MARCH 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 3

The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 1

MARCH 2021 

On the Cover / 

Feature Story 

The BLUES is proud to present 

Alan Helfman with our first 

ever, Lifetime Achievement 

Award. For the better part of 

his life, Alan has dedicated his 

life to serving others. Photo by 

Vicky Pink. 

26 

30 

80 

FEATURES 

36 ALAN HELFMAN - LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 

SPECIAL REPORT: BACK IN THE DAY 

52 JOE MAY TAYLOR LAW ENFORCEMENT FACILITY 

58 A LOOK BACK AT GALVESTON COUNTY S.O. 

64 ADS BACK IN THE DAY 

DEPARTMENTS 

04 Publisher’s Thoughts 

06 Editor’s Thoughts 

08 Your Thoughts 

12 News Around the State 

20 News Around the Country 

40 Daryl’s Deliberations - Daryl Lott 

66 Marketplace - Discounts for LEOs 

72 Remembering My Hero - Deputy Donald Wass 

76 Running 4 Heroes 

82 Blue Mental Health with Dr. Tina Jaeckle 

90 Honoring our Fallen Heroes 

96 Outdoors with Rusty Barron 

98 Parting Shots 

100 Now Hiring - L.E.O. Positions Open in Texas 

74 

HEALING OUR HEROES, 

by SAMANTHA HORWITZ JOHN SALERNO 

88 

HPOU EDITORIAL, 

by PRESIDENT DOUGLAS GRIFFITH 

OUR TEAM 

MICHAEL BARRON 

founder & publisher 


editor-n-chief 

REX EVANS 

contributing editor 

DIANE TRYKOWSKI 

creative editor 

RUSTY BARRON 

outdoor editor 

TINA JAECKLE 


DARYL LOTT 


SAM HORWITZ & JOHN SALERNO 

contributing editors 

DOUGLAS GRIFFITH 

HPOU contributing editor 

JANICE VANZURA 

sales mgr / austin 

PHIL PIERCE 

sales mgr / dallas 

OUR CONTRIBUTORS 

T. EDISON 

light bulb award 

SHERIFF ED GONZALEZ 

HCSO newsletter 

CAPT. R.L. SMITH 

aftermath editor 

DAVE GOLDINER 


CHRIS SOMMERFELDT 


ED RICHTER 


JARRELL DILLARD 


JOLIE WASS 

contributing editor / COPS 

JULIE MCMAHON 


TOM KENNEDY 


The BLUES Police Magazine is published monthly by Kress-Barr, LLC, P.O. Box 2733, League City Texas 77574. The opinions 

expressed in articles, op-eds and editorials are those of each individual 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 Police Magazine - bluespdmag@gmail.com. The entire contents of The BLUES is copyrighted© and may not be 

reproduced or reprinted without the express permission of the publisher. The BLUES logo is a Trademark of Kress-Barr, LLC. 

2 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 3

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 

“Another First for the BLUES” 

Our cover this month represents 

another first for the BLUES. In its 

36th year history, the BLUES has 

never awarded anyone with a 


– until now. On behalf of the 

entire staff here at The BLUES, 

it is our honor to announce the 

recipient of our first ever LIFE- 

TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD to 

Alan Helfman. Alan has devoted 

the better part of his life serving 

his fellow man and having known 

him for the better part of 40 

years, there’s not another soul on 

this planet that’s more deserving 

of this award. 

Alan is a businessman, entrepreneur 

and licensed peace 

officer, but his passion for raising 

money for people in all walks of 

life has earned him the nickname 

“Mr. Philanthropy.” Tom Kennedy, 

a longtime editor and author at 

HPOU’s Badge & Gun, wrote an 

article about Alan back in 2014 

that said “Alan was the car dealer 

with a TCOLE Certification who 

constantly went the Proverbial 

EXTRA mile for HPD Officers and 

other law enforcement causes 

using his sales ability on the 

auction circuit to raise funds for 

officers in need. Alan never turned 

down the opportunity to raise 

money for anyone, and there were 

times when he would hold a benefit 

every week. He’s an incredible 

individual with a heart as big as 

Texas.” said Kennedy. 

Selling cars also is in his blood. 

Helfman owns River Oaks Chrysler 

Jeep on Kirby Drive just off the 

Southwest Freeway, a location his 

dad opened in 1971. His family has 

been in the car business since his 

grandfather opened a car lot on 

Navigation in 1955. Helfman also 

owns 4 other dealerships including 

Helfman Dodge, Chrysler, 

Jeep & RAM on the Katy Freeway, 

Helfman Ford on the Southwest 

Freeway, and Helman Fiat, Alfa 

Romeo & Maserati on the Katy and 

Southwest Freeways. And those 

dealerships have donated dozens 

of vehicles over the years to the 

Houston Police Department, Houston 

Fire Department and dozens 

more non-profit organizations in 

the Houston area. 

Alan, it’s an honor to present you 

with this award and it’s a privilege 

to have your support as an advertiser 

here at BLUES for over 35 

years. Houston, the State of Texas, 

and the entire world is a better 

place thanks to your generosity 

and never ending philanthropy. 

God Bless you and your family. 

• • • 

This month also marks a change 

in Editorial duties here at The 

BLUES. For the past year, Rex 

Evans has been the driving force 

behind the revival and recreation 

of The BLUES into the largest ‘all 

digital’ police magazine in the 

country. Without his support and 

never-ending determination, The 

BLUES wouldn’t be as successful 

as it is today. But like everything in 

life, success has its downside and, 

in this case, that downside is time. 


It does in fact require A LOT of 

time to write and edit a magazine 

that’s now more than 100 pages 

each month. (I remember back in 

the day we thought our annual 

Christmas edition at 40 pages was 

HUGE.) Times have changed for 

sure. 

As many of you know, Rex taken 

a trip back in time to relive his 

time in patrol and has taken on 

a new assignment with Harris 

County Pct. 1 – on the NIGHT SHIFT. 

Given this new and career path 

for Rex, it has consumed more of 

his time than originally anticipated, 

so we decided that I would 

take over his Editor-in-Chief 

duties. Rex will continue to provide 

his invaluable insight each 

month through his regular column 

and coordinate with the various 

non-profit groups that submit 

content for their monthly columns. 

The BLUES couldn’t and wouldn’t 

exist without Rex Evans. 

So, congratulations on your new 

assignment and thanks for everything 

you do. 

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4 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 5 

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Over the last month I have had of total fear among those who 

$150,000 the privilege to be involved ..what in are it at won’t the most risk, get our senior you. 

multiple Special Assignments/ 

Operations. Now, I know most of 

you were just rolling your eyes 

at the terms Special Assignment 

or Special Operation……but hear 

me out. 

There were the vaccination 

lines, where I personally saw 

so many people come in with 

hopeful eyes and worry upon 

their faces. After the inoculation, 

you could literally see the 

stress level on their faces instantly 

fade. Tears, literally tears 

streaming down their faces. 

Tears of joy, relief and absolute 

peace from the terrifying worries 

of COVID-19. 

As we (our country) near the 

500,000 lost souls mark, one 

can clearly see the realization 

citizens, medically susceptible 

and of our first responders/medical 

staffers. To be a small part 

of huge operations taking place 

across our country, was and 

continues to be a privilege. 

Secondly, working straight 

through several days/nights 

during the wretched winter 

freeze we (our state and county) 

have just endured, right 

after Valentine’s Day. We knew 

this winter storm was coming, 

but I have to say, I don’t believe 

anyone really expected or knew 

(at least at our level) just how 

bad, difficult, challenging and 

ultimately, heartbreaking it was 

going to really be. 

There was the ice, snow, freezing 

temperatures and of course, 

REX EVANS 

the shock and awe of it all. Then, 

reality settled in. Hundreds, 

no thousands, of people were 

without power, heat and then 

no water. People of all races, 

ethnicities, economical statuses 

were finding themselves in a 

struggle to simply survive. Tragically, 

some of our neighbors did 

not. They sat quietly in the dark 

and freezing cold 

and they slipped 

the binds of this life 

and went onto the 

next, leaving behind 

heartbroken family 

and friends. 

I was able to 

spend my time on 

Special Assignment 

with other Deputies 

from Pct. 1 and Pct. 

4 Constables Offices 

(Constable Alan 

Rosen and Mark 

Herman). We were 

stationed at Gallery 

Furniture’s turned 

Warming Center. 

Now, to some this 

might seem odd, at 

first glance. However, 

it was not to me. You see, ole 

Mattress Mac (Jim McIngvale), 

has time and time again stood 

where others dared to never 

stand. He has stood up for the 

hardest hit in our society, the 

poorest and most deeply in need. 

And, from my own personal experience 

from years ago, he donated 

a chair to help me recover 

after being seriously injured in 

the Line of Duty. 

In a way, it was a small way 

for me to give back to Mr. Mc- 

Ingvale and everyone at Gallery 

Furniture who helped me when 

I was down. In a larger way, 

it was my opportunity to help 

those in our community who 

were finding themselves, through 

no fault of their own, in their 

darkest of hours. It was not an 

easy time for any of us there, but 

it was one of those experiences 

in my career, no matter how hard 

it was, in the end, it was highly 

rewarding. 

One of the most profound moments 

of the entire assignment 

for me was when an elderly and 

physically impaired woman with 

a walker, couldn’t get into the 

restroom without assistance. 

Now, she was obviously cold, 

tired and in dire need of relief. 

More profoundly though, she was 

highly embarrassed and frustrated. 

With huge tears streaming 

down her face, she sat in the 

main lobby of Gallery Furniture 

at about two in the morning and 

I quietly walked over and sat 

beside her. 

I placed my arm around her, 

and I told her “I know it’s tough. 

I know you’re hurting. I am so 

sorry this has happened to you, 

but come daybreak you and I 

will still be here together, ok? I 

am not going to leave you here, 

alone.” She placed her head 

upon my shoulder and cried. For 

about a minute we sat there, and 

she finally spoke. She said, “I’m 

scared.” All I could think to say 

was “I know. We all are, but here 

were all are, scared together. 

That’s better than being at home, 

scared alone, right?” 

In that moment, she smiled. 

I knew I had reached her, and I 

knew, if only for a moment, she 

felt safe and secure. I figured that 

was exactly what I was there for, 

not for the “Enforcement Action 

or Peace Keeping Action”. I was 

there for the singular component 

of “The Human Action.” To simply 

be a kind, compassionate and 

caring human being. 

While I have worked hard and 

some exceptionally long hours 

since being back at Pct. 1, I must 

tell you, I have found it to be 

highly rewarding to back out 

among people in dire need in 

desperate times and finding a 

way to bring some semblance 

of peace and tranquility in an 

otherwise tumultuous time of 

fear, worry and uncertainty. It 

has been, a sincere and humbling 

privilege, one which I am 

and shall forevermore be, grateful 

for. 


POLK COUNTY FLORIDA 

SHERIFF - “You kill a policeman 

it means no arrest... no Miranda 

rights... no negotiations... 

nothing but as many bullets as 

we can shoot into you...PERIOD.” 

An illegal alien, in Polk County 

Florida, who got pulled over 

in a routine traffic stop, ended 

up “executing” the deputy 

who stopped him. The deputy 

was shot eight times, including 

once behind his right ear 

at close range. Another deputy 

was wounded, and a police dog 

killed. A state-wide manhunt 

ensued. 

The murderer was found hiding 

in a wooded area. As soon 

as he took a shot at the SWAT 

team, officers opened fire on 

him. They hit the guy 68 times. 

Naturally, the liberal media 

went nuts and asked why they 

had to shoot the poor, undocumented 

immigrant 68 times. 

Sheriff Grady Judd told the 

Orlando Sentinel: “Because 

that’s all the ammunition we 

had.” Now, is that just about 

the all-time greatest answer or 

what! 

The Coroner also reported 

that the illegal alien died of 

natural causes. When asked 

by a reporter how that could 

be, since there were 68 bullet 

wounds in his body, he simply 

replied: (BEST QUOTE ever) 

.......” When you are shot 68 

times you are naturally gonna 

die.” 

MARK DALTON 

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH – As of 

today (03/04/2021), Law Enforcement 

Officer suicides 

alone are at 31 for this year. 

Last year there were 177 reported 

Officer suicides. 

Another 67 Officers have died 

in the line of duty; bringing the 

overall total of lives lost to 98 

for 2021. 

So much more must be done 

to address this ongoing epidemic 

among our men and 

women in blue. 

Know yourself, acknowledge 

your needs, accept a helping 

hand when offered and ask for 

one when needed. 

Options include: 

1) Lifeline: Call 800.273.TALK 

(8255) 

2) Crisis Text Line: Law enforcement 

text BLUE to 741741, others 

text TALK to 741741 

3) Call 911 for emergencies 

4) Check with your department 

for services including peer 

support 

5) COPLINE: 1-800-267-5463 

6) Crisis Text Line - Text BLUE 

to 741741 

7) Cop2Cop - 1 866-COP-2COP 

(267-2267) 

Let’s all help to smash the stigma! 

Save A Warrior - “SAW” 

FIRST RESPONDER SUPPORT 

NETWORK 

DISPATCH, WE HAVE A SIT- 

UATION! – It’s our last day on 

Patrol before we’re defunded. 

We just wanted to get together 

and have one last doughnut 

break at Krispy Kreme when 

this City Councilman showed 

up and started up with all this 

nonsense about how much 

better the city is going without 

the Police. Then his Lifetime 

Partner showed up, stripped, 

and started doing obscene 

things with our hot donuts. 

So, can you have one of those 

new “mental health officers” 

or whatever the hell they are 

called dispatched to our location. 

Oh, and they are going to 

need a ladder as well. We going 

to be 10-08 and relocating 

over to the Dunkin’ Donuts one 

block over if they need us. 

UNIT 1080 OUT. 


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‘More political theater’ | Texas Attorney General 

seeking removal of San Antonio Police Chief. 

SAN ANTONIO — Texas Attorney 

General Ken Paxton is calling 

for the removal of San Antonio 

police chief William McManus 

over his handling of a 2017 incident, 

court documents revealed. 

The state argues that because 

McManus allegedly violated the 

provisions of Senate Bill 4 in 

2017, he effectively forfeited his 

office. The filing states say they 

are calling for McManus’ removal 

“because state law demands it.” 

Paxton’s ask stems from the 

San Antonio Police Department’s 

response to an alleged human 

smuggling operation that occurred 

December 23, 2017, when 

a dozen individuals suspected 

of entering the country illegally 

were discovered in a tractor-trailer. 

San Antonio police 

opted to handle the case under 

a state smuggling statute. Authorities 

connected the immigrants 

with Catholic Charities 

and RAICES, immigrant advocacy 

groups, one of which sent an 

immigration attorney. 

“This call was situational, 

based on a fairly fluid situation 

on the scene,” McManus said in 

a Jan. 4, 2018 press conference 

about the incident. “This is not 

necessarily the way every case is 

going to be handled going forward.” 

Nearly a year after the incident, 

Paxton filed suit in Travis County 

alleging McManus had violated 

the provisions 

of the state’s 

so-called “sanctuary 

cities” 

law, otherwise 

known as Senate 

Bill 4, which 

demands that 

local agencies 

assist or cooperate 

with federal 

immigration 

officers. The 

2018 lawsuit alleged 

McManus prevented agents 

with Homeland Security Investigations 

from speaking with or 

processing the individuals found 

in the trailer, thereby violating 

Senate Bill 4. Attorneys for the 

city pushed back, denying any 

violations of the provision of the 

law, and have been embattled in 

litigation since. 

The 2018 suit and the latest filing 

state that the Attorney General 

may seek penalties ranging 

from $1,000 to $1,500 for the first 

violation of Senate Bill 4, and 

$25,500 for each day the Attorney 

General deems the city to 

be out of compliance. From the 

date of the alleged violation to 

the present, Paxton could seek 

to collect more than $29 million 

from the City of San Antonio. 

Since the filing of the Travis 

County suit, the city has, in turn, 

sued the federal government to 

compel testimony from federal 

authorities. The latest lawsuit 

seeking McManus’ removal from 

office marks the third such lawsuit 

related to the incident. 

City Attorney Andy Segovia 

said Friday that the filing is an 

effort by Paxton’s office to distract 

from his own criminal and 

political woes. Paxton is under 

investigation amid allegations 

he violated the law to benefit 

big donors, the Associated Press 

reported two months before the 

filing of the latest suit. 

“This companion action to the 

AG’s SB4 lawsuit was filed more 

than one month ago,” Segovia 

said. “This is a thinly veiled 

attempt by Attorney General 

Paxton to control who the City 

of San Antonio chooses to have 

as Chief of Police and a desperate 

attempt to distort facts and 

divert attention from the problems 

with his own beleaguered 

office. 

Sheriff’s Office Celebrates the Life of Detention Officer Perez 

Our Sheriff’s Office family 

came together on last month to 

celebrate the life of our brother 

and teammate, Detention Officer 

Robert Perez. 

We were joined by his close 

circle of loved ones and remembered 

a beloved father, brother, 

and public servant who devoted 

his life to his sons, Armando and 

Diego, and community. He is our 

fourth colleague agency-wide 

to pass away after contracting 

COVID-19. 

Over the past five years in our 

ranks, Detention Officer Perez 

showed us what makes the 

Sheriff’s Office “The Pride of 

Texas.” 

He answered the call for service 

at an early age, enlisting 

in the U.S. Navy the same year 

he graduated Brazosport High 

School in 1985. He served his 

country for nearly a decade, 

earning a number of service ribbons 

and accolades. 

He was made for the job, 

working shoulder to shoulder 

with his fellow detention officers 

inside the county jail to ensure 

the well-being of everyone 

there. 

Last week’s record-setting, 

bitterly cold temperatures, massive 

power outage crisis in the 

face of a pandemic, and rising 

jail population were reminders 

of one of our most important 

responsibilities – overseeing the 

state’s largest jail. As hard as 

this was on so many within our 

Sheriff’s Office family and across 

our greater community, Detention 

Officer Perez’s spirit was 

with us. 

Since the beginning of the 

pandemic, we have been met 

with an unending string of challenges. 

Detention Officer Perez 

answered the call every shift, 

day in and day out, despite the 

hardships. 

As a detention officer, you 

show up in people’s lives on 

what may be their worst days 

and are on the front lines of 

safeguarding their care. Detention 

Officer Perez understood 

this responsibility and was honored 

to earn the public’s faith 

and trust every time he put his 

uniform on. 

His greatest assignment of all 

was being a father. At the center 

of his world were his two sons. 

He was a hands-on dad and role 

model, always going above and 

beyond to care for them. 

We honor him by staying the 

course at a moment when our 

community needs us the most. 

Each of us plays a role in fighting 

this virus. Each of us must lead 

by example and build on what’s 

working – staying informed, 

remaining positive, and following 

the guidance of the CDC and 

local public health officials. 

We pray that Officer Perez’s 

family finds peace and comfort 

in knowing how the difference he 

made. We will keep him and his 

family in our hearts. 


Dallas PD Being Restructured into 

Two Operational Commands 

DALLAS - New Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia is restructuring 

his department into two major sections. 

Chief Garcia is creating an operational command for 

Police “Patrol and Administration,” and a second command 

for “Investigations and Tactical Operations.” 

He appointed executive assistant chiefs over each of 

those commands. 

Executive Assistant Chief Lonzo Anderson will be 

over “Patrol and Administration,” and former Deputy 

Chief Albert Martinez will serve as the executive assistant 

chief over “Investigations and Tactical Operations.” 

In a statement, Garcia said there will be more changes 

to the command staff and organizational structure 

in the coming weeks. 

