy 08/27/2024 

Pilot Point ISD Police Department Get Info 


Beverly Hills Police Department Get Info 

Detective 08/16/2024 

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police Department Get Info 


Lakeway Police Department Get Info 

Police Cadet - Apply Here! 

07/19/2024 

Grimes County Sheriff’s Office Get Info 

Patrol Deputy 08/16/2024 

WELCOME ABOARD PASADENA PD 


ADCRR is Hiring 

Correctional Officers 

1-888-545-RUSH 


This Is How We Serve 

Serve With Us 

Idaho State Police 

Apply now through 

March 3rd 

To Serve and protect 

the citizens 

of Idaho 

K9 Teams 

Commerical Vehicle Safety 

Investigations 

www.isp.idaho.gov 

Capitol Protective Services 

SWAT 

Crash Reconstruction 





ALDINE ISD 


JOIN OUR TEAMAPPLY AT 

EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS 


• Paid Vacation 

• Paid Holidays 

• Personal Days 

• Teacher Retirement System 

TCOLE CERTIFICATION INCENTIVE 

• Intermediate PO: $2,400 

• Advanced PO: $4,800 

• Master PO: $7,200 

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS 

• Must be 21 Years Of Age 

• Must Hold an Active Tcole Peace Officer License 

• Must Complete the Following: 

• Pass Physical Agility Test 

• Background Investigation 

• Psychological Evaluation 

• Drug Screening 

ALDINEISD.ORG 

STARTING SALARY $55,000 WITH NO EXPERIENCE 

UP TO $85,000 DEPENDING ON EXPERIENCE 

ALDINE ISD PD OFFERS 

DEPARTMENT BENEFITS 

• Uniforms Provided, Including Duty Weapon 

• Department Provided Training 

• Starting Pay Depends on 

Qualifications / Experience 

• TCOLE Certification / Education Pay 

• Most Officers work Day Shift with Weekends Off 

(INCENTIVE PAY FOR DETECTIVES, K-9 HANDLERS, AND 

FIREARM INSTRUCTORS.) 

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT 

SGT. HALL AT 281.442.4923 

OR VISIT ALDINEISD.ORG 

SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS 

• Criminal Investigations 

• Emergency Response Team 

• Honor Guard 

• Gang Task Force 

• Community Outreach Division 

• K-9 Division 

• Firearm Instructor 

$1,000 SIGNING BONUS 






NOW 

HIRING 

BIG SPRING PD IS NOW HIRING POLICE OFFICERS 

• 100% PAID ACADEMY TRAINING FOR 

NON-CERTIFIED CADETS 

• EQUIPMENT AND UNIFORMS ARE PROVIDED 

INCLUDING TAKE HOME VEHICLES 

• TMRS RETIREMENT (2:1 CITY MATCH) 

• 100% EMPLOYEE MEDICAL AND LIFE 

INSURANCE PREMIUM PAID BY THE CITY 

• PAID VACATION AND HOLIDAYS 

• PAID SICK LEAVE 


• LONGEVITY PAY FOR YEARS OF SERVICE 

• EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM 

• PROGRESSIVE ANNUAL IN-SERVICE 

TRAINING AND EXTERNAL TRAINING 

OPPORTUNITIES. 

• OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIVERSE 

EXPERIENCE IN ASSIGNMENTS SUCH AS 

SWAT, NARCOTICS, TRAFFIC, AND CRIMINAL 

INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION 

• $1500 ACADEMY REIMBURSEMENT AND 

$2400 RELOCATION PAY FOR CERTIFIED 

OFFICERS 

$55,900 STARTING ANNUAL SALARY FOR CERTIFIED POLICE OFFICERS. 