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Several Officers Injured in Montgomery 

County after Tesla Slams into Them 

About 1:15 am on February 

27th, Montgomery County Precinct 

4 Constables along with 

Splendora Police were conducting 

a traffic stop on I-69 over 

East River Drive. A Splendora 

Officer was under the truck that 

was stopped searching it. The 

suspect was cuffed behind his 

vehicle and was talking to a 

deputy who was standing next 

to one of the patrol cars. Other 

deputies were searching the 

truck. A male driver in a Tesla 

was northbound and never 

slowed down for the lights 

ahead. He slammed into a patrol 

car driving it into the other 

vehicles. The officer under the 

truck was drug a short distance, 

the suspect was thrown under 

one of the vehicles and a deputy 

standing next to the patrol 

car who had been talking to the 

suspect was hit by the mirror on 

the patrol car possibly breaking 

his arm. The Sergeant who was 

standing between the bridge 

wall and the vehicles were almost 

thrown over the wall to a 

thirty-foot drop. DPS arrested 

the driver of the Tesla for DWI. 

Andrew James with the Montgomery 

County District Attorney’s 

Office Vehicular Crimes 

Unit responded to the scene to 

assist in the investigation. The 

freeway reopened at 3:30 am. 

The suspect was transported to 

Kingwood Hospital and was is 

in stable condition the later that 

day. The other officers are still 

being evaluated. It is unknown 

if the Tesla was in auto-drive 

mode and if it was why it did not 

sense the emergency vehicles 

and slow down and move over. 

At a private ceremony last month, Chief SatterwhiteL and HPD Air Support were proud 

to present family members, including Councilmember Mike Knox, with bronze plaques 

honoring fallen Tactical Flight Officer Jason Knox. 

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Hitchcock P.D. 

Congrats to Officer Longoria 

HITCHCOCK –The Hitchcock Police 

Department would like to 

congratulate Officer Longoria 

on her completion and certification 

to become a certified 

firearms instructor. After extensive 

training, Officer Longoria 

was accepted to attend 

the firearms instructor course, 

where she was the only female 

in her class, and passed the 

certification process to become 

an instructor. With this certification, 

she will be able to 

instruct and train our department 

in firearms and qualifications. 

We are incredibly proud 

of her accomplishment and her 

continuation of learning and 

education. Congrats to Officer 

Longoria! 

League City P.D. 

Officer Drew Thomas / Life Saving Award 

LEAGUE CITY – League City 

Police Chief Gary Ratliff, presented 

a Life Saving Award to 

LCPD Officer Drew Thomas, 

who identified the need to 

administer a life-saving dose 

of Narcan to an unresponsive 

person. His quick actions and 

response saved the life of a 

League City citizen. The Department 

is proud to have Officer 

Thomas as a member of 

their department and serving 

the citizens of our community. 

Good Job Officer Thomas! 

Chief Gary Ratliff presents Officer Drew Thomas 

with a Life Saving Award. 

Remember back in the day, 

when the BLUES published it’s 

“Rookie Review” each month? 

Well due to popular request 

it’s back. And this time you can 

send photos as well. 

Just email us your 

‘rookie’s’ status to: 

bluespdmag@gmail. 

com or you can click on 

this link and it will create 

a rookie notice and 

send it directly to dispatch. 

And congrats to all 

our new FTOs ... we 

know you aren’t getting 

any sleep. 

LCPD showed off its new Patrol Cars outside LCPD headquarters last month. 


More Updates from D.C. on Capitol Violence 

Chief: “We Expected Violence but 

not Thousands of Rioters” What? 

By Dave Goldiner 

WASHINGTON — The acting 

chief of the U.S. Capitol Police 

admitted that intelligence predicted 

violence in the January 

6 riot — but not “thousands of 

American citizens descending on 

the Capitol.” Isn’t that the same? 

Newly minted Acting Chief 

Yogananda Pittman conceded 

that an intelligence assessment 

issued three days before the riot 

“foretold of a significant likelihood 

for violence on Capitol 

grounds by extremist groups.” 

She also said the Capitol Police 

were told that white supremacists 

and other far rightwing 

extremists would likely join 

the crowd of Trump supporters 

to try to stop Congress from certifying 

President Biden’s election 

win. 

But despite those flashing 

warning signs, Pittman claimed 

there was no way to know the 

extent of the attack that unfolded 

after Trump told supporters 

at his rally to “fight like hell.” 

“(Intelligence) did not identify 

a specific credible threat indicating 

that thousands of American 

citizens would descend upon 

the U.S. Capitol attacking police 

officers with the goal of breaking 

into the U.S. 

Capitol Building 

to harm 

Members and 

prevent the 

certification of 

Electoral College 

votes,” 

she wrote in 

a prepared 

statement released 

ahead 

of a Thursday 

congressional 

hearing. 

Pittman 

added that the FBI and other 

intelligence agencies also failed 

to anticipate the extent of the 

violence unleashed by the pro- 

Trump mob. 

Pittman was appointed acting 

chief after her predecessor, Steven 

Sund, was forced to resign in 

the wake of the shocking security 

failure that allowed rioters 

to maraud through the citadel of 

American democracy. 

She also said Capitol Police 

officers were uncertain about 

the rules of engagement with the 

rioters who breached the building. 

“Officers were unsure of when 

to use lethal force on January 

6th,” Pittman wrote, without 

explaining why they were not 

trained to defend the Capitol. 

Pittman’s testimony marks the 

latest in a confusing and sometimes 

conflicting series of accounts 

by top security officials. 

Sund and the House and Senate 

sergeants at arms blamed one 

another and Pentagon officials 

on Tuesday for failing to deploy 

enough forces. 

Like other security officials, 

Pittman asserted that the Capitol 

Police performed its duties 

bravely and in the end was successful 

in ending the riot. 

“It protected Congressional 

Leadership. It protected Members. 

And it protected the Democratic 

Process,” said Pittman. 

35 Capitol Officers Face Internal Investigations 

Six Capitol Officers Suspended 

By Chris Sommerfeldt 

WASHINGTON — Six U.S. Capitol 

Police officers have been 

suspended and dozens more are 

under investigation in connection 

with last month’s deadly 

pro-Trump attack on the historic 

building, a spokesman for the 

agency said Thursday. 

In total, 35 officers are facing 

internal investigations conducted 

by the U.S. Capitol Police’s Office 

of Professional Responsibility for 

their actions during the January 

6 riot, the spokesman said in a 

statement. The six suspended officers 

have been placed off duty 

with pay. 

Pro-Trump supporters push 

back against police at the United 

States Capitol Building in Washington, 

D.C., on January 6 (Jessica 

Griffin). 

The spokesman did not elaborate 

on the reasons for the 

suspensions, but suggested it’s 

related to acting Capitol Police 

Chief Yogananda Pittman’s effort 

to reprimand officers who didn’t 

respond forcefully enough as a 

mob of violent Trump supporters 

stormed the building on January 

6th. 

“Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman 

has directed that any member 

of her department whose 

behavior is not in keeping with 

the Department’s Rules of Conduct 

will face appropriate discipline,” 

the spokesman said. 

Five people, including Capitol 

Police Officer Brian Sicknick, 

were killed in the January 6 

chaos. Another two officers who 

responded to the bloody attack 

committed suicide days later. 

Videos posted to social media 

in the aftermath of the assault 

showed that some Capitol Police 

officers took selfies with the attackers. 

Other officers appeared 

to give the attackers directions, 

sparking outrage among members 

of Congress, whose lives 

were in danger during the riot. 

In addition to internal police 

probes, Congress plans to establish 

a 9/11-style commission 

to investigate how the attackers 

were able to smash their way 

into the Capitol in an attempt to 

stop the certification of President 

Joe Biden’s election victory. 

Former President Donald Trump 

— whose call for the attackers 

to “fight like hell” inspired the 

insurrection — is likely to face 

continued scrutiny as part of the 

forthcoming commission inquiry. 

Union: 92% of Capitol Police officers give vote of no 

confidence and rebuke department leadership. 

WASHINGTON — Capitol Police 

officers have expressed their 

displeasure with agency leaders 

in an “overwhelming” vote of no 

confidence, CBS News reported 

Tuesday. The vote comes after 

dozens of officers were injured 

in the January 6 siege at the U.S. 

Capitol. One officer was killed 

and two more died by suicide in 

the weeks after. 

The union representing rankand-file 

officers announced that 

92% of officers voted that they 

had no confidence in Acting Chief 

Yogananda Pittman. 


Media Continues to Lie About Capitol Officer Sicknick’s Death 

The dishonor to his service and his family 

is only part of the incivility and injustice. 

By The law Officer 

So much for accountability. 

Politicians everywhere, along 

with hundreds of media outlets, 

claimed that Capitol Police 

Officer Brian Sicknick died after 

being hit in the head by a fire 

extinguisher—but hardly any 

of them have apologized or 

even bothered to acknowledge 

their mistake. While they’ve 

not only misinformed the public 

they claim to serve, they’re 

also still ignoring the wishes 

of the family, who did not want 

Officer Sicknick’s death to be 

politicized. 

Quite simply, by failing to 

correct themselves, his death 

remains politicized and law enforcement 

officers everywhere 

remain stuck in the awkward 

circumstance of trying to speak 

up the for the politicization and 

the mediatization of his death, 

yet attempt to do so in his 

honor and with respect to the 

family’s wishes. 

We tried to avert the politics 

and honor Officer Sicknick. A 

law officer was one of the first 

to report that Officer Sicknick 

did not die from a fire extinguisher. 

We received plenty of 

criticism for daring to challenge 

the mainstream media 

narrative—the political one, 

that attempted to dupe the 

public, and law enforcement 

officers throughout America. 

But now that the facts can no 

longer be ignored, mainstream 

media seems to be taking back 

their initial reactionary reporting. 

For example, The New York 

Times has now backed away 

from their initial claim that Officer 

Sicknick died from being 

struck by a fire extinguisher. To 

make things worse, other media 

outlets, such as CNN, have 

taken up other speculations, 

including the claim that “bear 

spray” could have killed Officer 

Sicknick. 

Of course, replacing one story 

void of facts and filled with 

speculation with another does 

not bode well for esteemed 

journalism. But it clearly shows 

that we should no longer expect 

the media to actually 

investigate and report facts— 

especially when there appears 

to be some political leverage to 

gain in forsaking law enforcement. 

Gladys Sicknick, Brian’s mother, 

has stated that she believed 

her son died from a stroke—not 

trauma. His father, Charles, 

told Reuters that his son “had a 

blood clot on his brain and had 

a stroke… operating was not an 

option.” But these statements 

are hardly being discussed by 

politicians and the media. 

It seems politicians and the 

media are incapable of assuming 

accountability—precisely 

when they are pointing the 

finger or demanding accountability. 

Still, in citing “unnamed” 

officials, multiple news 

outlets continue to report that 

the investigation is looking at a 

connection between bear spray 

and Officer Sicknick’s death. 

While we previously reported 

that we have not found a single 

line-of-duty death attributed 

to “bear spray” or any other 

“spray,” one has to wonder why 

it is so important for the media 

to victoriously call this a 

murder— rather than report the 

facts? 

Previously, the Capitol Police 

said that the autopsy results are 

still pending, while prosecutors 

have indicated that if “bear 

spray” was used against Officer 

Sicknick, charges of assaulting 

an officer would be brought 

against the suspect—not murder 

charges. 

So, any rational, civil-minded 

person must wonder what form 

of justice is that? Yet there is 

one thing we need not wonder 

about, because clearly, politicians 

and mainstream news 

and social media are not interested 

in honoring the family’s 

wishes or supporting justice— 

they are far more interested in 

convincing America that Officer 

Brian Sicknick was brutally 

murdered by so-called “insurrectionists.” 

Dishonoring his death is one 

thing. Dishonoring his family’s 

wishes is another. The lies that 

continue without any accountability 

are a form of dishonor 

to American civility and justice 

that none of us should stand 

for, or continue to accept. 

BIDEN’S AMERICA 


Deputy narrowly avoids point-blank gunfire. 

A doorbell camera shows the deputy immediately 

returned fire, shooting the suspect. 

By Ed Richter 

Journal-News, Hamilton, Ohio 

WARREN COUNTY, Ohio — A 

newly released video shows a 

man shot at a Warren County 

sheriff’s deputy at his door before 

she fired back at him. 

The Warren County Sheriff’s 

Office released Tuesday a doorbell 

camera video that captured 

the split-second actions of 

Deputy Sara Vaught on February 

15 as she was making a welfare 

check at the residence of Lance 

C. Runion in the 7800 block of 

Hunt Club Drive in Mason, Ohio. 

The video appears to show 

that Vaught tried a few times to 

get someone to open the door 

before a handgun was pointed 

out the door and a shot was fired 

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at her as she ducked on the front 

porch. 

Vaught fires five shots, the video 

shows. Three back-up officers 

went into the house with weapons 

drawn and secured Runion, 

who was taken to an area hospital. 

“The facts of the case are right 

there. It’s just right there,” Chief 

Deputy Barry Riley said. 

Vaught was not injured and 

recently returned to full duty, 

Riley said. He said Runion remains 

under guard at University 

of Cincinnati Medical Center, and 

his condition is improving daily. 

Due to his medical condition, 

investigators do not know 

when he will be able to make a 

court appearance on attempted 

murder and felonious assault 

WARNING! This video is disturbing. 

charges filed against him. 

Riley said the first-degree 

charges were filed in Mason 

Municipal Court and that the 

sheriff’s office will not rule out 

additional charges as the investigation 

continues. 

Riley has praised Vaught’s 

actions in the incident as how a 

deputy should respond. 

According to the calls for service, 

the suspect was slurring his 

speech and sent a message to 

family saying he loved them. The 

caller, the man’s brother, said 

the man indicated he had taken 

something and just wanted to 

go to sleep. The caller indicated 

there were guns in the house 

“but (he) doesn’t believe he will 

harm anyone or himself with the 

weapons.” 

U.S. House Passes Policing Overhaul Bill in Late-Night Voting 

Bill Now Heads to Senate Where Future is Uncertain 

By Jarrell Dillard 

Bloomberg News 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 

U.S. House passed a sweeping 

law-enforcement reform bill 

initially introduced after last 

year’s protests over police killings 

of unarmed people of color 

on Wednesday. 

The bill, H.R. 1280, passed 220- 

212, but it faces little chance in 

the Senate, where with Republican 

opposition it’s unlikely to 

get the 60 votes that would be 

needed to advance. 

The bill would ban chokeholds 

and no-knock warrants, eliminate 

qualified immunity for law 

enforcement officers, prohibit 

racial and religious profiling by 

law enforcement and establish 

a national standard for police 

department operations, among 

other provisions. 

The bill is named for George 

Floyd, a black man who died 

in custody of the Minneapolis 

police in May. The death of Floyd 

and other people of color at 

the hands of law enforcement 

sparked nationwide protests 

against police brutality and racial 

injustice. 

Representative Karen Bass, a 

California Democrat, introduced 

the policing reform bill in June. 

It was passed by the House later 

that month but was not brought 

up in the then-Republican controlled 

Senate. 

Speaking on the House floor 

Wednesday before the vote, 

Bass said the bill is needed to 

bring justice for victims of police 

brutality. (What about justice for 

every officer killed in the Line of 

Duty? Where is their justice?) 

“There are many tapes, many 

examples of individuals being 

shot and killed by officers, and 

yet transformation of policing in 

America has still not happened,” 

Bass said. “Passing the George 

Floyd Justice in Policing Act will 

be the critical first step, just the 

first step, to transform policing 

in America.” 

Though Democrats now control 

the Senate, the measure will 

likely fall short of the votes it 

needs to end debate and be put 

to a vote. Many Republicans oppose 

eliminating qualified immunity 

and no-knock warrants. 

Representative Pete Stauber, 

a Minnesota Republican, introduced 

a policing bill in June as 

an alternative to the Democratic 

legislation. On the House floor 

Wednesday, he criticized Democrats 

for not working with Republicans 

on the issue. 

“This is a bill that will no doubt 

make communities less safe. We 

all want police reform, we all 

want change, but until such time 

we work together this legislation 

is just another messaging bill 

from my Democrat colleagues,” 

Stauber said. 

EDITOR: The good news is, this 

bill doesn’t have a ‘snowballs 

chance in Hell’ of passing the 

Senate. If Representative Karen 

Bass was really interested in 

how policing works in the L.A. 

area where her district is located, 

perhaps she should take a 

ride a long in East L.A. and see 

what the LAPD and L.A. County 

Sheriff must deal with each 

night. Most people will agree 

that the George Floyd incident 

was a tragedy, but Floyd was 

anything but a hero. He did not 

deserve to die, and yes Bass, 

cops have had to shoot people 

and if bad people with guns 

and knives continue to threaten 

cops, they will continue to be 

shot. Your George Floyd Justice 

in Policing Act is a bunch of political 

crap and you know it. 


WORDS BY CAPTAIN R.L. SMITH 

What you’re about to read, you most likely won’t believe. Hell, it happened 

to me and I’m not sure I believe it. But the truth is, not believing changes 

life as we know it. 

I knew 2020 was mostly likely 

the year I would retire from flying. 

It’s been a long and rewarding 

twenty-five years, but it’s time for 

the younger generation to take 

over. My eyesight and health are 

just not what they used to be, and 

every pilot knows there will come 

a day when he must move to the 

right seat and just enjoy the ride. 

With all the COVID crap going 

on, this final year wouldn’t mean 

much flying for anyone in my 

group, so when the opportunity 

to fly a nightshift cross-country 

training mission came across my 

desk, I told the boss count me in. 

We launched out of CXO at 2100 

hours and I punched the auto pilot 

to climb to 12,000 feet and head 

northwest to Waco. While the 

mission was classified and I can’t 

share the details, let’s just say it 

was as routine as you can get. We 

made several stops, carried out 

the objective of the mission and 

made it back to base well before 

sunset. In fact, I was in my Jeep 

and headed for home well before 

0500 hours. 

Because of the early morning 

hour, I knew traffic would be a 

bitch if I took the main roads, so I 

decided to head south out of the 

airport and take the scenic route 

as opposed to the freeway. As I 

had learned the night before in 

my weather brief, the dew point 

was falling, and fog was beginning 

to roll in from the south. A 

fine cloudy mist was beginning to 

form just above the roadway and 

my headlights were starting to 

reflect off the fog making it harder 

to see all the twisting turns in the 

road. 

I reached down to turn on the 

fog lights and when I looked up, 

there was a deer standing in the 

middle of the road less than 40 

feet way. I slammed on the brakes 

and the Jeep started sliding sideways 

down the wet road. The last 

thing I remembered was the mud 

from the ditch hitting the windshield 

making it impossible to see 

where I was and what condition 

the Jeep was in. I guess the impact 

of the airbag must have made me 

pass out because when I came 

too, there was man in a pilot’s uniform 

helping me out of the Jeep. 

It was hard to see anything down 

the road as there was a blinding 

light and what sounded like a jet 

engine, but unlike any jet I had 

ever heard before. The pilot helped 

me across the roadway and led me 

to the aircraft. I must have hit my 

head harder than I thought because 

I didn’t recognize the aircraft 

at all. It wasn’t a helicopter and it 

sure as hell wasn’t an airplane. I 

really couldn’t comprehend what 

was happening. It was like I was in 

a fog – no pun intended. 

Since we were basically on a 

back road in the middle of nowhere, 

there were no cars or people 

around for miles and had this 

man in whatever the hell it was he 

was flying, not shown up I could 

have been stuck in that ditch until 

daylight. Once we got inside and 

strapped in, the gentlemen introduced 

himself as Major Littleton. 

“Captain Smith my name is Major 

Littleton, I’m a pilot with the 122nd 

Division of Police Alliance. Please 

brace yourself, this craft will 

accelerate faster than anything 

you’ve experienced before. I’ll 

explain more once we’re airborne 

and in transition.” 

What the hell is the Division of 

Police Alliance, and what does 

transition mean and airborne? 

Suddenly I was pinned in seat 

with what had to have been no 

less 8g’s and the view looking 

forward can only be described as 

the scenes in Star Trek when they 

went to Warp Speed. Just a blur 

of white streaks and a deafening 

noise. Inside the cockpit was 

unlike anything I had ever seen 

before either. The entire panel 

was glass (that’s glass gauges 

to non-aviation readers) but the 

gauges weren’t aviation types, I 

can’t really describe what they 

were. 

Suddenly the acceleration 

stopped, and we were high, like 

50,000 feet high, above some city 

that I didn’t recognize. 

Littleton punched some buttons 

on the panel which I assumed was 

some type of autopilot that put the 

craft into a sort of hover, and he 

looked at me and said “Captain, let 

me explain.” 

Please do, because I must be out 

cold and I’m imaging all this right? 

“Not exactly. I’ll explain where 

we are and why we are here. 

Please know you were chosen for 

this mission because of your experience 

and openness to changes 

that are sure to come. We believe 

you are capable of understanding 

the evolution of flight and what 

the future holds for aviation and 

policing.” 

I’m not sure what the hell you’re 

saying, what is happening …. 

and are we hovering? Because it 

doesn’t seem like we are moving 

forward any longer? I’m sorry, 

but I’m so confused. I guess I’m 

intrigued by whatever the hell it 

is were flying in. I’ve never seen a 

cockpit like this and outside a F16, 

never experienced g-forces like 

that. And did you say mission? 

“Yes sir, in some respects we’re 

hovering and yes I said mission. 

Like I said, this may be a lot to 

comprehend, but please let me explain 

and then you can ask all the 

questions you like. I’m sure you’ve 

seen movies about time travel and 

yes, it’s possible. If you think about 

it, when time travel became possible, 

at some point people from the 

future arrived in your time period. 

Most likely you never knew when 

they arrived or departed because 

any changes in the time continuum 

is extremely dangerous. I know, it’s 

just like in the movies, but it’s true 

to the extent that the future as you 

know it, is always in flux. The expected 

future is the line by which 

time follows but it can be altered 

by any slight deviations caused by 

man? Are you following me? 

Uh huh. Not really but let’s say I 

do. Are you saying you’re from the 

future? 

“Yes, I was born in 2080 and in 

my time period it’s 2111. It’s the 

22nd century.” 

Sooooo, you just hopped on over 

to the 21st, kidnapped me and 

brought me back to the future? 

Like “Back-to-the-future Part IV?” 

“I know it sounds crazy and I 

assume that’s a vintage movie 

you’re referring to, but please let 

me continue. Time travel wasn’t 

invented until the 23rd century.” 

I thought you said you were from 

the 22nd? 

“Yes, but around 2203 a scientist 

named Sampson developed a 


space craft that could travel at 30 

times the speed of light. By traveling 

this fast within earth’s atmosphere, 

either with or counter to 

the earth’s revolution, they discovered 

by accident that they could 

travel outside the time continuum 

either forward or backward in 

time. But they also discovered that 

by landing in any time element 

other than their own, it could have 

devasting effects on the future.” 

So, wait, if time travel wasn’t 

invented until 2203, how did you 

end up with their ‘time-machine’ 

in 2111? 

“They abandoned it here a few 

years ago when their pilot died. 

Listen, I can’t explain any more 

than what I have. Learning about 

the future and acting on it in your 

timeline can be catastrophic. Our 

Council of Elders have gone to 

great pains to make sure that only 

certain things from our past can 

be changed to alter our present 

and future. That’s why you are 

here. We need your help to make 

changes that will save our world 

from a technology that was invented 

by someone in your world. 

Do you understand some of what 

I’m saying?” 

I’m not sure this is even real, but 

let’s say I do. What’s happening in 

your time that’s so bad? 

“It’s better if I show you.” 

Suddenly we were moving forward 

and losing altitude at a rate 

of at least 10,000 feet-per-minute 

and just as fast as it started it 

ended and again, we were hovering 

or static above a city. It was 

unlike anything I had ever seen 

before, or just like what I’d seen 

in the movies. The buildings were 

all lit up in some kind of neon 

light and there were drones flying 

everywhere. I mean thousands and 

thousands of them and of all sizes, 

like swarms of insects so thick it 

was amazing they weren’t running 

into each other. And yes, there 

were larger ones that I assume 

were manned or autonomous that 

no doubt were carrying people. 

Why are there so many drones? 

I assume that’s what these are, and 

why aren’t they crashing? 

“This is why you are here. In your 

time, a man named Cal Fisher developed 

a program that could assign 

a drone to monitor anything. 

A person, piece of equipment, 

a place on earth, anything. For 

years, the government would drop 

a drone in the skies over enemy 

targets and with solar batteries 

they could remain on station for 

months at a time, some even for 

years. In the late 21st century, cities 

lost control of policing in their 

cities and the only way they could 

regain control was to implement 

a monitoring system of drones 

assigned to every citizen. Everywhere 

you went, no matter what 

you did, a micro-drone followed 

you. Your movements were monitored 

by the cities ‘Authority.’ In 

your time, it would be called an AI 

or giant computer. The ‘Authority’ 

decided if your actions, or dayto-day 

activities were a threat to 

the City and if they declared you a 

threat, they eliminated the threat, 

thereby keeping peace within their 

jurisdiction.” 

Wait, what do you mean eliminated 

the threat? These micro 

drones killed people? 

“Yes, but not in any way that you 

know. But the end result was, they 

no longer existed or remained a 

threat. Today entire cities are run 

by the ‘Authority.’ There are no 

longer elected officials, mayors or 

governors, it’s all computer and 

the software to run all these computers…” 

Let me guess, was originally 

written by Fisher in the 21st? 

“You catch on quick. We need 

you to convince him that his ideas 

and the ultimate software he will 

create will cause the ultimate 

deaths of millions upon millions 

of people and ultimately the earth 

will be run by the ‘Authority.’ 

Are we going to land? I want to 

see what the 22nd century looks 

like. 

“Unfortunately, we can’t. Like 

I said, you knowing too many 

details of the future could cause 

even more problems than what 

we have now. But our ‘ELDERS’ are 

willing to take the chance to stop 

the technological evolution that 

will ultimately kill off humanity 

as we know it. They also know 

that by changing your timeline and 

the years between yours and ours 

could result in devasting events. 

But without intervention, life as we 

know it won’t exist in the future.” 

So why did you come to me? You 

were already in 2021, why didn’t 

you just take this guy out. Isn’t 

that what happens in the movies. 

A time-traveler from the future 

goes back in time and erases the 

bad guy and everyone lives happily 

ever after? 

“Because he is a ten-year-old 

kid, and we don’t kill kids. At least 

humans don’t. The Authority does 

if it thinks they are a threat. Listen 

I’ve told you way more than I was 

supposed to. I hope I’ve showed 

you enough of the future to know 

that this software can’t be developed. 

Not by this kid, his kids or 

anyone that comes after them. 

We learned by someone from our 

future, what happens to humanity. 

Now you have the knowledge 

to save our future. We need your 

help Captain!” 

So why didn’t these travelers 

from your future come to my 

timeline instead of yours? 

“I can’t divulge that. I’ve told you 

all I can. I will give you one last 

look at my world and then we 

have to go back.” 

We descended to maybe 500 

feet above the city. It was just 

like drawings I’ve seen about the 

future. Flying cars and drones 

filled the skies. Some were taking 

off and landing on buildings. It 

was just like in the movies where 

buildings had images projected 

on the sides like giant billboards. 

It was just as I had imagined it 

would be except for the millions 

of insect sized drones that filled 

the night sky with little LED lights 

blinking like tiny airplanes. They 

would have been cool had I not 

learned what they were for. 

So Major, how am I supposed 

to convince a ten-year-old kid in 

2021 that he will be responsible for 

all this? And how in the world am I 

going to find this kid? 

Suddenly I was thrust back in 

my seat and the warp speed light 

show filled the windscreen again. 

The g-forces were more than I 

could take because at some point I 

must have passed out. 

“Captain Smith? Captain Smith 

can you hear me? Captain Smith 

you passed out, are you OK? Can 

you hear me know? 

I opened my eyes, and the bright 

lights were blinding me. The thrust 

had stopped and I could feel we 

were no longer moving. Are we 

hovering again Major, and why is it 

so bright in here? I can’t see anything. 

Suddenly the lights dimmed, 

and I could make out a man bending 

over me. He was wearing a 

uniform, but it was different kind 

of uniform and it wasn’t Major 

Littleton. I wasn’t in an aircraft; I 

was laying in an ambulance. 

“Ahh there we go…...good to 

have you back Captain. I’m Sgt. 

Fisher of the Highway Patrol. You 

took quite a trip back there. We 

found your Jeep 200 feet off the 

road in a muddy ditch. The fog 

is so bad this morning we almost 

never found you. If it wasn’t 

for a Major with the military, we 

wouldn’t have known where you 

were.” 

Wait what? Was his name Littleton? 

The EMTs had me connected to 

all kinds of equipment and they 

were talking to someone on the 

radio. I heard the heartbeat monitor 

beeping in the background and 

my heart rate must have been 150 

beats a minute. 

“Captain Smith we need to get 

rolling to the hospital. Sgt. did you 

have any more questions for the 

Captain? 

“No, I think I’m good.” 

Sgt, was the man who called this 

in, was his name Major Littleton? 

“Yes, yes I believe it was. Listen 

you get on to the hospital, I’ll see 

you up there.” 

Wait, one more thing. Sarge do 

you have a son named Cal? 

“How did you know that. His 

name is Calvin, but we just call 

him Cal. Do you know my son? He’s 

only 10 but he’s an aviation buff. He 

has us take him to all the aviation 

shows, you must have met him at 

one of them. He’s a real airplane 

buff when he’s not buried in his 

laptop that is. And he’s just gone 

crazy playing with all these little 

drone things. Listen, you take care 

and I’ll see you at the hospital in a 

bit.” 

The door closed and I heard him 

tap on the back glass and the ambulance 

started to move. 

What the hell just happened? 


WORDS BY AN ANONYMOUS OFFICER 

I Wasn’t There! – But if I was, this would be my firsthand 

account of what happened in D.C. 1/6/21 

Let me begin by saying: I did 

not step one foot on the steps 

of the Capitol; I did not follow 

the mod of people who entered 

the Capitol; I didn’t tell anyone 

I was going to D.C. Also, I sure 

as hell didn’t tell anyone when 

I got back. I didn’t break any 

laws and in fact helped several 

of my brothers in sisters in law 

enforcement on duty that day, 

but I didn’t identify myself, I just 

helped a LEO that needed assistance. 

Here is what I witnessed and 

experienced in Washington D.C. 

on that fateful day. First off, my 

reason for going was simple. I 

loved and supported my President. 

I believe that Donald Trump 

did more for law enforcement 

that any other President in my 

lifetime. I wanted to show my 

support for the man I admire. 

I never for one minute thought 

that MY President called me 

there to storm the Capitol. Now 

did I think some of the nut jobs 

that were there thought that? 

Absolutely! And when I say nut 

jobs, some of these guys were 

dressed like they were going to 

war or about to run a no knock 

on the worst drug dealer in 

town. Outside of two tours in 

Iraq and my brief time in SWAT, 

I have never seen men geared 

up for action like I saw that day. 

The guy with zip tie cuffs walked 

right passed me. My first thought 

was he was either military, FBI 

or some type of SWAT officer 

sent in to identify and remove 

troublemakers. It wasn’t until 

later in the day that I realized 

who I was really surrounded by. 

That crowd was a powder keg 

waiting to explode. My guess is 

that more than 50% were there 

with the sole intention of storming 

into the Capitol and taking 

hostages. The other 50% were 

just caught up in the moment. 

The day started off with 

breakfast at my hotel and then 

I walked to the Ellipse Grounds 

behind the White House where 

the President was supposed to 

speak. If you ever been to DC at 

Christmas, the Ellipse is where 

they put all the different Christmas 

trees to represent the various 

countries. And to put this 

in perspective, the White House 

is about two miles away from 

the Capitol down Pennsylvania 

Avenue. It’s quite a walk between 

the two. In fact, it took me 

almost an hour to make my way 

there AFTER Trump finished his 

speech. 

The press made it seem like 

people just walked across the 

street. It’s not across the street 

by any stretch of the imagination. 

The other thing I noticed the 

press lied about was when the 

majority of the “Trump Supporters” 

left the speech and headed 

towards the Capitol. According 

to the press, everyone stayed 

until the President concluded his 

talk and then because he basically 

incited them to riot, they 

immediately ran in an angry mod 

towards the Capitol. 

That’s not what happened at 

all. People started gathering 

at the Capitol BEFORE Trump 

even took to the stage at the 

Ellipse. Then, halfway through 

his speech, most of the crowd 

left and began walking to the 

Capitol. By the time Trump was 

whisked off by Secret Service, 

the “Supporters” had already 

surrounded the Capitol. Like I 

said, it took me almost an hour 

to make my way to the Capitol. 

There were literally thousands of 

people on the streets and getting 

anywhere was an ordeal. Again, 

I had no intention of joining a 

riot. I just wanted to see what 

the hell these people were going 

to do when they got there, and 

boy did I see. When I made the 

final turn around the East side of 

the Capitol, I could see they had 

already knocked down the temporary 

fencing and were forcing 

their way up the steps. There 

was a Capitol Police Officer trying 

to stop people from climbing 

over a fence just to the side of 

me and I saw a scruffy bearded 

white guy grab the officers 

vest and pull him towards the 

fence. I immediately grabbed the 

guy around his neck and threw 

him to the ground. The officer 

backed up a few feet and nodded 

a thank you to me. It was at 

that point that I realized I was 

IN THE MIDDLE OF A SOON TO 

BE RIOT and I needed to find an 

exit and get the hell out of there. 

The cop in me wanted to climb 

over that fence and help these 

officers fight off the crowd. But 

I knew that was a stupid idea, 

so I walked across the street 

and watched the crowd make 

their way father up the Capitol 

grounds and onto the steps. At 

this point people were climbing 

the sides of the building, busting 

out windows, it was just crazy. 

I felt sorry for all the cops that 

had to fight off this ‘mob.’ They 

were obviously outnumbered 

and needed some serious backup. 

At this point it was about 3pm 


and I knew it was only a matter 

of time before the National 

Guard would show up and everyone 

would be going to jail, 

and I wasn’t going to be one 

of them. I made my way to a 

restaurant/bar that was several 

miles away and I watched what 

was happening on the large 

screens that surrounded the bar 

area. My flight was scheduled to 

leave Dulles at 8pm and I decided 

I would Uber to the airport 

and just hang out there until my 

flight. By 10:30pm I was back in 

Texas safe and sound. 

I learned a lot that day. One, 

the press lies out their ass about 

everything. Very little of what 

they reported actually happened. 

Two, I have no idea what the hell 

people were thinking that day. 

Were they really going to storm 

the United States Capitol and 

take lawmakers hostage? And if 

they did, exactly what were they 

going to do with them once they 

had them? Three, when you get 

involved in something you KNOW 

IS ABOUT TO TURN BAD, get the 

hell out of dodge. 

A lot of cops lost their jobs 

over this. I’m damn glad I wasn’t 

one of them. But, despite my 

innocence, I’ll be damned if I 

ever tell anyone I was there. I’m 

thankful for The BLUES MAG- 

AZINE and the opportunity to 

remain anonymous and still tell 

my story. 

Have a unique story you’d 

like to share with the 

BLUES readers? 

Send it to: bluespdmag@ 

gmail.com. Please change 

all the names to protect the 

innocent and to avoid prosecution 

in the event that 

the statute of limitations 

hasn’t expired. 

WINNING FOR INJURED LEOS 

ALL OVER TEXAS 

NOW OPEN BY APPT. ONLY 

THE 

JAMES WOOD 

LAW FIRM 

® 

MILLION DOLLAR ADVOCATES FORUM® 

MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR ADVOCATES FORUM® 

The Top Trial Lawyers in America® 

® 

® 

CAPITAL BASED, STATEWIDE REPRESENTATION 

LINEOFDUTYLAW.COM | 512.692.9266 

PRINCIPAL OFFICE: AUSTIN, TEXAS 


The Double Standard 

The dictionary definition of 

“double standard” is as follows: 

“a set of principles that applies 

differently and usually more rigorously 

to one group of people or 

circumstances than to another.” 

Any time there is a double standard 

at work in a society, it lays 

the groundwork for protest, challenge, 

and dissent. Indeed, the 

double standard is the bedrock of 

revolution. The inherent unfairness 

of the double standard is in 

and of itself inflammatory and 

is the fuel for fires — both literal 

and figurative. 

The American Revolution was 

no exception to the double standard 

principle. The colonists had 

established a society and culture 

that was as strong as any in the 

British Empire, including England 

herself. The British Crown, however, 

created a separate standard 

for representation and taxation 

that boiled over and led ultimately 

to the dissolution of the bonds 

that connected America and 

the mother country. The double 

standard so inflamed American 

colonists that they parted ways 

with a once beloved king whose 

descendant is still on the throne 

today. 

The double standard as a revolutionary 

ingredient is not confined 

to political upheaval, but 

is applicable to social reform as 

well. It is in this arena that many 

revolutions have been launched. In 

the first half of the 19th Century, 

the abolitionist movement against 

slavery was becoming a worldwide 

phenomenon. England not 

only abolished the practice, but 

went further by having the Royal 

Navy enforce its policy on the 

high seas off the African coast. 

Of course, by this time American 

slavery was fully entrenched and 

the slave trade between Africa 

and North America was no longer 

required to maintain the evil 

institution. The southern states 

had an agrarian economy that 

relied on technology (the cotton 

gin) and human labor (slaves) to 

power its economic engine. The 

South clung to a double standard 

in such a manner that the repercussions 

still ripple across our 

daily lives. 

The abolition of slavery had 

finally become an objective of 

civilized peoples. The double 

standard of the application of 

freedom based on the color of 

one’s skin was seen as, not only 

morally reprehensible, but simply 

unfair, as all double standards 

are. 

Naturally, the modern Women’s 

Rights Movement was born in 

the abolitionist environment. The 

double standard, of course, is the 

foundation of any feminist (anyone 

who believes in equal rights 

regardless of gender) organization. 

Procedures, practices, and 

laws based on gender have been 

in use since the beginning of time. 

The division of labor based on 

gender was present in our earliest 

periods of history regardless 

of ethnic or racial kinship. This 

double standard is the oldest 

form of differentiation that we 

know of dating back to the Garden 

of Eden. Gender was the first 

natural distinction in our species. 

It was so easy a caveman could 

do it! 

There is a very famous speech 

made by a woman named Isabella 

Bomfree at the 1851 Ohio 

Women’s Conference. She was an 

itinerate preacher who traveled 

around America preaching on 

egalitarianism for everyone, especially 

women and black people. 

Bomfree was illiterate, but she 

dictated her thoughts to scribes 

who wrote them down. Her most 

famous speech dealt with the 

infamous double standard. In her 

particular case, she experienced 

a double standard within a double 

standard because she was a 

black female. In the speech she 

pointed out the double standards 

that she experienced as a former 

female slave. Men denied women 

equal rights because they “were 

not made in God’s image” or because 

“Christ was a man.” Bomfree’s 

response to these so-called 

arguments was “Where did your 

Christ come from? From God and 

a woman! Man had nothing to do 

with Him.” 

Bomfree’s speech pointed out 

how the men’s argument that 

women need to be protected and 

related to in a deferential manner 

was illogical. She said that 

she never received any deferential 

treatment for she planted, 

plowed, and bore the lash as well 

as any man. Her thesis sentence 

then popped up, “Ain’t I a woman?” 

The double standard always 

falls before the cold hard face of 

logic. Bomfree was a traveling 

Christian minister who felt led by 

the Holy Spirit to speak truth to 

the crowds. Because of this she 

changed her name to Sojourner 

Truth. Her simple logic refuting 

the double standard is still the 

basis of any civil rights movement. 