ENTRY LEVEL TESTING ON AUGUST 1, 2023 

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS JULY 26, 2023 

APPLY NOW AT WWW.MYBIGSPRING.COM 

THE CITY OF BIG SPRING IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER




Cuero Police Department 

Now Hiring for Patrol Officer Position 

Email TCOLE Personal History Statement to sellis@cityofcuero.com 


Department Benefits 

14 Paid Holidays 

2 Weeks Paid Vacation 

Certification Pay 

100% Insurance Paid for Employees 

Retirement 2 to 1 match (20yr Retirement) 

FSA for Employees 

Longevity Pay 

Equipment & Uniforms Provided Including Duty Weapon w/ Red Dot Sight 

Take Home Vehicle Within Surrounding Counties 

10 Hour Work Shifts 

Membership Paid to Local Gym 

Department Provided Training 

Off-duty Security Opportunities 

Cell Phone Stipend 

Starting Pay Depends on Qualifications 

Requirements: Must be TCOLE Certified or currently enrolled in an accredited Police 

Academy and pass a background investigation.


DALLAS POLICE department 

WE aRE HIRING 

Lateral Entry Police officers 

INCENTIVE PAYS 

Education Pay Up to $2,880/yearly 

Bachelor’s Degree $3,600/yearly 

Intermediate Cert. $600/yearly 

Advanced Cert. $4,800/yearly 

Master Peace Officer $7,200/yearly 

Shift Differential 3.5% - 6.5% 

FTO Pay 

$1,200/yearly 

Language Pay Up to $1,800/yearly 

3 years experience 

$80,431 


$82,736 


$85,109 

BENEFITS 

Assistance with state licensing 

endorsement 

15 paid vacation days/year (does 

not expire) 

Relocation assistance 

No residency requirement 

Wellness Unit and Peer Support 

6 Weeks maternity/paternity leave 

Health/Vision/Dental/Life 

Insurance 

Load Bearing Vests 

All Equipment provided at no cost 

Minimum Qualifications: 

Subject to same hiring process as all other police officer applicants 

Will have college credit hours substituted 

Must have 36 months certified, full-time, law enforcement experience 

Must not have any pending disciplinary actions or investigations 

Out of state applicants will complete state licensing process prior to entry into the lateral 

academy 

Apply now at 

206 www.dallaspolice.gov 

The Blues - July ‘24 

DALLAS POLICE RECRUITING 

1400 Botham Jean Blvd., Dallas, TX 75215 

(214) 671-4409






GALVESTON 

COUNTY 

SHERIFF’S OFFICE 

Seeking Individuals Who Are Interested in a Rewarding Career in Corrections 

Begin Your Career Today! 

GALVESTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE ESTABLISHMENT OF ELIGIBILITY 

Position: Corrections Deputy I 

Bureau/Division: Corrections/Jail 

Title/Rank: Corrections Deputy/Deputy I 

Reports to: Sergeant - Corrections 

Starting Salary: $51,250.00 

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES 

Maintains the security of the facility by conducting security checks, settling disputes, and performing cell searches and 

inspections; conducts outside perimeter checks. 

Preparation and proper completion in the documentation of inmate records. 

Issues inmate meals, clothing, linens, and personal items. 

Supervise inmate programs (recreational, legal, health care, visitation and religious services) 

Prepares reports on jail and inmate activities, enforce inmate handbook rules. 

Supervises inmates performing such assignments as cleaning and maintaining the jail facility and continuously observe 

locations and activities of inmates. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 

• High School / GED Certificate and must be at least 18 years of age. 

• Must be a U.S. Citizen and resident of the contiguous United States for a period of time sufficient to conduct a 

background investigation. 

• Must be able to work days, nights, weekends, holidays and mandatory shifts when needed. 

• Must be able to work during natural disasters and or under declarations. 

• Must possess a valid Texas driver's license and an acceptable driving record as determined by the Galveston County 

Sheriff's Office in effect at the time of application. 

• Must have favorable employment history. All information given regarding past employment will be thoroughly checked. 

• Must have a stable credit history. 

• Must possess good computer skills and demonstrate comprehensive reading and comprehension skills. 

• No conviction above a Class B Misdemeanor or a Class B misdemeanor within the last 10 years nor have been on or 

currently on court-ordered community supervision or probation for any criminal offense and no Family Violence 

convictions of any level. 

• Applicant must pass all phases of the required testing. 