The double standard is ever 

present when people feel they 

have been treated unfairly and is 

pervasive in any society. It can be 

society wide or exist in the smallest 

of our organizational units: 

the nuclear family. What parent 

has not heard the outcry of 

aggrieved children who perceive 

themselves as having been treated 

unfairly based on a double 

standard? “Why can’t I climb on 

top of the house like Johnny? Is it 

because I’m a girl?” Mom replies,” 

Wait, what? Where’s your brother?!” 

The most pervasive and pernicious 

of our American double 

standards is found in the autocracy 

of political correctness. This 

occurs when one group perceives 

themselves to be superior and capable 

of wielding a double standard 

because they alone have the 

moral and 

intellectual 

capacity to 

exercise their 

substantial 

power properly. 

When 

confronted 

with this 

particular 

viewpoint 

by slave 

owners and 

prominent 

males, Sojourner 

Truth 

replied, 

“What’s that 

got to do 

with women’s 

rights 

or Negroes’ 

rights? If my cup won’t hold but 

a pint, and yours holds a quart, 

wouldn’t you be mean not to let 

me have my little half measure 

full?” 

In Sojourner Truth’s day, America 

was a divided country. Her 

voice had many echoes across the 

nation. She was aided by sympathetic 

newspapers in the North, 

but the media influence exerted 

in the 19th Century pales in comparison 

to the media empires of 

the 21st Century. No one company 

or newspaper could dictate the 

social constructs of our country 

200 years ago. That is no longer 

true. Media empires in conjunction 

with tech behemoths like 

Facebook, Google, and Amazon 

wield unequaled and unprecedented 

power to dictate public 

opinion as they act to crush 

opposing viewpoints. They, and 

they alone, establish a double 

standard that enacts a partisan 

direction using censorship, “fact 

finding,” and castigating people 

who dissent. 

Like all past attempts to validate 

the double standard, the one 

being used today is causing great 

discord in our nation. The people 

it is being used against have been 

called “deplorable” and are being 

told that they need to be “deprogrammed.” 

They have been told 

that their rights as Americans under 

the United States Constitution 

are no longer guaranteed. They 

have been ridiculed as rubes, 

scorned as racists, and ostracized 

as outcasts in their own home. 

Their history is being rewritten 

by ignorant “journalists” and 

“academics” who don’t know the 

difference between Shakespeare 

and Faulkner. 

If the Left’s logical conclusion 

is achieved with Big Media and 

Big Tech leading the way to its 

associated authoritarian and totalitarian 

government, who will 

be there to utter the last cry of a 

free citizen, “Ain’t I an American?” 


ALAN HELFMAN 


WORDS BY MICHAEL BARRON, 

TOM KENNEDY & HEIDI POWELL 

PHOTOS BY VICKY PINK & HEIDI POWELL 

36 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 37

ALAN HELFMAN 

An Auto Dealer by Trade and a Humanitarian by Heart. 

That pretty much sums up 

who Alan Helfman is. For the 

better part of his life, Helfman 

has dedicated himself to serving 

others, earning the nickname 

“Mr. Philanthropy.” On most days 

you’ll find him making deals at 

his dealership on Kirby Drive, 

just off the Southwest Freeway 

– River Oaks Chrysler, Dodge, 

Jeep & Ram. But what you may 

not know is that many of those 

‘deals’ have nothing to do with 

cars. The big deals going on in 

that second-floor office of this 

full-time salesman and part time 

cop, are the deals that will raise 

hundreds of thousands of dollars 

for charities, police and fire 

departments, schools, parks and 

hospitals and long-term care 

facilities. Truth is, I don’t think 

there isn’t a person or cause 

that Alan hasn’t raised money 

for. It’s in his blood and DNA to 

help others and he’s damn good 

at it. So, when The BLUES staff 

gathered to decide who might 

be the recipient of their first ever 

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, 

Alan Helfman was the first name 

everyone choose. Here’s how it 

all got started. 

THE HISTORY HELFMAN AUTO 

The legacy of Helman’s entry 

into the auto business dates to 

1959 when Alan’s grandfather 

Samuel Helfman opened a used 

car lot in 1959 on Washington 

Avenue just south of I-10 (The 

car lot was there for the longest 

time under a variety of different 

owners from W&R Auto Sales to 

Buddy’s Used Cars). Alan’s dad, 

Jack Helfman, worked alongside 

his father Samuel honing 

his sales skills while at the 

same time helping to build a 

successful used car dealership. 

That experience gained over 13 

years working with his dad laid 

the foundation to what would 

become a successful 39-year 

relationship with Chrysler. 

Fueled by the success of 

Helfman Motors, Jack began 

looking into the possibility of 

selling new cars. He had his eyes 

set on a small dealership, inside 

the loop, owned by a local businessman 

named Bob Ring. Soon 

the papers were signed, and in 

1972 the Helfman’s took control 

of River Oaks Chrysler Plymouth. 

Unfortunately, Samuel Helfman 

would pass away shortly after 

the Helfman’s acquired River 

Oaks Chrysler. 

During Jack Helfman’s years of 

success as a dealer, he had been 

very involved in the community. 

For the past 30+ years he had 

been a major contributor to the 

Seven Acres Jewish Senior Care 

Services, a nursing home in the 

Houston area. Contributing not 

only money, but time. Through- 

In 1959 Samuel Helfman opened a car lot on Washington Avenue. 

His son Jack, Alan’s dad, worked side by side with Samuel learning all he could about the car business. 

A legacy that would be handed down through the Helfman family for generations to come. 

Renee Helfman, Alan Helfman & Marty Lancton at the 

Houston Professional Firefighters Association Charitable Foundation Inaugural Gala 


ALAN HELFMAN 

Earned the Nickname “MR. PHILANTHROPY” 

out his years of service to Seven 

Acres, he donated wheelchairs, 

walkers, and other supplies as 

were needed. He also encouraged 

his children into the service 

of the elderly, and on many 

occasions, they would spend 

their time reading to the residents. 

When it came time for 

the annual Seven Acres Jewish 

Senior Care Services Gala, he 

would donate a car or truck for 

raffle, and personally make the 

calls necessary to sell the raffle 

tickets. In 2001 Jack Helfman and 

his wife Elaine were presented 

with the 2001 Sprit of Life Award 

at that year’s annual Seven Acres 

Gala. But this is only one of many 

charities he has given to. He annually, 

contributed to: The United 

Jewish Federation, Muscular 

Dystrophy, March of Dimes, United 

Way, and many others. Seven 

Acres is simply the one believed 

to have been closest to his heart. 

Jack Helfman had been honored 

over the years for many 

achievements. In 2004 Jack 

Helfman was the recipient of 

the 2004 Time Magazine Quality 

Award. This award is given to 

new car dealers for their exceptional 

performance in their 

dealership, and distinguished 

community service. This award is 

given to 63 dealers out of nearly 

20,000. This is the highest honor 

achievable by a dealer. 

Jack was honored that his son 

Alan decided at an early age to 

follow his footsteps into the auto 

business. Alan earned his business 

degree at UT and quickly 

adopted the strong work ethic 

his dad, lived his entire work life. 

“Dad was very austere but 

fair,” Alan said. “He taught you a 

hard work ethic – work morning 

‘til night, six days a week. Work 

hard and play hard. He didn’t 

have a lot of outside interests. 

We (the car industry) went 

through tumultuous times in 

2007 but he had something. He 

wasn’t the kind of man to spend 

money on expensive hobbies or 

pastimes.” 

Jack Helfman also taught 

his son to give generously to 

worthy causes “as long as they 

were legitimate.” The Helfman 

family made a large contribution 

toward the construction of 

Helfman Football Field at Emery-Weiner 

School, where Alan 

and Renee Helfman’s three children 

attended school – Blake, 

Eric and Caitlin. 

Today, Jack Helfman would 

be extremely proud of his son’s 

generosity and unending desire 

to help others. 

THE BEGINNING OF MR. HUMANI- 

TARIAN AND MR. PHILANTHROPY 

Tom Kennedy, a longtime editor 

of the HPOU’s Badge & Gun 

Newspaper, wrote a great article 

about Alan a few years ago. 

Here is just some of that article 

on how Alan came to be known 

as “Mr. Humanitarian and Mr. 

Philanthropy.” 

Alan Helfman is the car dealer 

with a TCLEOSE (TCOLE now) 

Certification who constantly goes 

the proverbial extra mile for HPD 

Officers and other Law Enforcement 

causes, using his sales 

ability on the auction circuit to 

raise funds for Officers in need. 

The company chieftain in the 

well-tailored suit always seems 

to have a phone in his ear. He 

crisply moves from one call to 

another, juggling conversations 

about his car business or his extra-curricular 

passion – auctioning 

sports memorabilia to raise 

funds for injured or ailing Houston 

police officers. When soliciting 

auction items or the bidders 

for same, he repeats once, twice, 

three times the purpose and the 

beneficiary, consistently underscoring 

all the reasons for a generous 

donation – say an autographed 

J. J. Watt jersey – or an 

extraordinarily high bid on it. No 

potential beneficiary is off-limits 

to Alan Helfman, whose fundraising 

talents almost always 

benefit officers in predicaments 

encountered off-duty. Ask him 

and he will tell you that the men 

and women in blue routinely 

perform dangerous, life-threatening 

tasks safely and soundly, 

only to meet problems beyond 

their control when they’re not on 

Houston streets. 

There are an ample number of 

examples. 

A fire in an officer’s house 

near Baytown caused him to 

Photo by Vicky Pink, Reprinted with Permission 



ALAN HELFMAN 

An Unconditional Money-Raising Spirit Races Though Alan’s Bloodstream. 

gut the place and left him and 

three children at a total loss of 

their possessions and keepsakes. 

Insurance covered some but 

not all of this tremendous loss. 

Auctioneer Helfman spearheaded 

an HPOU-sponsored fundraiser, 

complete with the Union’s Barbecue 

Team and suddenly Officer 

Kevin Warren had the necessary 

funding to begin rebuilding the 

charred home. 

Retired Officer Vonda Higgins, 

left paralyzed when she 

was shot in 1998 while working 

undercover narcotics, underwent 

several painful surgeries and 

years of rehabilitation. Higgins 

achieved her independence and 

was able to drive, only to have 

somebody steal her special 

wheelchair-accessible van. It 

was recovered with substantial 

damage and deemed unfit for 

her to operate. Helfman led the 

charge to raise funds for a new 

vehicle. Many of the items he 

auctioned at the Breckenridge 

Porter Building were pieces of 

sports memorabilia that helped 

bring in more than $90,000. He 

donated them! 

One June a few years back, 

HPOU and the Assist the Officer 

Foundation pitched in to raise 

about $27,000 to help retired Senior 

Police Officer Karen Sampson 

and her family in Sampson’s 

determined fight against breast 

cancer. Again, Helfman was the 

auctioneer. 

And then, in January 2013, 

Helfman, HPOU and ATO set a 

fundraising record. When totaled, 

$104,390 was raised for 

the wife of Officer Hans Wagner 

and the couple’s two children, 

ages 7 and 13. Wagner suffered 

severe head injuries when the 

family vehicle was broadsided in 

the summer of 2012. Fortunately, 

his wife, son and daughter were 

not seriously hurt. While recovering, 

Wagner died a few weeks 

after the accident. The fundraising 

effort drew unprecedented 

media attention. Coincidentally, 

the record-setting Wagner fundraiser 

was Helfman’s 50th benefitting 

law enforcement officers 

or first-responder personnel. 

Quite simply, this unconditional 

money-raising spirit throbs 

throughout the bloodstream 

inside Alan Helfman. He admits 

that he’s a salesman who uses 

his talent making pitches to help 

officers in need. Selling cars also 

is in his blood. Helfman owns 

River Oaks Chrysler Jeep on Kirby 

Drive just off the Southwest 

Freeway, a location opened in 

1971. His family has been in the 

car business since his grandfather 

opened a car lot on Navigation 

in 1955. 

His showroom office is easy 

to find, off in the corner on the 

north side, his desk positioned 

under a large photograph of 

Babe Ruth and Ted Williams 

(Williams signed it). That and his 

University of Texas Bachelor of 

Business Administration diploma 

(1979) decorate the walls alongside 

framed declarations of appreciation 

from, among others, 

former HPOU President Ray Hunt. 

“He goes above and beyond 

on every single fundraiser we 

do,” Hunt said. “There has never 

been a time that I’ve called Alan 

Helfman that he hasn’t delivered. 

He forms the perfect picture of a 

person who delivers invaluable 

service to each and every police 

officer.” 

For the record, Helfman now 

has led hundreds of fundraisers 

over the last 35 years. Recent 

years have seen him step up 

the number. He now averages at 

least one per month but, when 

pressed by the Badge & Gun, admits 

that many months see him 

do one every week. 

One might wonder: Why does 

he do this? 

Helfman laughed and said he 

first knew he had an inclination 

toward becoming an officer 

while in elementary school 

when he was selected to be a 

student crossing guard. 

“I loved sticking that badge on,” 

he remembered. “You put the 

stick down – it had an orange 

flag at the end. You put it down 

and the younger kids could cross 

the street. I kept trying to make 

good grades to keep the badge.” 

This badge-and-orange-flag experience 

happened at Bendwood 

Elementary School in the Spring 

Branch Independent School 

District. Later, while a senior at 

Memorial High School, Helfman 

was visiting a neighbor whose 

dad had just passed away. It was 

When First Responders in Houston needed PPE Supplies, 

Alan purchased all the KN95 Masks he could find and gave away 1000-2000 a day. 

Alan in the dealership with the dozens of awards he’s received over the years. 



ALAN HELFMAN 

TCOLE Certified Peace Officer Since the 80’s. 

late at night when Helfman and 

another friend told their friends 

goodbye. As they left, thieves 

accosted the grieving family 

members, taking money from 

them. Houston police arrived 

minutes later. Although the officers 

didn’t immediately encounter 

the robbers and throw them 

in jail, Helfman experienced the 

impression that has proven to be 

lasting. 

“Officers could come help you 

in the middle of the night when 

someone was breaking into your 

house,” he said. “They do this 

all the time even if it might be 

dangerous.” 

Early on, Helfman wanted to 

become active in charity work 

with an emphasis on the law enforcement 

community. “I had to 

ask a billionaire to help me early 

in life on fundraisers for different 

charities,” he recalled. “I told him 

I’d put a statue of him on every 

corner. He turned me down.” So, 

he figured out a way to get the 

job done by himself. The answer: 

autographed balls and bats that 

bring a lot of money in benefit 

auctions. He found that he 

could easily acquire these sports 

memorabilia items with the right 

sources and auction them to 

Houston’s proliferation of sports 

fans who regularly demanded 

autograph material from the 

Astros, Texans and Rockets. It 

can easily be said that Helfman 

acquires more pieces of sports 

memorabilia than he has new 

and used cars at River 

Oaks on any given 

day. Back in the day, 

Helfman acquired 

most of his memorabilia 

from Kent 

Sessions, a wholesale 

dealer in Houston. 

“I’d sell him memorabilia. 

He auctioned 

it off and donated the 

proceeds to officers, 

depending on their 

particular problem,” 

Sessions said. “He 

tries to be hands-on 

with every single one 

of the people who need help and 

are associated with the police 

department. 

“He has a strong work ethic. 

One of the things he takes away 

from work is the help he gives 

police officers. To him it’s like his 

duty. He’s part of the city and he 

knows the importance of police 

in a city like this. 

“People are struck down that 

don’t have the help that some 

other people have. He wants to 

help – it’s a part of the philanthropic 

attitude that he has.” 

“He wants to feel the needs 

of that individual person. That’s 

unique to a philanthropist.” 

Helfman’s aforementioned 

showroom office seldom sees a 

day that he’s not making a car 

deal with an officer, lieutenant, 

sergeant or chief from police 

agencies across the state. 

Retired HPD Officer Johnny 

Sessums was driving a Jeep he 

bought from Helfman as he was 

en-route to a West Texas deer 

camp. Sessums detailed his work 

with Helfman, saying that he and 

Dr. Al Barringer took the steps 

to set up a police academy at 

the Houston Community College 

System in 1988, firmly establishing 

the school’s criminal justice 

program. 

A few years passed with Barringer 

(father of HPD Officer Jay 

Barringer) and Sessums wanted 

to take the program “to the 

next level.” They needed someone 

who knew both the politics 

involved and the ability to create 

the proper business plan and a 

funding mechanism. 

“Alan devised a business plan 

and got support from the community 

and the (HCCS) board,” 

Sessums recounted. “He rolled 

the fire training part of it into the 

plan and designed the complex 

that involved SWAT training situations 

and paint ball tactics.” 

In addition, Helfman helped 

set up the financing and got the 

right people in the right places 

to help Barringer and Sessums. 

The business plan he developed 

enabled HCCS to “make enough 

money to pay for it,” Sessums 

said. The complex is part of 

HCC’s Northeast College and 

entails a gun range, classrooms, 

a driving track, and a six-story 

tower for firefighter training – all 

of it with environmentally sound 

furnishings such as the use of 

propane instead of hay bales for 

the fire drills and the recycling of 

rainwater for other fire training. 

The gun range is environmentally 

sound with its special lead 

abatement aspect. “We recycle 

the brass on the gun range,” Sessums 

said. “It’s a pretty cool setup.” 

Sessums is now director of 

the whole outfit, which is known 

as the Public Safety Institute of 

HCC-Northeast. 

“Alan has always been a law 

enforcement supporter from the 

get-go,” the director said. “I don’t 

know why but from our standpoint 

I’m glad he is.” 

“He provides total support. 

We met with him several times 

when we were talking about 

how fast he was putting his 

business plans together. He’s got 

a great business plan with the 

right buzz words and phrases to 

catch attention. 

“He really helped us with the 

focus and direction to literally 

take our dream to the next level.” 

Helfman said that the original 

plan was sketched out on a 

napkin at Houston’s restaurant 

where he, Sessums and Barringer 

had one especially productive 

meeting. The business vision 

has brought to reality not just 

the police and fire academies in 

the Sessums bailiwick but also 

the Emergency Medical Academy. 

“Alan’s all about first responders. 

He has a passion for that. 

Any time we would bring it up 

it was an all-inclusive discussion. 

He’s all about training. 

He’s TCOLE-certified and we’ve 

helped him keep up his certificate. 

“His political influence was 

probably one of the key reasons 

that we ended up having Public 

Safety. He played a very important 

part of that – not just for us 

but law enforcement in general.” 

Helfman has been TCOLE-certified 

since the mid-1980s when 

he went through the law enforcement 

school at the University 

of Houston – Downtown, 

while sponsored by Harris Coun- 



ALAN HELFMAN 

At Times he has More Memorabilia than Cars! 

ty Constable Precinct 4. 

“I’ve stayed a commissioned 

officer ever since,” he said with 

pride. “I hold a TCOLE commission 

presently at Harris County 

Precinct 7 as a reserve captain.” 

“I have a uniform for Precinct 

7. But I’ve been commissioned 

by Precinct 5, Precinct 3 twice 

and Precinct 7 twice. I’ve been 

around a little bit.” 

His fundraising mindset permeates 

every day of business 

at River Oaks. He has a massive 

scrap book of the newspaper 

accounts of the fundraising 

activities, which over the years 

has included more than 50 for 

Texas Southern University. At one 

point, Helfman learned that the 

school’s golf team had no way of 

getting to out-of-town tournaments, 

so he donated a $30,000 

Chrysler Town & Country. When 

pressed a little, he can recall a 

steady list of contributions to 

churches, the University of Houston 

and both public and private 

organizations in need of funds. 

“We do a myriad of fundraisers 

almost every day,” Helfman said. 

“Every day somebody asks me 

for six auction items.” 

This brings us to the unlisted 

office upstairs. A few years ago, 

one could navigate directly to 

a large, executive desk where 

endless deals have been struck 

for Jeeps, Chrysler 300s and the 

other vehicles in the Helfman 

realm. Today, you can hardly 

find a place to sit down or get 

around, for there are stacks of 

boxes containing baseball bats, 

football jerseys (all signed with 

certificates of authenticity), 

footballs, baseballs, basketballs 

and maybe even an autographed 

soccer ball. Framed 

16x20 autographed pictures also 

are propped up everywhere. 

Helfman tailors the list of auction 

items to his audience. Right 

now – football season – he 

would probably pick through the 

autographed football items, box 

them up and load them in a vehicle 

bound for the auction venue. 

“He’s a promoter extraordinaire,” 

100 Club executive director 

Rick Hartley said. “He’s 

done a lot of wonderful things 

to help law enforcement off and 

on during the years. He’s a life 

member of the 100 Club.” 

Other evidence of Helfman’s 

activism can be found on both 

walls of the hallway leading 

to the upstairs office. He has 

plaques from mayors of Houston 

recognizing his support, alongside 

those from civic and political 

organizations thanking him 

for his dedication to their causes. 

He always walks the walk with 

his talk of support for officers. 

He has written op/ed pieces for 

the Houston Chronicle advocating 

progressive changes in policing 

philosophies. He has funded 

two horses for the HPD Mounted 

Patrol and shares a personal 

experience about his sponsorship 

for a canine member of the 

Department’s K-9 unit. 

“I pulled up to a Mounted Patrol 

one day,” he remembered, 

“and there was one of the K-9 

officers standing there. The officer 

said he didn’t have a dog. 

How can that be? I asked. 

“I got together with Lt. (Steve) 

Marino and got that guy a dog.” 

He thrives on providing support 

for his pet causes and promptly 

calls “time out” from a car deal 

on the table to traipse upstairs 

to the supply office. He plucked 

out a Pete Rose bat and some 

baseballs for a Catholic church 

and up to a dozen other auction 

items for fundraisers planned 

by smaller police departments 

from south side suburbs to benefit 

officers. He can’t remember 

the details of the very first fundraising 

auction he championed 

but thinks it might have been 

at Cody’s in the Village, raising 

more than $20,000 for a Houston 

officer. 

“We did a fundraiser in a vacant 

lot across from a U. S. Post 

Office,” he said. “A guy had barbecue 

pits on a makeshift stage. 

“One time we had one at a bar. 

I got all the people at the bar to 

buy Bagwell and Biggio balls. 

We raised $10,000.” 

As you might well imagine, 

Helfman has written car deals 

for hundreds of officers. One 

was a sheriff’s deputy severely 

injured in a recent off-duty 

accident, leaving him unable to 

drive. Insurance coverage was 

not as complete as it needed to 

be. So Helfman helped him pay 

off the roughly $2,500 he owed 

on his vehicle. 

In a more recent interview with 

IF Magazine in Houston, Alan 

relates how COVID and the pandemic 

played a part in his never-ending 

fundraisers and benefits 

and how he came to assist 

first responders in acquiring much 

needed PPE supplies. Last August, 

Alan had these comments about 

the pandemic: 

Alan with his son, Blake Helfman. 

ALAN: “At the beginning of this 

pandemic, I saw the need, so I 

acquired the KN95 masks and I 

gave 7 out of 8 constable departments 

over 400 masks. Nobody 

even knew what was going 

on yet, and I was there delivering 

masks, and people were picking 

them up here and from the HPD 

Union and HFD. I’d do 1000 to 

2000 masks a day. I just thought 

it was my responsibility. Somebody 

had to step up and do it. 

The city wasn’t doing it.” 

IF MAGAZINE: Has philanthropy 

and fundraising for local 

causes always been a part of 

your passion in life, even as a 

young man in college? 

ALAN: I always knew I’d be 

a little fortunate. That’s why I 

hooked up with Provost. I knew 

I could permeate some major 

stuff to all ethnicities and the 

underprivileged and make their 

lives a lot better. From Reverend 

Manson Johnson of Holman St., 

a dear friend, or pastor Freeman 

who worked with Lee and 

I, he helped our vernacular to 

be somewhat lucid and fluid. I 

have met and worked with a lot 

of great people. Some have said 

I’m the best kept secret because I 

am not like some other promoters 

out there. I’m not that flashy; 

we just quietly go in there and 

take care of the fundraiser and 

get on to the next one. 

IF MAGAZINE: How has the 

pandemic affected your fundraising 

efforts? 

ALAN: It has slowed up a bit 

with the pandemic and all. Mrs. 

Provost and I have been doing 

probably two to three fundraisers 

a month for the past 30 

years. One of the good things 

was Houston Community College 



ALAN HELFMAN 

Pandemic Slows not Stops Fundraising. 

came and said, “Hey, we want 

to honor you.” I said, “When do 

you want to do that?” They said, 

“May 2nd.” This was back in 

December. They said, “We want 

to make you the eagle at the big 

gala at the Hilton Americas.” I 

said, “Ok if you do that, I’m going 

to raise you between a million 

and a million two.” They canceled 

the May 2nd deal, and they 

moved it to November 14th. I just 

got word from them that the HCC 

foundation has canceled it completely. 

I said how much have we 

raised right now, Karen? And she 

said you are right at $800,000; 

and you know what the blessing 

is? All these scholarships are 

going to the kids because there 

are no expenses if we don’t do 

an event. So, in the end, it may 

be the most profitable fundraiser 

they’ve had. So, we hire some of 

the HCC students, because they 

have talent; and this is a place 

they can get their start. 

IF MAGAZINE: You are very 

passionate about education. 

What did you study? 

ALAN: Well, I studied business 

at the University of Texas, but everyone 

thinks I am a TSU graduate, 

because I am on their board; 

but I am on about six to eight 

boards right now. Memorial Hermann 

Board, UTMB -Galveston, 

Jennie Sealy Hospital, Houston 

Police Department Foundation, 

Houston Fire Department Foundation, 

Seven Acres and Geriatrics 

Center. 

IF MAGAZINE: Tell us about 

some of things you have done for 

the community here in Houston. 

ALAN: When the Jewish Community 

Center had all their cars 

destroyed, I took whatever the 

insurance gave them, which was 

about half the value of the three 

cars they had purchased, and 

took care of the rest. We have 

given them a few cars in the 

past as they give rides to elderly 

members that need transportation 

to doctors’ appointments. 

It’s a great program and I wanted 

to keep it going. At Emery 

High School, we put the Helfman 

football field up. Every private 

school in the city plays football 

and soccer there. When my dad 

passed, we thought that would 

be a good memorial for him and 

called it The Helfman Field at 

Caress Stadium Emery Weiner 

School. The project consisted 

of a new press box and storage 

facility for the Emery Weiner 

School in Houston, Texas. The 

9,000 SF building includes restrooms, 

locker rooms, a weight 

room and a concession’s stand 

on the first level, with a film 

deck, a press box, and a mechanical 

mezzanine on the second 

level. Construction consisted 

of a steel-framed superstructure, 

a concrete slab-on-grade 

ground floor and belled pier 

foundations. HISD approached 

me to give cars to students who 

placed out; I wanted all of the 

kids to get something, so we got 

some items, some computers, 

some footballs, about 70 in all, 

to give away as well as the car. 

The girl who won the car didn’t 

even have a driver’s license. She 

came to school via metro and 

now she teaches at HISD. They 

asked me the next year, and we 

did it again. The kid that won it 

that year was on his bike. 

IF MAGAZINE: You have survived 

a lot of crises in Houston. 

Do you have any advice for business 

owners and people in Houston 

as we get ready to rebuild 

and come back from last year’s 

lock downs? 

ALAN: I think we are in a wonderful 

city in a great state, in a 

great country. I think truthfully, 

if you look around the country, 

Houston is probably the best. I 

see a lot of people moving here, 

and I understand why. It’s very 

ethnically diversified. Everything 

that you could want from food 

to worship, to stadiums, to good 

football, baseball, basketball, 

the arts, there’s all those things. 

It’s good living conditions. You 

aren’t living on top of one another; 

you are not riding a rail with 

thousands of people. 

IF MAGAZINE: Do 

you think we are 

in a good position 

to bounce back 

from this economic 

crisis? What’s your 

advice to business 

owners today? 

ALAN: I think we 

are resilient, and I 

think it’s not easy, 

but we can make it 

through this. I think 

if you take care of 

people right, you 

treat them good. 

Probably the public 

companies are going 

to have the most 

problems, the ones 

that are owned 

by stockholders, 

because you have 

to be a little bit 

more aware of 

what is happening; 

because through 

this deal, I’ve pre 

bought deals at half 

a dozen restaurants 

to make sure they 

are still there a year 

from now when I 

want to go get my 

meal there. I also 

help when possible, 

because there’s 

nobody for people 

to lean on. There’s 

not that many of 

us around. Just 

because you see a 

name on a dealership doesn’t 

mean that person is still around. 

You see 30 and 40 years ago, I 

knew it was important to help 

all kinds of people, because not 

everybody had the same opportunities 

that I had; and I always 

thought that I didn’t want people 

to say that I only helped my own 

kind or my own religion. I knew 

it was important to help everyone 

equally. This is something I 

have been doing every day for 

over 30 years. During Hurricane 

Harvey, I was giving away sig- 



ALAN HELFMAN 

A Lifetime of Achievements -A True Hero to 

Thousands of Houstonians & First Responders. 

natures of JJ Watt and stuff, 

because they needed to smile. 

Their house was destroyed; but 

guess what they had going up on 

their wall, a gorgeous picture of 

Altuve that might be worth a lot 

of money someday. So, I always 

liked sports memorabilia, and 

it creates a lot of energy and 

fundraising dollars. Thirty years 

ago, I met Mrs. Georgia Provost. 

I was doing a scholarship for 

A.B. Chambers who was a constable 

here. He wanted to put 

two people through college and 

called me. So, I said, “I’ll help 

you.” I heard her talking behind 

me at the fundraiser. I said I need 

to permeate some cash into 3rd 

Ward, 4th Ward and 5th Ward 

and I need someone to do a fund 

raiser each month.” And she said, 

“I know everyone.” I said, “Ok, 

your payments won’t go up on 

your Grand Cherokee, and I’ll 

make sure you have a new one in 

the driveway almost every year.” 

That’s been facilitated for close 

to 30 years. She helps me. We’ve 

probably done 80 fund raisers 

for Texas Southern, and we have 

done KTSU twice a year for over 

30 years now. She attends all 

the events in a brand-new Grand 

Cherokee. We’ve run for politics 

three times. When I was Mayor 

Lee Brown’s right-hand guy, 

he put me as one of the people 

on the committee to help with 

the Compaq Center Lakewood 

Church Project; and I also helped 

do Sky Bridge at MD Anderson 

which was a major project; 

Mayor Lee Brown helped me a 

lot with that as well as Dr. David 

Calendar. Many times, I’ll be 

working on a car deal or something, 

and I try to make dreams 

happen for people. I get pretty 

creative in what I need to do to 

make sure you get the opportunity 

to drive away in a car. I’m 

able to do that because I have 

the liquidity to do that. 

We’ve raised $900,000 for the 

Houston Fire Department. I’ve 

done close to 80 fund raisers at 

TSU with Mrs. Provost. This year 

I gave two cars to the fire department, 

I gave HPD a van for 

their Explorers program, Rick 

Noriega the state rep over at the 

Ronald McDonald House told 

me his eight-year-old van was 

broken down, so I gave him a 

Pacifica and then I gave one to 

Rice University. I have given away 

five cars this year. I normally do 

three a year. I’m the only dealership 

in the city that does that 

on a regular basis. I try to give 

$15,000 in auction items. Usually, 

I am a big proponent to Texas 

Southern, Houston Baptist, and 

Rice Universities. Seven Acres 

Geriatrics Center was destroyed 

during the hurricane 400 people 

had to be moved out to other 

centers. They said, “This year we 

want to honor you, Alan”, and I 

said, “How much do you need me 

to raise for you?” They replied, 

“$800,000.” So, I went to see the 

center on Braeswood, and I said, 

“I’ll tell you what I’m going to 

raise more than what you asked 

for”. 

Provost was one the Keynote 

speakers I had, the president of 

HPD, the president of the Harris 

County Mental Health & Mental 

Retardation, Dr. David Calendar 

from UTMB was also a speaker. 

It was an outstanding event, 

and when I got off the stage that 

night, I had $4.7 million dollars 

raised, the largest fundraiser 

for a single night in the city of 

Houston. 

• • • 

On the second floor and 

throughout the dealership, 

there are humanitarian awards 

and plaques representing the 

many philanthropic efforts Alan 

Helfman has been a part of over 

the years; and thankfully, he 

doesn’t show any signs of slowing 

down. Now he can add one 

more award to that Hall of Fame 

– The LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT 

AWARD from The BLUES Police 

Magazine. 

Special thanks to IF Magazine 

for permission to reprint their 

interview with Alan. 


BACK IN THE DAY 

Galveston Island Police Department 

This is the first of a Special 

Series of presentations we’ll be 

presenting in The Blues. We’re 

going to visit and share with you, 

our readership, our family, the 

hidden treasures of our Policing 

Past, quietly kept and maintained 

in various “Museums” 

around our area. Such as the 

Houston Police Department’s first 

floor “Museum” located at 1200 

Travis, or the Harris County Sheriff’s 

Office’s “Museum” located at 

the HCSO Academy in Atascocita, 

Harris County. And as you’ll see, 

we’re going to begin with a pair 

of the oldest Law Enforcement 

Agencies in the State, Galveston 

County Sheriff’s Office and Galveston 

Police Department. If your 

Department is here in southeast 

Texas and have managed to save 

and display your history please, 

let us know and your agency, 

just might be our next month’s 

presentation. So, join us on this 

exciting journey of where we’ve 

all come from in this profession 

called, Law Enforcement. 

Galveston, Texas. One very 

small, yet very special place in 

the Great State of Texas. Galveston 

has a rich, powerful and 

colorful history. Pirates, Grand 

Shipping and Supply. Amazing 

Churches, buildings and homes 

from Centuries past. It is a grand 

place with grand people, sights, 

festivals and food. 

The Galveston County Sheriff’s 

Office and Galveston City Police 

Department are a significant 

part of that very rich and powerful 

history. First known as Galvez-Town, 

its name eventually 

merged into the one we all know 

and love today, Galveston. Dating 

back well into the early 1800’s 

the Galveston SO and Galveston 

PD have gallantly, respectfully 

and diligently served the citizens 

of Galveston with stellar professionalism 

and dedication. 

As we met with Sheriff Trochesset 

and Lt. Caldwell of the 

Galveston PD, we were provided 



Galveston County Sheriff’s Office 

both an internal tour of their 

state-of-the-art joint law enforcement 

facility and a firsthand 

insight into the extraordinarily 

rich history of both agencies and 

their decades of service to the 

citizens and visitors of Galveston, 

Texas. 

As we looked among the many 

photographs one thing which 

stood out to me was this, Galveston 

PD was one of the most 

integrated and diverse police 

agencies in Texas (and the South 

as a whole). Minority Officers 

were wearing the same badges, 

uniforms and carrying firearms, 

just like their white counterparts, 

long before Integration 

was formally introduced, let 

alone enforced. No surprise, 

really. For the Emancipation 

Proclamation (Celebrated today 

as Juneteenth) was read aloud 

for the first time by Union General 

Gordon Granger on June 

19th, 1865…Right off a balcony 

of a home located on Broadway 

Boulevard. 

While listening to Sheriff 

Trochesset tell of the stories he 

knew about the GSO, it was so 

funny to see Firefighting Equipment 

in his office. A fire helmet, 

ax and an old but highly polished 

fire extinguisher are prevalent 

and obviously noticeable 

to an old Firefighter, like me. 

He laughed when I asked about 

these items and he said, “As a 

Sheriff, like you’ll understand 

from being a Chief of Police, I 

spend so much of my time, my 

life, putting out fires, some folks 

have felt like these were items 

which would serve me well.” 

Pretty accurate, funny and certainly 

a part of being a Sheriff. 

Seems like, no matter where you 

are or what you’re doing, there’s 

always a fire to be put out, just 

around the corner. 

Another enjoyable story was 

the one as to the timeless green 

colored fenders to the GSO fleet. 

Friend, ever since I was a kid, if 

you went to Galveston you can 

rest assured, you’d see a Deputy 

in a tan uniform and driving or 

standing next to their green and 

white colored patrol vehicle. A 

timeless tradition borne from a 

desire to stand apart from all the 

other law enforcement agencies 

who were operating with all 

white or black and white patrol 

vehicles. The green fenders were 

an idea taken from the old 7up 

trucks which were of course, 

green! The Sheriff at that time 

reiterated how much he wanted 

his vehicles and Deputies to 

stand out. And the rest (as they 

say-whomever they are) is history. 

Green fenders, to this very 

day, and while the tan uniforms I 

remember as a kid and a young 

adult are gone, the patch and 

badge had certainly remained 

similar with the outlines, styles, 


and colors of green. During our 

meeting with the Sheriff, a hint 

of maybe the return of the tan 

uniforms could take place as 

the dark green uniforms are 

extremely difficult to get. Especially, 

here in Texas. 

O.K. back on track here…… 

the Galveston Law Enforcement/Criminal 

Justice Center 

is located on the northern end 

of the Island and, as you come 

down the Causeway and onto 

Broadway Blvd. you can see this 

beautiful structure to your left. 

As you enter the front lobby of 

the Law Enforcement section of 

this complex, you can see all of 

the incredible memorabilia of 

the Galveston Police and Sheriff’s 

Office on both sides of the 

incredible looking lobby. 

Both agencies have done an 

outstanding job in not only the 

presentation of the items but, 

what an incredible job of collecting 

and saving their history. 

Couple the history of Galveston 

itself and Galveston’s Law Enforcement, 

it is definitely worth 

the trip down to take a look at 

these incredible displays. Not 

to mention, there’s a ton of 

other stuff to see and do (and 

of course the food!) in Galveston. 

So, a quick stop at the Law 

Enforcement/Criminal Justice 

Center is not a big detour, as its 

right off the Causeway! 

Take the trip! It’s totally worth 

it. Next month, we’ll share 

what an amazing job the Harris 

County Sheriff’s Office has done 

in order to preserve their outstanding 

tradition of serving and 

protecting the citizens of Harris 

County. 



A Look Back at the History of the 

Galveston County Sheriff’s Office 

Galveston County was formed 

by an act of Congress and signed 

into law by Republic of Texas 

President Sam Houston on May 

15, 1838 and was created from 

portions of Brazoria, Liberty and 

Harrisburg Counties. An election 

held on September 2, 1838 

selected all, but the first two 

officers of the county appointed 

when the county was formed – 

the County Clerk and Galveston’s 

first Sheriff, William F. Wilson. 

Wilson served as sheriff from 

1838 to 1840 and again during 

1845. 

Sheriff Wilson’s responsibilities 

included creating the first county 

jail which he established in the 

hull of a beached ship named the 

Elba, and carrying out sentences 

of the court – including the death 

sentence. The first recorded execution 

in Galveston County was 

carried out by Sheriff Wilson in 

November 1840 when he took 

a man named Henry Forbes to 

the gallows after he was found 

guilty of jail breaking which at 

the time was a capital offense. 

Beyond these tasks, Sheriff 

Wilson was known for forming 

and leading a sixty-man 

mounted gunman company at 

the request of Republic President 

Mirabeau Lamar to do battle with 

Indian insurgents in Texas’ southern 

and western frontier regions. 

Galveston County is likely the 

only county to have two sheriffs 

in office at the same time. In 

1841, H.M. Smyth assumed duties 

as the elected sheriff of Galveston 

County, reporting to the 

newly appointed First Judicial 

District Judge Johnson. The original 

Judge of that District, Judge 

Shelby apparently displeased 

with the new Judge and Sheriff 

appointed William Herring as 

Sheriff to answer to his court. 

Both Judges and Sheriff Herring 

were removed from office after 

a short time, while Sheriff Smyth 

remained in office until 1844. 