• Must be eligible for licensing by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) for the position applied for, if not 

presently licensed. 

TO APPLY 

An applicant interested in any of GCSO position shall first download, complete and return 

the Application Packet, per the instructions on the downloadable form. 

The Application Packet can be found at SHERIFF.GALVESTONCOUNTYTX.GOV 

JOIN US 

VISIT SHERIFF.GALVESTONCOUNTYTX.GOV TO APPLY! 


The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office is an Equal Opportunity Employer 

CONTACT US 

409.763.7585 : SO.EMPLOYMENT@GALVESTONCOUNTYTX.GOV



NOW 

HIRING 

BIG SPRING PD IS NOW HIRING POLICE OFFICERS 

• 100% PAID ACADEMY TRAINING FOR 

NON-CERTIFIED CADETS 

• EQUIPMENT AND UNIFORMS ARE PROVIDED 

INCLUDING TAKE HOME VEHICLES 

• TMRS RETIREMENT (2:1 CITY MATCH) 

• 100% EMPLOYEE MEDICAL AND LIFE 

INSURANCE PREMIUM PAID BY THE CITY 

• PAID VACATION AND HOLIDAYS 

• PAID SICK LEAVE 

• LONGEVITY PAY FOR YEARS OF SERVICE 

• EMPLOYEE WELLNESS PROGRAM 

• PROGRESSIVE ANNUAL IN-SERVICE 

TRAINING AND EXTERNAL TRAINING 

OPPORTUNITIES. 

• OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIVERSE 

EXPERIENCE IN ASSIGNMENTS SUCH AS 

SWAT, NARCOTICS, TRAFFIC, AND CRIMINAL 

INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION 

• $1500 ACADEMY REIMBURSEMENT AND 

$2400 RELOCATION PAY FOR CERTIFIED 

OFFICERS 

$55,900 STARTING ANNUAL SALARY FOR CERTIFIED POLICE OFFICERS. 

ENTRY LEVEL TESTING ON AUGUST 1, 2023 

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS JULY 26, 2023 

APPLY NOW AT WWW.MYBIGSPRING.COM 

THE CITY OF BIG SPRING IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

GOOSE CREEK CISD PD 

NOW RECRUITING 

POLICE OFFICERS ! 

POSITION DETAILS: 

Provides law enforcement services to the school district to prevent and protect all students, personnel, 

and visitors from physical harm and prevent property loss due to theft or vandalism. Enforce all 

laws including municipal ordinances, county ordinances, and state laws. 

● 

● 

● 

● 

240 or 202 Duty Day Schedule 

Competitive Salary - MTD9* Starting 

Stipends available for Intermediate, Advanced and Master TCOLE License 

Various opportunities including K9, Patrol, Investigations, FTO, Instructor and more 

REQUIREMENTS: 

● 

● 

● 

Current TCOLE Peace Officer License 

Ability to pass comprehensive background 

Ability to pass medical, drug and psychological 

exams 

HIRING PROCESS: 

● 

● 

● 

● 

● 

● 

Online Application 

Complete preliminary interview 

Complete background investigation 

Complete Oral Board Interview 

Conditional Job Offer 

Complete Medical, Psychological and Drug Screen 

PREFERRED: 

● 

● 

● 

● 

Intermediate TCOLE Peace Officer License 

Bilingual 

Previous ISD PD experience 

Background in law enforcement 

Contact us at 281-422-6461 to speak with a recruiter. 