A host of men have served as 

Sheriff of Galveston County in 

the following years, focusing 

their duties on keeping a small 

contingent of deputies working 

in the county jail and patrolling 

areas of the county’s mainland, 

Bolivar Peninsula, and western 

Galveston Island mainly on 

horseback. Deputies back then as 

legend has it, roamed vast acres 

of rural farmland and small 

communities that later became 

Dickinson, La Marque, Texas City, 

Hitchcock, Santa Fe, League City 

and Friendswood. The deputies 

always carried enough provisions 



for their “patrol shift” to last 

them for two to three days at a 

time. 

Deputies that worked the jail 

over the years, found the jail 

located in various places over 

the years. Several Jail facilities 

were constructed in the general 

area of the County Courthouse 

property bounded by Winnie 

Avenue, 19th Street and 21st 

Street. The County Jail existed on 

property there until 1896 when 

a new building was constructed 

near the intersection of 17th 

Street and Harborside Drive. That 

facility had to be abandoned 

since it was deemed unfit for the 

incarceration of mental patients. 

At the time, it was the responsibility 

of the Sheriff to house 

mentally unstable persons as 

Hospital space was very limited. 

A new jail was built at 1628 

Water Street, (now Harborside 

Drive) in 1913. It was a four-story 

building and made of modern 

“tool-proof” steel and was touted 

as escape proof. According to 

news reports, the first inmates 

managed to find their way out of 

the “escape-proof” building only 

a few months after it opened 

using files and hacksaws that 

were smuggled into the facility. 

Finding a need for a more modern 

facility, the County built a 

new jail at 715 19th Street which 

opened in 1963. Once it opened, 

the County decided to demolish 

the old jail on Water Street. 

During 1965, salvage operations 

started to reclaim the tons of 

steel used to build the four-story 

and its additions. A tragic accident 

took the lives of several 

salvage workers when they removed 

supporting steel from the 

buildings first floor causing the 

three floors above to collapse. 

The 19th street jail, originally 

built to house 330 inmates, 

received an addition of a more 

modern direct-supervision 

facility that opened in 1990 as 

well as two other housing areas 

that opened in 1995. That facility 

remained in operation until 2006 

when the County Jail moved to 

the current location at 5700 Ball 

Avenue. The current jail is designed 

to hold 1187 inmates and 

proved its worth during Hurricane 

Ike in 2008. The building 

withstood the brunt of the Hurricane, 

safely housing all inmates 

and staff while the rest of Galveston 

Island was being devastated 

by the storm. 

The Sheriff’s office, during 

most of its history, typically 

operated with only a handful 

of deputies and support staff to 

manage all its operations. Over 

the years, the department has 

grown as has the County in general. 

Back in 1957, Sheriff Hopkins 

had one telephone, one secretary 



and six deputies and a handful 

of jailers. Today, the department 

has over 500 deputies and a 

large support staff located in a 

modern building alongside the 

Galveston Police Department. 

In recent years, two of the 29 

men that have held the Office of 

Sheriff of Galveston County did 

so for almost 20 years. Sheriff 

J. B Kline held the office from 

1961 – 1980 and Sheriff Joe Max 

Taylor from 1981-2000. I had 

the distinct pleasure of working 

for Joe Max and he was an 

outstanding Sheriff. A man of 

his word and true pillar of the 

community. Everyone knew Joe 

Max and he was a true iconic 

law enforcement official and a 

political stalwart. 

During his tenure as Galveston 

County sheriff, Taylor was credited 

with transforming and modernizing 

the department, from 

major expansions like establishing 

a mental health response unit 

and beach patrol, to mundane 

details like the style of uniforms 

and patrol cars. His impact was 

celebrated with the 2006 unveiling 

of a law enforcement center 

in Galveston bearing his name. 

Unfortunately, Sheriff Joe passed 

away in February of 2019, but his 

legacy and memory will live on 

forever on Galveston Island. 

Today, the Sheriff’s Department 

is headed by another iconic figure, 

Sheriff Henry A. Trochesset. 

Elected to office in 2013. Trochesset 

literally grew up alongside 

Sheriff Joe, starting at the 

young age of 19. Sheriff Joe took 

Henry under his wing and bestowed 

upon him, his many years 

of not only law enforcement experience, 

but how to manage a 

growing department and get the 

resources you need from Commissioners 

Court. Trochesset reminds 

me a lot of Sheriff Joe in 

that he is well respected not only 

in the community but among 

everyone at the Sheriff’s Office. 

Galveston County wants and 

needs a trust-worthy man and a 

great leader as their Sheriff and 

Henry Trochesset is indeed both. 

As a citizen of Galveston County, 

I hope Sheriff Trochesset breaks 

Sheriff Joe’s 19 year run. 



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emembering my hero ... 

... Deputy Donald Ellis Wass. 

Concerns of Police Survivors is an organization whose mission is to help rebuild the 

shattered lives of those family members and co-workers of law enforcement officers 

that are killed in the line of duty. On April 23, 2006, Washington County Sheriff’s 

Deputy Donald Ellis Wass was killed in a motorcycle accident. His daughter Jolie 

Wass tells us how she’s learned to cope with her dad’s death. 

WORDS & PHOTOS BY JOLIE WASS 

On my fourth birthday my 

dad was killed in a motorcycle 

accident while driving to 

his department. A speeding 

vehicle entered his lane and 

struck his motorcycle headon. 

When the officers came to 

the house to inform my mom, 

I was in my room playing with 

my birthday gifts. I began to 

hear my mom sobbing and all 

I wanted was to know what 

happened and how to help. 

I grew up without a dad, 

but blessed to have a mother 

who loved me so unselfishly. 

Knowing he would never be 

at graduation or my wedding 

brings a flood of emotion. I 

felt the absence of a father to 

guide you and take on the role 

of leader of the family. 

I was able to go to C.O.P.S. 

kids camp where I met other 

children of fallen officers and 

did life with them for a week 

every summer. We went to 

group counseling which was 

so vital because it taught me 

that talking to people about 

what I was going through was 

okay and not something to 

be shameful about. We were 

able to talk to people who 

went through similar hardships. 

It was here at camp that 

I really learned that talking to 

people and more importantly 

listening was important in not 

only the grieving process but 

in life and in simple friendships. 

God gave us community 

for a reason. Having communion 

with others gives us 

peace in knowing we aren’t 

going through valleys alone. 

I have witnessed firsthand so 

many people who have chosen 

to take the loss of a loved 

one as an excuse to become 

apathetic, unmotivated, and 

hateful. Others have grown to 

be kinder, more empathetic, 

and driven. In the wonderful 

book, A Grief Observed, by 

C.S. Lewis, he invites us into 

his personal up-close encounter 

to grief after the tragic 

passing of his wife. He says, 

“But if a spiral, am I going up 

or down?” The community 

that came from C.O.P.S. increased 

my chances of going 

the right way, I think. 

Knowing the pain that my 

family had to go through, 

knowing him so deeply and 

losing him so suddenly was 

and is one of the hardest 

things. I think it is hard to 

suffer alone, but knowing that 

the people you love so dearly 

are suffering and that you 

don’t have the power to fix 

anything is dreadful. My mom 

and my grandmother raised 

me while grieving a husband 

and a son. I do not know how, 

but I am grateful for their love. 

Loving unselfishly in the hard 

times shows character. 

By what I have read and 

been told, my dad was a 

wonderful man and a hero. I 

am proud to be his daughter. I 

trust the Lord’s plan because it 

is way better than mine, even 

when it hurts. 


First Responder Trauma: 

Setting up Your Safety Net 

You tell yourself you have had 

enough and that you cannot go on 

like this. You are overwhelmed, exhausted, 

and burned out. 

“Why didn’t I say something?” you 

ask over and over. “I need to say 

something.” And then your mind 

shifts… 

“Who do I tell?” 

“Who is REALLY there for me?” 

“Will I look weak?” 

“Will I be treated differently?” 

“Will I still have a job?” 

PAUSE…DEEP BREATH…Then you 

tell yourself, “Never mind…” 

As a law enforcement officer, 

it is vital to build a safety net for 

yourself so when times get tough, 

and they will, you can ask for help 

without going through the never-ending 

mind games, arguing 

with yourself, and then burying your 

frustration, your hurt, your pain. 

The statistics are not on our side. 

In 2020, 177 police officers died by 

suicide. Although that number is 

down from the record 239 in 2019, 

research suggest that our COVD 

response is what kept our heads in 

the game. (BlueHelp.org) But with 

the anti-police sentiment at an alltime 

high, psychologists and police 

officers say the constant barrage of 

criticism is more traumatic than the 

life-and-death situations officers 

face on the job. They expect the 

number of police suicides to start 

climbing again. “I hope I’m wrong, 

but I think the number of police suicides 

will start to creep back up,” 

said Sherri Martin, a former police 

officer and national director of the 

Fraternal Order of Police’s 

national officer wellness 

committee. “Long term, the number 

of anti-police sentiments could take 

more of a toll than a singular incident 

you can compartmentalize,” 

she said. “This is a widespread big 

wave of things coming at officers at 

once rather than a small whitecap.” 

As strange as this may sound, find 

some comfort knowing that you are 

not alone in this struggle. But do not 

let that dissuade you from setting 

up a safety net and asking for help. 

As law enforcement officers, we are 

conditioned to be problem solvers. 

When we try to solve “ourselves” 

however, it does not always work 

out the way we had planned. The 

increased stress and trauma from 

the job has most of our brains 

in constant fight or flight, which 

means the “executive” reasoning 

part of our brains (frontal lobes) 

are not able to function optimally. 

According to the National Institute 

of Justice, “Law enforcement 

officers commonly work extended 

hours in ever-changing environments 

that can cause great mental 

and physical stress. Enduring fatigue 

for a long period of time may 

lead to chronic fatigue syndrome, 

a health problem characterized 

by extreme fatigue that does not 

improve with bed rest and continues 

to worsen with physical and mental 

activity. Fatigue can impair an 

officer’s mental and physical ability, 

create a cycle of fatigue, limit 

job performance, and damage an 

officer’s health (Officer Work Hours, 

Stress and Fatigue). 

The brain then, needs time to 

regroup, to heal. For example, if you 

broke your arm on the job and it 

was casted, you probably would not 

rip off the cast, tell yourself, “I’m 

okay,” and go participate in a tactical 

building entry or in a defensive 

/ control tactics training exercise. 

You would give your arm time to 

heal, perhaps change your job roles 

for a short time or go on light duty 

and then return to full duty when 

your arm was healed. Why don’t we 

give our brain time to heal? When 

we find ourselves stressed out to 

the point where we cannot sleep, 

where we feel like we are constantly 

frustrated, overwhelmed, and 

burned out. If the research already 

says that we are at a disadvantage 

which may cause mental and physical 

stress, would having a safety 

net in place give us the ability to 

help ourselves heal? 

Imagine reporting for duty each 

day, your safety net in place either 

with someone at work with whom 

you could confide or having confidential 

resources at hand easily 

accessible with a click and call. 

Perhaps your department already 

provides that or perhaps hopefully 

it is in the works. One thing is 

certain, given the dismal statistics 

that surround the law enforcement 

community, we owe it to ourselves 

to be the best we can be, to give 

ourselves outlets for stress and 

trauma, so we can be there for our 

families, and our communities. How 

do we do that? 

I have been asked that question 

thousands of times over. As 

a founding member of A Badge 

of Honor (abadgeofhonor.com), I 

understand being overwhelmed 

due to post-traumatic stress as I 

am a 9/11 first responder, front and 

center in the elevator in WTC Tower 

1 when American Airlines flight 11 

struck it. I reached a point where 

I thought the only way out was to 

take my own life. The biggest lesson 

I learned was that without a safety 

net, law enforcement officers may 

eventually find themselves floundering 

without an ability to see a 

way out. There is no built-in invisible 

shield to trauma and stress 

that comes with the job. It is up to 

each of us to create a safety net 

for ourselves, so when our shield 

is dented, damaged, worn out, we 

can let go a little, get off our own 

back and start talking. Talk to your 

partner or colleague, to a family 

member or friend. Talk to your dog 

(I have three). Just get to talking. 

We build our safety net by deciding 

to explore training and workshops 

for resiliency. A Badge of Honor has 

an upcoming workshop on April 23, 

2021 in Texas. We build our safety 

net by reading about stress and its 

effects on us as law enforcement 

officers. We build our safety net by 

asking for help from a 100% confidential 

source. It takes the same 

amount of courage to run into a 

burning building as it takes to ask 

for help. We train the emergency 

response to help others, now it is 

time to train ourselves to recognize 

when to ask for help. 

When we build our own safety 

net, we can show up for shift knowing 

that no matter what is thrown 

at us we have the skill, knowledge, 

strength, and resiliency to handle 

the stress and trauma. It is never 

going to be an easy road, but that 

is not why we took the oath. If it 

were easy, we never would have 

answered the call to serve. 

Samantha Horwitz has been 

featured in Police Blues Magazine 

before. She is a 9/11 first responder, 

former United States Secret Service 

Agent, speaker, and author. 

Her book, The Silent Fall: A Secret 

Service Agent’s Story of Tragedy and 

Triumph after 9/11, has helped many 

first responders navigate through 

their own journeys with post-traumatic 

stress. She and her business 

partner, ret. NYPD detective John 

Salerno created A Badge of Honor, 

a post-traumatic stress and suicide 

prevention program for first 

responders. John and Sam host MAD 

(Making a Difference) Radio each 

Wednesday 7pm central live on FB @ 

Makingadifferencetx. For more about 

Sam and wellness and resiliency 

workshops for first responders, visit 

SamanthaHorwitz.com or ABadgeofHonor.com. 


unning 4 heroes 

Zechariah 

Zechariah’s 2021 Run Tracker and Sponsors: 

Total Miles Run in 2021: (as of 3/2/21): 58 

Total Miles Run in 2020: 401 

Total Miles Run in 2019: 376 

Overall Miles Run: 835 

2021 Run Stats: 

Total Miles Run for 2021 fallen LEO’s (Non COVID-19): 29 

Total Miles Run for 2021 fallen Firefighters (Non COVID-19): 6 

Total Miles Run for 2021 fallen COVID-19 Heroes: 3 

Total Miles Run for 2021 Non Line of Duty Deaths: 0 

Total Miles Run for 2020 Fallen LEO’s: 14 

Total Miles Run for 2020 Fallen Firefighters: 6 

Total Miles Run for 2020/2021 Fallen K9’s: 0 

Total Tribute Runs by State for 2021: 0 

- - - - - - - - - - 

States Zechariah has run in: Florida, New York, Georgia, South Carolina 

(3), Pennsylvania, Illinois (2), Texas (4), Kentucky, Arkansas, Nevada, 

California, Arizona, North Carolina 

Cartledge: 

a True American Hero 

Sponsors: 

Shoes - Honor And Respect LLC 

Stickers - Powercall Sirens 

Lights - Guardian Angel Device 

Food - MISSION BBQ; Marco’s Pizza; Rock & Brews Oviedo30 

Games - ZagBag Board 


unning 4 heroes 

HONOR & RESPECT / RUNNING 4 HEROES 

The Time has Come to share some EXCITING NEWS!!!!! 

Beginning Friday, March 12th, Honor And Respect LLC and Running 4 Heroes, Inc. are excited to 

share the launch of the new “Z-Line” shoe, named to show support for Zechariah and his efforts 

to honor our Heroes. This partnership was months in the making, and we are excited to share this 

project with all of you! These shoes will be the exclusive shoes that Zechariah will wear for each 

and every run! 

Some other exciting facts about this shoe...$20 of EVERY shoe purchased will be donated back 

to Running 4 Heroes - no codes will be needed... ever! This will also be the ONLY shoe that they 

have offered that will come in Children’s Sizes...! So, if you have any children, be sure to get them 

a pair of the “Z-Line” Honor and Respect Shoes! 

Pricing is set at $69.99/pair with free shipping during the first 2 weeks of pre-orders! 

Watch our Face Book page for updates and a date when pre-orders begin! We encourage everyone 

to get your pre-order in quickly as we anticipate this response to be huge, and the longer 

you wait, the longer it may take to receive your shoes as the first batch of shoes will be limited. 

So.... Who is Excited!? 

CLICK HERE FOR HONOR WEBSITE 

ORDER YOUR #74 Diecast Car TODAY 

Getting word that nearly half of the 950 additional orders have 

been received. We are getting close, but the deadline is also getting 

close as well (3/12/21). In order for the 1/64 Scale car to be 

produced, Lionel Racing still needs to receive another 400 or so 

orders by the deadline, so if you have not yet ordered, please get 

that preorder in! If you have already ordered the smaller 1/64 car, 

please prayerfully consider adding one more to your order! 

Pricing: The 1/64 car is only 8.99 plus shipping, and being that it 

is a preorder, you will NOT be charged until the car ships! 

CLICK ON THE ORDER FORM BELOW TO PREORDER 

Thanks, everyone! 



WINNER: Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick 

Mayor Unveils Proposal to “Split PD into Two Groups - Armed & 

Unarmed.” Officers Have to Reapply for Armed Jobs. 

By Julie McMahon 

ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca Mayor 

Svante Myrick this week announced 

a plan to replace the 

city’s police department with a 

new Department of Community 

Solutions and Public Safety. 

The proposal, part of a statewide 

police reform effort, is 

now up for public comment and 

requires legislative approval. If 

passed, the city would install 

a civilian department leader 

to oversee two divisions, an 

unarmed force of “community 

solution workers,” and an armed 

division focused on responding 

to and investigating crimes. 

Officers would have to reapply 

to keep jobs as armed “public 

safety workers” with the city. 

The proposal acknowledges 

that in some ways, the measures 

would “defund the police,” but 

ultimately, just as much of the 

city’s funding and resources, if 

not more, would go toward public 

safety. 

The proposal calls for the city 

to reallocate the police department’s 

$12.5 million budget – 

which includes 63 sworn officers 

– but would not reduce overall 

funding. 

In a statement, Myrick said 

the proposal was the result of a 

community dialogues, in meetings 

and protests especially 

over the last several months and 

years. 

“… The men and women of 

the Ithaca Police Department 

have performed their duties with 

admirable skill and professionalism, 

but for too long the answer 

to every human behavioral 

problem in our City has been to 

call the police,” Myrick said. He 

called that practice “impractical” 

and “cumbersome,” and said it 

exacerbates homelessness, mental 

illness and addiction. 

Myrick unveiled Ithaca’s plan in 

a 98-page draft report, that also 

covers police reform efforts in 

surrounding Tompkins County. 

The reforms are part of a 

statewide reform effort authorized 

by executive order last year 

by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Police 

departments across New York 

state are required to develop reform 

and “reinvention” plans by 

April 1 if they wish to retain state 

funding. 

While the proposal covers 

reform efforts in all of Tompkins 

County, the county has no plans 

to eliminate its police department, 

the sheriff’s office, or 

require town or village departments 

to disband. Instead, the 

county will undertake several 

other reform efforts including 

training, and a “pilot program” 

for responding to non-emergency 

calls. 

Tompkins County and Ithaca 

worked with the Center for Policing 

Equity, a national research 

center, on its reform plans. 

In a magazine article, GQ 

called the Ithaca’s plan the “most 

ambitious effort yet to reform 

policing.” 

Myrick himself has not been 

shy about radical ideas. In a 

biography posted on the city’s 

website, Myrick touts “overhauls” 

of city government, 

communications strategies and 

storm water utilities as successes 

of his administration. In 

2016, he announced he wanted 

to make Ithaca the first city with 

a “supervised injection facility,” 

a place for people with opioid 

addiction to use heroin in the 

presence of a nurse. 

Myrick is Ithaca’s first Black 

mayor and was the youngest 

mayor elected in New York state 

when he first won election in 

2011. 


Unsung Heroes: Lesson Learned 

United States Marshals Service: 

Dominic Guadagnoli 

To 

Tina Jaeckle, Ph.D. 