Apply online @ https://www.gccisd.net/page/employment.home 


ARE WE 

HIRING 

Criminal Background 

Pass 

proficiently 

Type 

Nights, Weekends & Holidays 

Work 

Speaking Preferred 

Spanish 

11th Street 

1015 

Texas 

Hempstead, 

Hour work schedule 

12- 

every other weekend 

off 

THE CITY OF 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS DIVISION 

HEMPSTEAD POLICE DEPARTMENT 

Dispatchers 

QUALIFICATIONS 

18 years of age 

Minimum 

Starting Salary: $41,600 

B E N E F I T S 

BlueCross Blue Shield 

Vision & Dental Insurance 

Longevity Pay > 1 year 

Certificate Pay 

Uniform Shirts Provided 

77445 


www.hempsteadcitytx.gov (job opportunities)

JOIN OUR TEAM 

Place your department’s recruiting ad 

in The BLUES for only $250 for an 

BECOME entire A HEMPSTEAD year, only $20 a POLICE month. OFFICER 

Hempstead's Finest 

Starting Salary: $57,750 

- BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD 

- VISION & DENTAL INS 

- CERTIFICATE PAY 

- WEAPONS ISSUED 

- OFF EVERY OTHER WEEKEND 

- CONTINUING TRAINING 

NOW HIRING 3 POLICE OFFICERS 

HPD BOASTS: 

- Training Provider 

- Canine Program 

- Narcotics Investigation 

- Crash Investigators 

- Telecommunications 

Division 

1015 11th St Hempstead, TX 

hpdrecruing@hempsteadcitytx.gov 

Or call us at: (979) 826-3332 



LATERAL DEPUTY 




WE ARE 

HIRING! 

LATERAL DEPUTY 

REQUIREMENTS 

• Must be a licensed Peace Officer by the Texas Commission on 

Law Enforcement (TCOLE) in good standing 

• Must be currently employed as a Peace Officer (any break in 

service will be considered on a case-by-case basis) 

• Must have a minimum of 12 consecutive months experience as a 

Peace Office at any one agency 

• Must successfully pass the HCSO Physical Abilities Test (PAT) 

• Meet HCSO firearms qualification standard 

• Must pass a thorough background investigation (criminal 

background check, fingerprinting, personal interview, etc.) as 

required by TCOLE 

• Must pass a physical and psychological evaluation as required by 

TCOLE 

• Valid driver’s license and liability insurance (Texas by start date) 

• Eyesight must be correctable to 20/20, normal color, and 

peripheral vision 

• Correctable normal audible range in both ears 

• A two (2) year minimum commitment to Patrol before being 

eligible to transfer to other Bureaus 

For additional information contact 

Harris County Sheriff’s Office 

Recruitment Unit 

(713) 877-5250 


TO APPLY 

www.harriscountyso.org | www.hcsojobs.com 

SCAN 

THIS CODE Harris County 

@HCSOTexas 

Sheriff’s Office 

HCSOTexas HCSOTexas @HCSOTexas

WE ARE 

HIRING! 

DEPUTY CADET 

REQUIREMENTS 

• At least 60 college credit hours and/or 2 years of military 

experience with an honorable discharge 

• At least 21 years of age (by start date) 

• Valid driver’s license and liability insurance (Texas by start date) 

• Must successfully pass the HCSO Physical Abilities Test (PAT) 

• Eyesight must be correctable to 20/20, normal color, and 

peripheral vision 



background check, fingerprinting, personal interview, etc.) 

• Must pass a medical and psychological evaluation as required by 

TCOLE 

• Must pass all required testing 

YOUR LAW ENFORCEMENT CAREER 

STARTS HERE, JOIN OUR ACADEMY! 

• Must pass all required testing upon completion of the Basic 

Peace Officer Course (BPOC), sworn Deputies must successfully 

complete the Field Training Program (FTP) before receiving a 

Patrol assignment 

• A two (2) year minimum commitment to Patrol before being 

eligible for other Bureaus 




(713) 877-5250 

TO APPLY 


SCAN 


@HCSOTexas 


HCSOTexas HCSOTexas @HCSOTexas 


WE ARE 

HIRING! 

DETENTION OFFICER 

REQUIREMENTS 

Ask About Our Hiring Incentive 

• High School Diploma or G.E.D 

• U.S. Citizen 

• At least 18 years of age (by start date) 

• Eyesight must be correctable to 20/20, normal color, 

and peripheral vision 


• Must pass all pre-employment testing 


background check, fingerprinting, personal interview, etc.) 

as required by TCOLE 

• Must pass a medical and psychological evaluation as required 

by TCOLE 

Lateral Detention Officer: 

If you have verifiable experience as a correctional officer or a 

jailer from any correctional facility, we will pay you up to 14 

years for your experience. 