Crisis and Trauma Consultant, 

Counselor, and Instructor, Law 

Enforcement 

I have always imagined conducting 

interviews and writing 

articles on our law enforcement 

unsung heroes who have dedicated 

their mission to helping 

others. I focused not only on their 

professional careers but hope to 

offer a deeper look at the person 

behind the badge. These stories 

seek to highlight officer humanness, 

the importance of mental 

health and balance, and how they 

have sought to build resiliency in 

their own lives. These ultimately 

become our “lessons learned” 

and can serve as a roadmap for 

those following in their footsteps. 

Numerous articles have 

been previously published on 

Dominic Guadagnoli; however, 

a series of questions were provided 

for this interview with the 

goal to share a much more personal 

look at the man behind the 

marshal’s badge. 

A Devastating Moment Captured 

in Time: September 11, 2001 

As Deputy United States Marshal 

Dominic Guadagnoli sat 

with colleagues to discuss work 

at their New York City office on 

the morning of September 11, 

2001, our nation was changed 

forever through multiple devastating 

acts of terrorism. Their 

office was located only five 

blocks from the World Trade 

Center, so the explosions rocked 

their building. The first plane 

hit the north tower at 8:45 a.m. 

Although not immediately clear 

on the cause, Dominic and his 

co-workers ran towards the 

chaos without hesitation and 

with the intention to save lives 

and they certainly succeeded. 

Donna Spera and her co-workers 

were attempting to exit the south 

building as quickly as possible. 

Although Donna’s office was 

located on the 101st floor, they 

were waiting for an express 

elevator on the 78th floor sky 

lobby. Eighteen minutes after the 

first plane hit the north tower, a 

second plane crashed into the 

78th floor of the south tower. 

With the exception of eleven 

other people in that lobby, everyone 

else was killed instantly. 

Although seriously injured Donna 

climbed down 78 flights of stairs 

to the base of the building with 

the help of a co-worker and then 

collapsed into Dominic’s arms. 

DR. TINA JAECKLE 

This sudden moment of connection 

was forever memorialized in 

a now famous Associated Press 

photograph of Dominic carrying 

Donna to a triage area. They 

remain friends to this day and he 

sends her flowers every year on 

the anniversary of 9/11. 

Highlights of a Successful 

Career with the United States 

Marshals Service 

Dominic was hired by the 

United States Marshals Service 

(USMS), in 1994, and was employed 

as a Criminal Investigator 

for over 25 years. Dominic spent 

about 20 years of his career assigned 

to protection details and 

fugitive task forces and worked 

thousands of fugitive cases. 

These included those relatively 

routine in nature to those more 

complex and the higher caliber 

types such as US Marshals 

Most Wanted, international and 

high-profile cases and those 

holding major case status. 

In 1997, Dominic was the Jury 

Team Leader for the 12-week 

high profile trial of US v. Yousef & 

Ismoil resulting in the convictions 

of Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind 

behind the WTC Bombing, and 

Eyad Ismoil, the driver of the van 

carrying the explosives. As the 

TL he oversaw a dozen Deputy 

United States Marshals (DUSMS) 

on a daily basis, but as it was 

a rotating detail Dominic supervised 

over 50 DUSMS. It was 

Dominic’s responsibility to safeguard 

the jury by implementing 

an emergency response plan 

involving evacuations, emergency 

transportation, and evasive 

actions and if needed, retaliation. 

Again, the nature of the trial and 

a courtroom filled to capacity 

with spectators, local and international 

media it demanded 

extra security and foresight to 

prepare accordingly. Because of 

Dominic’s success in the Yousef 

& Ismoil trial, he was also assigned 

as the DIC for US v. Suleiman. 

Suleiman was associated 

with Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman 

and ten other co-defendants 

who were tried and convicted of 

conspiring to blow up numerous 

New York City landmarks. 

During the past 18 years while 

working in Pensacola, Florida, 

Dominic served in the capacity 

of Acting Supervisory Inspector, 

DIC or Team Leader for USMS 

Investigative Operations Division 

fugitive operations not only 

locally but also statewide. As the 

Task Force Coordinator for North 

Florida Violent Fugitive Task 

Force (NFVFTF) for eight years, 

he supervised nearly a dozen 

full-time Task Force Officers and 

up to 60 part-time Task Force 

Officers from nearly 20 different 

law enforcement agencies. 

Simultaneously while running the 

NFVFTF. 

Dominic was the N/FL Sex Offender 

Investigations Coordinator 

(SOIC). He also served on the 

USMS Critical Incident Response 

Team (CIRT) for three years and 

responded to a half a dozen critical 

incidents in the panhandle. 

Even after resigning from CIRT, 

Dominic’s assistance was still requested 

to Headquarters by other 

agencies to respond to officer 

shooting deaths and other crises 

as well follow up counseling for 

officers and their families during 

crisis situations more than a doz- 


en times. 

In 2001 and 2002, Dominic 

was the recipient of several 

awards as a result of being a 

first responder during the terrorist 

attacks of the World Trade 

Center. Dominic received the US 

Marshals Service’s Robert Forsyth 

Valor Award; their highest 

award that can be received by 

the agency. Dominic was also 

the recipient of the U.S. Attorney 

General’s Heroism Award, as well 

as commendations from the New 

York State Senator’s Office and 

the Federal Law Enforcement 

Officers Association. He was also 

recognized in his family’s hometown 

of Frascati, Italy and flown 

in to receive honorary awards 

from the Fire Department of 

Frascati, the Italian Republic 

Police, the Mayor of Frascati, 

and the Mayor of Rome. As a 

result of Dominic’s involvement 

and awards received, he’s been 

interviewed for shows such as 

ABC Primetime, Inside Edition, 

and Court TV and ABC News with 

Katie Couric. These are just a 

few of the numerous awards he 

received throughout his career. 

Dominic officially retired from 

the United States Marshals Service 

in November 2020. 

The Man Behind the Badge 

What are the most significant 

challenges you have had 

to overcome in your career and 

personal life? 

There really is a thin, thin line 

in this job between career and 

personal. It has always been 

about balancing the long hours 

and family and personal time. 

The biggest challenge now is 

doing a job that seems is not 

only unappreciated but nearly 

loathed. Society’s overall attitude 

toward law enforcement or 

at least what we are seeing the 

most of lately is very disheartening. 

It’s a challenge as an officer 

to get up and enthusiastically go 

to work feeling as though you 

have little to no support from 

the community which you are 

trying to protect and serve. But 

how are we as LEO’s supposed to 

combat something when a) you 

feel as though you are shoveling 

sand against the tide and b) 

you get the feeling of no support 

while doing it. Very defeating 

and draining. 

Given your role in 9/11, how 

has this shaped the way you 

view the world today? 

Well, by nature I have a big 

and soft heart for people. A long 

time ago I did wear a uniform 

and the part about that I miss 

most was helping people. This 

job is different, your helping is 

indirect. It’s not something tangible. 

By nature, I am a giver. I 

have a real soft spot in my heart 

for kids the most and especially 

for people who are physically 

and mentally challenged. 

Normally however, I choose to 

usually hide it because on my job 

(LE in general) you have to often 

be hardcore and resilient in order 

to keep people of the community, 

your partners and yourself 

safe. September 11 gave me the 

opportunity to fill that void I 

miss(ed) and give – and give in a 

big way! I mean that’s not why I 

chose to run down to the towers; 

I just did it without thinking. But 

when everything settled down 

and I looked back it made me 

feel great that I helped people in 

one of the country’s, the world’s 

worst tragedies. If I saved one 

person, one family somewhere 

did not have to suffer. I guess it 

exemplified who I truly am. 

Do you struggle with the anniversary 

each year? What do 

you do to try to manage this? 

Well, just like any scar they 

are there for life, they begin to 

fade away and seem to bother 

you less and less, BUT they don’t 

go away. We normally think of 

a scar as a mark on your skin 

where a wound has never healed 

completely. It also can be a 

lasting effect say of grief or fear 

or other emotions left on your 

character by a traumatic experience. 

I have some small scars on 

my leg I received from a Pitbull 

while working. Because they are 

on top of my leg, every time, 

I see them I am reminded. But 

I don’t need to see them to be 

reminded. I can see other vicious 

dogs or drive by the ER I went 

to or see 511 pants in my drawer 

that look just like the ones I wore 

that day and I’m reminded. But 

I can often find myself thinking 

about it without those reminders. 

Similarly, when I see things 

or stories about September 11, 

photos of the Twin Towers or old 

tv shows and movies where they 

pop up in the background of the 

NYC skyline I am reminded. But 

just like the dog bite, I don’t need 

to see those physical things, that 

movie plays in my head quite 

often. However, like the fading 

of a physical scar, it’s no longer 

in the forefront of my thoughts 

every moment of every day. But 

at least a couple of times a day I 

find myself thinking about it. The 

anniversary just ramps it back 

up to the forefront. Usually about 

early August I feel it coming. 

Another thing – great family 

and some great friends and 

co-workers. I could not have 

made it without them. There are 

people who have “never forgotten” 

and are always there for me. 

Every year on the anniversary 

without fail I hear from them. 

The very first person I heard from 

immediately afterwards on that 

day is my friend Dave Breese. He 

hasn’t missed a day since and 

he’s always the first I hear from 

and his sentiments are truly 

sincere. Moreover, I have a close 

family and they are my support 

system. I know I am a “hero” to 

them especially my kids and my 

brother and sister. Without these 

people, and there are so many I’d 

love to name I wouldn’t be able 

to handle that anniversary. 

Last but not least is my faith. 

Unfortunately, I don’t really share 

much about that with people 

and I wish I did. I don’t portray 

myself to be the best Christian 

but I’m human and I am working 

on it. God knows my heart and 

I want to be better. But being 

a person of faith as a cop and 

in this day in age is surely difficult. 

Being both of those people 

immediately look for your faults. 

I am no better a person than 

anyone. But my faith has kept me 

strong in that I believe God kept 

me alive that day for a plan. 19 

years later and I’m still not sure 

what that plan is but that’s part 

of having faith. 

What do you believe to be 

the human toll of your type of 

career? 

I mean the emotional, physical, 

and psychological stress 

of this type of work definitely 

takes years off of your life. It is 

said just stress in general does 

so I would think a career of this 

magnitude amplifies that. Every 

day you walk out of your house 

you wonder am I coming home? 

Will I see my family again? With 

every goodbye it may be the last 

and that underlying stress takes 

a toll on your psyche and nerves. 

And you know what it is doing 

it to your family as well so add 

that on top. 

What has helped you manage 

or deal with the stressors of 

your career? 

There are really 3 things I have 

used to manage this. The simplest, 

I take the day off and shut 

the phones off too. When my 

kids were little, and I was married 

I spent the day with them, 

or should I say they spent it 

with me. They always let me do 

what I wanted. That day usually 

and still consists of some type 

of fishing. My ex-wife had been 

and still is a great supporter 

of my ordeal. Hell, she had her 

own for sure. Finding the time 

somehow to do something with 

those you love and for yourself. 

I have also decompressed by 

giving back to the community. 

Several years ago, I coached in 

both a rec baseball league and 

for the Miracle League. For some 

reason, when I was doing that, it 

was one of the only times I really 

forgot about work. As soon as I 

got onto the field and was either 

lining the field or making the 

roster, I just forgot it all. Especially 

when the kids showed up, 

I got so into them it was easy. 

Oh, also when I fish. I can for the 

most part just “tune it” all out. 

It’s almost like tunnel vision! 

How would you define resiliency 

in your life? What has 

helped you to build resiliency? 

To be resilient you actually 

have to be flexible. Like anything 

else if you’re not flexible eventually 

as you bend you will break. 

Living in the panhandle of Florida 

I have seen several storms to 

include hurricanes and smaller 

tornadoes. In all those storms it 

was the flexible smaller palm 

trees that almost always weathered 

the storms. Although we 

have some massive mighty oak 

trees here, being inflexible they 

always break or sometimes even 

become uprooted. 

You are nearing the end of 

your career, are you looking 

forward to retirement? 

I think I have done some stuff 

most deputy marshals haven’t 

got to. This though, as far as 

fugitive hunting and being out on 

the street, it’s a younger man’s 

game. At 50+ years old, chasing 

a 20 something around in a foot 

chase is not happening. So, if I 

can’t, that means I am a danger 

to my team. Instead, I used my 

experience and knowledge to 

help guide the younger people 

on our task force to find these 

violent fugitives. I remember one 

time, riding with a younger deputy 

and we responded to shots 

fired and assisted a local agency. 

When we got close to the scene, 

we saw the suspects near a vehicle. 

We called for back-up and 

as we all started to converge 

one of them went running. So, I 

started driving after him with the 

younger deputy in the passenger 

seat trying to jump out to chase 

him. I pulled him back and said 

“wait”. We are going to drive after 

him as far as we can take this 

vehicle before the “road” runs 

out. THEN you can jump out and 

chase him. That bad guy will be 

way more tired than us and we 

will catch him. And that’s exactly 

what we did, and the younger 

deputy did find and apprehend 

him. Bad guy was spent, and the 

gun was recovered. That’s an 

example of wisdom, and smarter 

not harder. 


What advice or insight would 

you offer new deputy US Marshals 

coming into the field 

now? 

Listen to the “old” guys. Listen 

to them all. But find one who 

seems to be quieter about what 

he does, who doesn’t brag and 

just finds people and arrests 

them. Those are the masters of 

the craft. Be a sponge around 

them. Don’t’ be afraid to ask 

questions. Also, get as much 

training as you can early on. 

And although tactics and training 

are necessary, finding your 

own niche in the game is most 

important. Some deputies just 

have a natural tact for the social 

media investigations and all 

the newer technological types 

of investigations, and some are 

just old school. They have the 

patience to interview a lot of 

people or sit surveillance for 

hours and hours. One isn’t better 

than the other but utilizing 

both of those skills will make 

you successful. Keeping an open 

mind, the hands-on training and 

the OJT combined with your own 

character will mold the type of 

fugitive investigator you become. 

Don’t become cocky though. 

Don’t be afraid or too proud to 

say, “I don’t understand” or “I 

don’t know how to do that” or 

most importantly, “I am not comfortable 

with that assignment or 

role” while involved with a team 

especially. That’s how people get 

hurt or worse killed. Our egos 

get in the way and when it hits 

the fan others are depending 

on you to perform your task. If 

you’re not up to that task it can 

result in a sad situation. Police 

work has no room for that these 

days. That’s how people get hurt. 

Like Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) 

said, “A man has got to know his 

limitations.” 

Congratulations to 

Alan Helfman 

on your 

Lifetime 

Achievement Award 

PROUD SUPPORTER OF THE BLUES 

FOR OVER 36 YEARS 

HELFMAN’S 

RIVER OAKS CHRYSLER 

JEEP • DODGE • FORD CHRYSLER • 

FIAT 

ALFA ROMEO • MASERATI 


Whether wintertime snow, spring or summer 

hurricanes, the Union hall will be on 

task to help all Houston police officers. 

I hope everyone made it through 

“snow-pacalypse” 2021. I know 

many of you are dealing with damage 

caused by the winter storm that 

hit us last week and our prayers are 

with you. 

We were truly blessed here at the 

HPOU as we try to stay prepared for 

emergency events. Sunday evening, 

I was working the GRB warming 

center when Bobby Kessler contacted 

me regarding the ability to 

open the Union hall to give officers 

a warm place to come during the 

cold weather. We agreed to get as 

much food and snacks as possible 

before the stores closed. 

Upon leaving the GRB, I immediately 

went to the Union and met 

with Bobby, who had obtained an 

entire truckload of supplies. We 

then opened the Union hall and 

provided snacks and drinks the first 

night. 

We continued to operate the 

Union around the clock until the 

following Friday night at 10 p.m. 

During this time, we were working 

with the department to get food 

and supplies to stations, many of 

which were without power or water. 

I want to say thank you to all 

of the officers and board members 

who came over to help the Union 

operate around the clock. 

We hope we will not have to do 

this again in the future, but rest assured, 

if we have an emergency, the 

HPOU will be here ready to do what 

we can for all officers. 

Admin Staff to Patrol 

We have received a ton of calls 

after the chief decided to have 

administrative staff around the 

department ride patrol one day a 

week. 

We immediately asked to meet 

with the chief and did so several 

days after the information surfaced. 

After several back-and-forth 

conversations between the HPOU, 

the chief and the EACs, we are still 

working on this issue and will do 

our best to keep everyone advised 

as to our follow-up meetings. 

Be Safe! Stay safe and feel free to 

contact me or any board member 

should you have questions. 

No shortage of excellence 

amongst HPD ranks 

by Tom Kennedy, Editor 

Badge & Gun 

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS READ THE 

OFFICER PROFILES in the March 

issue of the Badge & Gun to once 

again see proof that the men and 

women in Houston Blue do their 

jobs well often. 

What’s the point? We continue to 

stress the need for nominations for 

HPOU Patrol Officer of the Month 

and Investigator of the Month. How 

many times have you heard a colleague 

on the streets or in the office 

say, “I should have nominated YOU? 

We hate to keep saying that 

monthly honorees can’t be recognized 

due to the fact that the 

restrictions from this year-long 

pandemic prevent the Union from 

DOUGLAS GRIFFITH 

having general membership meetings 

on the first Thursday of every 

month. So, too, is it sad that this 

year’s Officer and Investigator of the 

Year cannot be recognized at the 

annual ATO Police Heroes Gala – 

another twice-postponed event due 

to COVID-19. 

But let’s don’t let these postponements 

stop us from the nomination 

process. The Houston Police Department 

has more excellence than 

indicated by the two or three nominations 

received each month. 

Please inundate the selection 

committee with more nominations. 

We will repeat the simple method 

of operations: Go to HPOU.org and 

hover over the Members tab. On the 

right side of the menu, click on the 

nomination forms for Officer and 

Investigator of the Month. The form 

only takes a few minutes to fill out, 

especially if you have a commendation 

letter to cut and paste. 

To get the idea, you might read 

the B&G stories of officers of the 

year for both 2020 and 2021. Congratulations 

to each of them! 


Chief of Police 

Timothy John Sheehan 

California Borough Police Department, Pennsylvania 

End of Watch Thursday, February 11, 2021 

Age 51 Tour 15 Years Badge #61 

Chief of Police Tim Sheehan suffered a fatal heart attack the day after 

responding to a call in which he had to perform CPR on a citizen. 

He had returned to duty the following morning when he suffered a heart 

attack while clearing snow from his vehicle. 

Chief Sheehan had served with the California Borough Police Department 

for 15 years. He also served as a firefighter with the Brownsville Fire 

Company #1. He is survived by his wife, three children, and mother. 

Deputy Sheriff 

Michael Magli 

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Florida 

End of Watch Wednesday, February 17, 2021 

Age 30 Tour N/A Badge #N/A 

Deputy Sheriff Michael Magli was struck and killed by a drunk driver who 

fled at a high rate of speed after a sheriff’s sergeant attempted to stop 

him. Deputies and rescue personnel had responded to reports of a subject 

passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle at the intersection of Forelock 

Road and East Lake Road. The man was unresponsive, so paramedics broke 

the vehicle’s window. The man suddenly awoke and accelerated at a high 

rate of speed. When the sergeant attempted to stop him the man fled 

again, driving recklessly, and crossing over the median into oncoming traffic. 

Deputy Magli was preparing to deploy spike strips when the driver lost 

control, overturned, and struck him. He was pinned beneath his patrol car 

and succumbed to his injuries. The driver, who had 16 felony convictions 

and was out on parole, was arrested in connection with this incident. 