(713) 877-5250 


TO APPLY 


SCAN 


@HCSOTexas 


HCSOTexas HCSOTexas @HCSOTexas




THE KILLEEN POLICE DEPARTMENT 

IS NOW 

Hiring 

FOR THE POSITION OF 

Police Officer 

Online Applications 

will open: 

July 31, 2023 

Application Deadline: 

September 15, 2023 

Civil Service Exam will 

be: 

September 24, 2023 

To apply, go to: 

www.killeentexas.gov/16 

8/Job-Opportunities 

Wear The Badge, 

Make a Difference 

D 

b 

th 

a 

Officer De'Vonte Johnson 

Recruiter 

254-200-7987 

DJohnson@killeentexas.gov 

The Killeen Police Department is an 

228 

Equal 

The Blues 

Opportunity 

- July ‘24 

Employer

Starting pay - $57,889 

Paid: Vacation, Holiday & Sick Leave 

$15K Sign-on incentive for TCOLE 

certified Peace Officers 

College Degree pay incentive 

7% retirement plan through TMRS 

with a 2:1 match ratio 

Comprehensive Benefits Package 

Opportunity to work in various 

specialized units 

The Killeen Police 

epartment is dedicated to 

uilding a partnership with 

e community to fight crime 

nd improve every citizen's 

quality of life. 

Follow us at: 

KilleenPD 

KilleenPolice 

JoinKilleenPD 

Visit www.KilleenPD.com for further The Blues - details 

July ‘24 229





community theatre, museums, shopping and much more, Lockhart has a community feel that can’t be beat. We have several 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• — 

 

• 

 

• 

 

• 

• 

$75, master’s $100 per 

 

• 

 

• 

 

• 

 

• 

 

• 

 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 

• 

 

• ’ 

 

 

 

 

234 

 

The Blues - July ‘24


Start a career with 

Longview PD 

LongviewTexas.gov/LPDJOBS 

Providing 

Professional 

Policing 

We accept lateral transfers! 

Starting Salary 

$63,090-$71,070 

Two-Tier Hiring Incentive 

$3000 


Longview Police Department



WE’RE 

HIRING 

DEPARTMENT 

HIGHLIGHTS 



47 schools 


24/7 Patrol 




Gang Officer 





K-9 programs 

Language pay 





Paid time off 





Apply online today. springbranchisd.com/join-our-team

Patrol Officer 

The City of Manvel Police Department is looking to find qualified candidates to fill the ranks of the patrol 

division. 

The City of Manvel is a rapidly growing and diverse community. The current population is estimated at a 

little over 16000 and is located in the northern part of Brazoria County along the State Highway 288 

corridor approximately 4 miles South of the City of Houston. 

The Manvel Police Department has a competitive pay structure for cities of the same size. Salary is based 

on experience and certification levels. 

Requirements: 

High school diploma or GED 

Valid Texas Driver’s License 

with good driving record 

TCOLE certified OR currently 

enrolled in Academy 

program 

Preference for LE experience 

Hiring Process Includes : 

Written test 

Oral board interview 

Physical agility test 

Thorough background 

investigation 

Accelerated Field Training 

Program for experienced officers 

One year probationary period 

Pay and Benefits: 

Competitive pay with an employment 

improvement step program 

TMRS retirement up to 7% with 2:1 match 

by city 

Retirement vested after 5 years of service 

Medical Insurance covered 100% for 

employees and 100% paid for employees 

and dependent by the city after 3 years 

12 hour shifts (DuPont Schedule) 

Personal time off - Vacation and Holiday 

accruals 

Paid sick time 

Lateral transfers 

For more information you can contact 

The City of Manvel Police Department at 

281-489-1212 

Rochelle Carr-Lacy 

rcarrlacy@manvelpd.org 


WE’RE HIRING 

Join our team and receive: 

• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance 

• Paid vacation, employee days, well days, 

sick days and holidays 

• Competitive pay (including bilingual pay incentive) 

AND MUCH MORE! 