Police Officer 

Mitchell Penton 

Dallas Police Department, Texas 

End of Watch Saturday, February 13, 2021 

Age 27 Tour 2 Years Badge #11654 

Police Officer Mitchell Penton was struck and killed by a vehicle operated by an 

intoxicated driver at about 1:45 am. He was working at the scene of a vehicle 

collision in the northbound lanes of the North Central Expressway at Walnut 

Hill Lane. He was securing traffic with the emergency lights from his patrol car 

when a vehicle driven by an intoxicated driver, traveling at a high rate speed, hit 

the back of his patrol car. The collision pushed the patrol car into Officer Penton. 

Officer Penton was transported to Baylor University Medical Center when 

he died from his injuries. The driver of the vehicle that struck Officer Penton 

was arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter of a police officer 

and intoxication assault. Officer Penton had served with the Dallas Police Department 

for two years and was assigned to the Northeast Patrol Division. He 

is survived by his expectant wife and stepson. 


Horacio Dominguez 

Carolina Municipal Police Department, Puerto Rico 

End of Watch Sunday, February 21, 2021 

Age 43 Tour N/A 

Military Veteran 

Badge # N/A 

Police Officer Horacio Dominguez was killed in a vehicle crash on I-75 near 

mile marker 51 in Collier County at about 1:20 am. One of the rear tires 

on his patrol vehicle blew out, causing his vehicle to go out of control and 

overturn several times. Officer Dominguez suffered fatal injuries in the 

crash. 

Officer Dominguez was a U.S. Marine Corps and Army National Guard 

veteran. He is survived by his wife and young daughter. 

He is survived by his wife, two young children, and parents. 


Lieutenant 

Eugene Lasco 

Indiana Department of Correction, Indiana 

End of Watch Sunday, February 21, 2021 

Age 57 Tour 11 years 6 months Badge #15 


Lieutenant Eugene Lasco was stabbed to death by an inmate at the 

Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana. The prisoner was being escorted 

through a common area when he began to assault another corrections 

officer. When Lieutenant Lasco came to the officer’s assistance the 

inmate stabbed him as well before being subdued by other officers. 

Lieutenant Lasco and the other wounded officer were transported to 

Franciscan Health Michigan City. Lieutenant Lasco succumbed to his 

wounds at the hospital. Lieutenant Lasco was a U.S. Navy veteran and 

had served with the Indiana Department of Correction for 11-1/2 years. 

He is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren. 

Natural Resources Officer 

Jason Lagore 

Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources - Watercraft, Ohio 

End of Watch Tuesday, February 23, 2021 

Age 36 Tour 15 years Badge # N/A 

PNatural Resources Officer Jason Lagore died after suffering a medical 

emergency while conducting a search for a juvenile who had fallen through 

the ice at Rocky Fork Lake at Rocky Fork State Park. Two juveniles had 

fallen through the ice but one was able to get to shore. Officer Lagore and 

other first responders were searching for the other juvenile when he suffered 

a medical emergency. He was transported Highland District Hospital 

where he was pronounced dead. The second juvenile was recovered 

from the water a short time later and also pronounced dead at a local 

hospital. Officer Lagore had served with the Ohio Department of Natural 

Resources - Division of State Parks and Watercraft for 15 years. He is 

survived by his wife and two young sons. 

Deputy Sheriff 

Thomas Albanese 

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Californ 

End of Watch Thursday, February 25, 2021 

Age 41 Tour 7 years Badge # N/A 

Deputy Sheriff Thomas Albanese was killed in a motorcycle crash at the 

intersection of Del Amo Boulevard and Paramount Boulevard, in Lakewood, 

at about 9:00 am. 

His patrol motorcycle collided with a vehicle in the intersection and he 

suffered fatal injuries. 

Deputy Albanese was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with 

the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for seven years. He is survived 

by his wife and two young sons. 

Reserve Deputy Constable 

Martinus Mitchum 

Second City Court of New Orleans Constable’s Office, LA 

End of Watch Friday, February 26, 2021 

Age 38 Tour 8 years 2 Months 


Badge # N/A 

Reserve Deputy Constable Martinus Mitchum was shot and killed outside 

of George Washington Carver High School while escorting a disorderly 

subject off the property during a high school basketball playoff game. 

Once outside, the subject drew a handgun and shot Deputy Constable 

Mitchum in the chest, killing him. Deputy Constable Mitchum served as 

a reserve deputy constable with the Second City Court of New Orleans 

Constable’s Office for eight years and also served as a full-time police 

officer with the Tulane University Police Department for 18 months. 

Deputy Gibson was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the 

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department for six years. He is survived by 

his wife and 9-month-old child. 



Dominic Jared Winum 

Stanley Police Department, Virginia 

End of Watch Friday, February 26, 2021 

Age 48 Tour 15 years Badge # 202 

Police Officer Nick Winum was shot and killed while conducting a traffic 

stop near Judy Lane at approximately 3:30 pm. An occupant of the 

vehicle got out and opened fire on Officer Winum before he was able to 

get out of his patrol car. The subject fled the scene after the shooting 

and was located hiding in a barn a short distance away. The man was shot 

and killed as he attempted to reach for a weapon as deputies and other 

officers attempted to take him into custody. 

Officer Winum had served with the Stanley Police Department for five 

years and had previously served with the Virginia State Police for 10 

years. He is survived by his wife, four children, and granddaughter. 

Police Officer II 

Jose Anzora 

Los Angeles Police Department, California 

End of Watch Wednesday, March 3, 2021 

Age 31 Tour 10 years Badge # 40848 

Police Officer Jose Anzora succumbed to injuries sustained on February 

26th, 2021, when he was struck by a car while directing traffic near the 

intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Wall Street. 

Captain 

Justin Williams Bedwell 

Decatur County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia 

End of Watch Monday, March 1, 2021 

Age 48 Tour 20 years Badge # S09 

Captain Justin Bedwell succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained two 

days earlier following a vehicle pursuit of two brothers that started in 

neighboring Seminole County. 

The pursuit started when Seminole County deputies attempted to conduct 

a traffic stop of a pickup truck for reckless driving. The vehicle fled 

and the occupants opened fire on the deputies, who pursued them into 

Decatur County. The vehicle stopped in the driveway of a residence near 

the intersection of U.S. Highway 84 and State Road 310 and the occupants 

attempted to force entry into the home by shooting through the 

door. 

The homeowner returned fire, prompting the subjects to abandon their 

attempt to enter the home. As Captain Bedwell arrived in the area one of 

the subjects opened fire on his patrol car with a .30 caliber rifle, striking 

him in the chest. A second deputy suffered minor injuries. One subject 

was arrested at the scene. The second subject, armed with the rifle and 

wearing a bulletproof vest, was arrested 12 hours later following a manhunt 

in the area. Captain Bedwell was flown to a hospital in Tallahassee, 

Florida, where he succumbed to his wounds while undergoing emergency 

surgery on March 1st, 2021. 

Captain Bedwell had served with the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office for 

20 years. He is survived by his wife, daughter, and mother. 

He was transported to a local hospital where he remained until succumbing 

to his injuries. 

Officer Anzora had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 10 

years and was assigned to the Newton Division. He is survived by his wife 

and mother. 


Spring into Biking 

As the weather finally starts 

to show signs of Spring, it’s 

time to grab your bike and get 

outdoors to clear your head 

and burn some of that storedup 

winter fat. Studies show 

that every 30 minutes of casual 

bike riding burns about 300 

calories. If you are like me, 

you might have a few extra 

hours of bike riding required to 

burn off some of the COVID 15 

(pounds) I feel like I have put 

on. 

Living in the Houston area, 

we have access to some great 

bike trails. I know some of 

you joined a gym in January 

and you might think you’ll just 

jump on the treadmill or stationary 

bike to burn your 300 

calories. While that will be 

effective for burning calories, 

there is no gym substitute for 

the mental recharge that comes 

from biking along parks, lakes, 

creeks that several of our top 

bike trails offer. I am fortunate 

to live in The Woodlands and 

we have over 200 miles of asphalt 

pathways that cut through 

neighborhoods, parks, and a 

variety of waterways. As an 

extra bonus in the Woodlands, 

this network of bike paths provides 

connections to the many 

retail centers containing some 

of the area’s top-rated restaurants 

and bars. I am just saying 

that if you burned that many 

calories, one beer to celebrate 

isn’t going to hurt, right? I 

would encourage you to visit 

www.bikethewoodlands.org for 

a detailed bike map and plan a 

bike trip to The Woodlands. 

If biking through a suburb 

maze of neighborhoods, retail 

centers, and small lakes 

is not “outdoors” enough for 

you, then I would recommend 

you try Spring Creek Greenway. 

This 14-mile trail between I-45 

and US 59 is a more peaceful, 

isolated, paved bike path that 

is makes you forget how close 

you are to Houston. While it 

is mostly shade covered, make 

sure to bring lots of water with 

you as there are no watering 

holes like in The Woodlands for 

you to stop and quench your 

thirst. The Spring Creek Greenway 

Trail can be accessed at US 

59 near the San Jacinto River, 

Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature 

Center, Carter Park, Pundt Park, 

and Dennis Johnston Park. 

Another bike experience I 

highly recommend is to bike 

along Buffalo Bayou near 

Downtown Houston. This trail 

has over 20 miles of paths 

to bike along on the recently 

cleaned up bayou that looks 

like a legit natural waterway. 

Visit buffalobayou.org for more 

info on bike trails and parking 

areas. 

It doesn’t really matter 

whether you roll out of the 

garage and bike around your 

neighborhood or throw the 

bikes in the back of the truck 

and make a day of it, it is good 

for your physical and mental 

health to bike. The weather is 

turning nice and we have to 

take advantage of these early 

spring days as we transition 

from extreme cold to our hot 

Texas summers. If you need 

one more reason to try any of 

these three well designed and 

developed bike trails, considered 

it a free gym membership. 

Happy Biking! 

The Buffalo Bayou bike trail near downtown Houston is much more beautiful than you may think. 

Biking along one of the many beautiful lakes in The Woodlands. 



P A T R O L 

O F F I C E R S 

Hitchcock Police Department Get Info Police Officer 04/01/2021 - 5pm 

Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office 

Bruceville-Eddy Police Department 

Get Info 

Get Info 

Hazardous Material Technician 04/04/2021 - 5pm 

Peace Officer 03/15/2021 - 5pm 

College Station Police Department 

City of Snyder Police Department 

Get Info 

Get Info 

Peace Officer 

Peace Officer 

03/31/2021 - 5pm 


College Station Police Department 

Nassau Bay Police Department 

Get Info 

Get Info 

Entry Level Peace Officer 

Peace Officer 



D E P A R T M E N T 

2020-2021 

La Porte Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 03/19/2021 - 5pm 

Uvalde County Sheriff's Office Get Info Deputy Sheriff & Investigator 03/20/2021 - 5pm 

$1,500 Signing Incentive 

City of Harker Heights Get Info Peace Officer -Trainee 03/20/2021 - 5pm 

SALARY (YEARLY) 

West Lake Hills Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 03/22/2021 - 5pm 

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS 

PAID LEAVE *Civil Service Status 

Crowley ISD Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 03/31/2021 - 5pm 

• Probationary Patrol Officer $65,044 • Health Insurance 

• 15 Vacation days accrued per year* 

Cedar Hill ISD PD Get Info Peace Officer 03/31/2021 - 5pm 

• 5 Year Patrol Officer $75,682 • Dental Insurance 

• 10 City Holidays per year 

Brady Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 03/28/2021 - 5pm 

• 9 Year Patrol Officer $90,525 

Elgin Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 03/29/2021 - 5pm 

• Vision Insurance 

• 1 Personal day per year 

Sherman ISD Get Info School Resource Officer 04/01/2021 - 5pm 

• Annual salary increases up to a max of 

• 15 Sick days accrued per year 

• Life Insurance 

TJC Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/03/2021 - 5pm 

$90,525 with longevity pay 

• 15 days of Military Leave per year 

• Employee Wellness Center 

Dublin Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 03/20/2021 - 5pm 

• Modified Lateral Pay Scale for Peace 

Officers 

Texas Southern University Get Info Peace Officer 04/01/2021 - 5pm 

• Training and Fitness Facility 

SPECIALTY / SKILL PAY 

Texas A&M University - Central Texas Get Info Chief of Police 04/05/2021 - 5pm 

(MONTHLY) 

• Retirement Plan (7% Mandatory with 

City of Carrollton’s Municipal Court Get Info Deputy Marshall 03/16/2021 - 5pm 

CERTIFICATION PAY (MONTHLY) 

a 2:1 City match; 20 year retirement) • Bilingual in Spanish $50 

McCulloch Co. Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 04/15/2021 - 5pm 

• Intermediate PO Certification $92.08 • 457 Deferred Compensation Plan 

Texas Municipal Police Association Get Info SAFVIC Systems Instructor 03/15/2021 - 5pm 

• Advanced PO Certification $157.08 

RELOCATION 

Friendswood Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/26/2021 - 5pm 

• Tuition Reimbursement and Academy 

• Master’s PO Certification $212.33 

Baytown Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/02/2021 - 5pm 

Tuition Reimbursement 

• Relocation Expenses Reimbursement 

Clute Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/26/2021 - 5pm 

• City Vehicles Program 

Somerville Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/26/2021 - 5pm 

EDUCATION PAY (MONTHLY) 

• Uniforms/Equipment Provided with 

San Jacinto College Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 03/22/2021 - 5pm 

Annual Allowances 

Sandy Oaks Police Department Get Info Deputy Marshall 03/19/2021 - 5pm 

• Associates $50 

City of Harker Heights Get Info Peace Officer 03/19/2021 - 5pm 

• Bachelors $100 

Mustang Ridge Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/24/2021 - 5pm 

• Master $125 

Hearne Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 05/01/2021 - 5pm 

Town of Trophy Club Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/26/2021 - 5pm 

City of Manvel Get Info Peace Officer 03/26/2021 - 5pm 

San Felipe Del Rio CISD Get Info Chief of Police 05/21/2021 - 5pm 

Physical Agility Test 

Ingram Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/25/2021 - 5pm 

PATROL OFFICER 

For additional information please use the Friday, April 16,2021 

City of Murphy Get Info Peace Officer 03/15/2021 - 5pm 

QR code to go to our recruiting website 

Hays County Constables Office Precinct 4 Get Info Deputy Constable 05/01/2021 - 5pm 

The Southwestern Baptist Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/30/2021 - 5pm 

San Jacinto College Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/03/2021 - 5pm 

281-420-5354 

Ochiltree County Sheriff’s Office Get Info Peace Officer 04/16/2021 - 5pm 

281-420-5354 

Pearland Police Department Get Info Peace Officer 04/12/2021 - 5pm 

281-420-6660 

Scurry County Sheriff's Office Get Info Peace Officer 04/03/2021 - 5pm 

www.bpdcareers.org 

www.baytown.org 


Application Deadline 

April 2, 2021 

The application acceptance deadline 

is at 5:00 P.M. (central time) 

Written Examination 

Friday, April 16,2021

Montgomery 

County Pct. 4 

Constable's 

Office 

LATERAL DEPUTY 

full-time 

& 

reserve 

COME JOIN US! 

great retirement & 

great insurance 

Advancement Opportunities: Criminal 

Investigations - Special Response Team - Honor 

Guard - Special Response Group - Swift Water 

Rescue Team - K9 - Mounted Patrol - Drone team 

overtime opportunities: step - dwi 

enforcement - special teams - evidence - jp 

security 

Stipend Pay: k9 - specialist - fto deputy 

paid time off: holiday - vacation - comp time - 

personal - paid training 

salary - step pay slotted based on tcole full-time years of 

service: 

Under 2 yrs - $48,755.20 9 Yrs - $59,508.80 

2 Yrs - $51,188.80 12 Yrs - $61,150.40 

4 Yrs - $53,726.40 15 Yrs - $65,270.40 

6 Yrs - $56,368.00 16+ Yrs - $68,536.0 

license certification (up to $3599) and longevity pay 

civil service protected 

MORE INFO: 

Constable Kenneth "Rowdy" Hayden 

Pickup and complete applicant in 1. 

person. 

questionnaire 

Pct. 4 Constable, Montgomery County, TX 

assessment, 2. 

written exam 

Firearms qualification, fitness 

21130 personality Hwy assessment 59 scheduled. 

Ste. C New Caney, TX and 77357 

www.mcco4.org - 281.577.8985 - 

candidates 3. 

passing Successfully personal 

receive will 

@mcconstablepct4 

book. 

history 


board. 

4. Oral

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 

 

 

•Be a citizen of the nited tates able to read, 

write, and speak the English language 

• Have a high school diploma or equivalency certificate .E.. certified by 

the issuing agency with: 

0 credit hours with a cumulative PA of 2.0 or higher on a .0 scale from an accredited 

institute of higher learning or 

- Minimum 24 months of active duty service with an honorable discharge authenticated by 

a Member 2 or Member orm 21 or 

15 credit hours with a cumulative PA of 2.0 or higher on a .0 scale in addition to Basic 

Peace Officer Certification from TCOLE or 

An Intermediate Peace Officer Certification from TCOLE 

• Valid driver’s license with acceptable driving record 

• Must meet all legal requirements necessary to become a licensed Peace Officer by the Texas 

Commission on Law Enforcement TCOLE. 

• Be between 21 and 5 years of age at the time of the examination or 

• Be between 18 and 21 years of age if the applicant has received an associate’s degree or 60 

semester hours of credit from an accredited college or university or has received an honorable 

discharge from the armed forces of the nited tates after at least two years of active service. 

: Cadet $1. hourly Police Officer $2. hourly. 

 

 

 

 

 

April 12, 2021. Applications will not be accepted after this date. 

Submit applications online by visiting pearlandtx.gov/careers. 

THE CITY OF PEARLAND IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER 

pecial accommodations are available when necessary to aord equal opportunity to participate 

in testing. Please make request in writing, five business days prior to the test date to City of 

Pearland, HR Department, 3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland, TX 77581. 

or questions regarding the application process please contact Terene uddsohnson at 

281.652.1617 or hr@pearlandtx.gov. 

List will remain in eect for one 1 year or until exhausted, whichever is sooner. 

104 The For BLUES additional POLICE information MAGAZINE and to register for an upcoming Civil Service Exam, visit 

The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 105 

pearlandtx.gov/PDCareers


POLICE 

NOW RECRUITING 

Seeking Certified Peace Officer through Texas Commission of Law Enforcement (TCOLE) 

CROWLEY ISD 

POLICE 

DEPARTMENT 

 

 

 

 

 

High School Diploma or GED 

Clear and valid Texas driver’s license 

Law Enforcement or related work experience 

Ability to pass required physical, psychiatric, and drug test 

Ability to work well with youth and adults 

COMPETITIVE BENEFITS COMPENSATION 

NOW HIRING 

CAMPUS 

POLICE 

OFFICER 

CISD Police Department 

Location: 

2205 N. Crowley Cleburne Rd 

Crowley, TX 76036 

Phone: 817-297-5345 

E-mail: Sarah.carter@crowley.k12.tx.us 

Insurance 

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 

AD&D and Long Term Disability 

Leave Benefits 

Vacation, State/Local Sick Leave 

Retirement 

Teachers Retirement System of Texas 

Equipment 

Uniforms and equipment, 

(excluding boots) 

Highly Sought out Schedule 

226 Work Days 

Weekends & Holidays off 

Basic certification: $48,997 

Intermediate Certification: $50,986 

Advanced Certification: $53,987 

Master Certification: $55,903 

Overtime Opportunity! 

Health Insurance 

Basic Term Life Insurance 

Dependent Term Life Insurance 

Optional Term Life Insurance 

Dental Insurance 

Short Term Disability 

TRS Retirement 

Tax-Sheltered 403(b) Plans 

457 Deferred Compensation Plan 

Vacation 

Sick Leave 

Holidays 

Professional Development 

Fitness Facility Use 

and more! 

Campus Police provide valuable security 

to everyone on campus at TJC. Our 

officers seek to create a safe and secure 

campus environment in which the 

educational mission of the College can 

be realized free from the specter of 

crime. 

To apply go to 

TJC.edu/jobs 


110 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE

MARCH 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 3

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