APPLY NOW 

Scan here or visit 

RideMETRO.org/Careers 

Call 713-739-4953 or email JoinMPD@RideMETRO.org 

for additional information. 

240 The Blues - July ‘24 

METRO I S AN EQU A L O PPOR TUNIT Y E M P L O YER.






MAKE A 

DIFFERENCE 

IN YOUR 

COMMUNITY 

We are looking for outstanding individuals to 

join our team! As a Pearland Police Officer your 

mission will be to prevent crime and disorder, build 

partnerships within the community, and positively 

impact the quality of life for all our residents. 

CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS 

• Competitive Salary • Outstanding Training 

• Career Advancement • Exceptional Benefits 

The City of Pearland is one of the fastest growing 

communities within the region. Pearland is located 

approximately 20 minutes south of Downtown Houston 

and the current population is approximately 130,000 

residents. 

JOIN OUR TEAM 

HIRING POLICE OFFICERS AND CADETS 

$5,000 Hiring Incentive for T.C.O.L.E Certified Police 

Officers who qualify with at least 2 years of experience. 

TEST DATE: 

SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 8:30 A.M. 

Register by: April 12. 

Pearland Recreation Center & Natatorium 

4141 Bailey Road, Pearland, TX 77584. 

Doors Open: 7:15 a.m. No admittance after 7:45 a.m. 

Candidates must park in the north parking lot. 

SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES WILL APPLY 

• Attendance limited to first 150 arrivals 

• Mandatory temperature checks 

• Masks required, hand sanitizer available 

• Candidates seated 6 feet apart 

For additional information and to register for an upcoming Civil Service Exam, visit 

pearlandtx.gov/PDCareers 



PORT HOUSTON 


WE ARE 

HIRING 

SIGN UP TODAY! 

www.porthouston.com/careers-2 

STARTING PAY* 

$60,000 up to $71,000 

* Salary depends on experience 

Are you looking for a career with 

meaning? Do you want to make 

a difference in a highly supportive 

community? Join our team at 

Port Houston! 

REQUIREMENTS 

• Must be 21 years old 

• Must have 2+ years of po 

experience 

• Must have valid Texas Dr 

• Must be a U.S. Citizen 

• Must have an honorable 

from the military (if applic 

• Must never have been co 

Class A Misdemeanor or 

• Not been convicted of a C 

misdemeanor within the l 

• Must have a GED or high 


BENEFITS: 

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance 

eligible first day of employment 

• Wellness Program 

(can earn up to $600 credit per year if requirements met) 

• Enrollment with Calm App for Wellbeing 

• Defined contribution plan (401a) 

– Employer Sponsored 

• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan) 

– Employee Contributions 

• Vacation 


• Paid Holiday 12 days/year 

• Life and Accidental Death and 

Dismemberment Insurance 

• Short Term and Long-Term Disability Benefits 

• Flexible spending account (FSA) 

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) 

• Pet Insurance 

• Legal and Identity Theft Protection 

• Tuition Reimbursement 

Up to the IRS annual limit and a maximum lifetime 

reimbursement of $25,000 

• Onsite Credit Union 

– Port of Houston Credit Union 

lice officer 

iver’s License 

discharge 

able) 

nvicted of a 

above 

lass B 

ast 10 years 

school diploma 

EMPLOYMENT 

TESTING 

Employment is contingent on passing 

any post-offer pre-employment 

screening as listed below: 

• Criminal background check 

• Motor Vehicle Record check 

• Drug screening 

• Physical exam 

• Psychological exam 

• Additional as required 

SCAN 

QR CODE 

TO APPLY 







WE’RE 

HIRING 

DEPARTMENT 

HIGHLIGHTS 



47 schools 


24/7 Patrol 




Gang Officer 





K-9 programs 

Language pay 





Paid time off 




Apply online today. springbranchisd.com/join-our-team 








HUNTER BIDEN

July 2024. Blues Vol 40 No.7

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