Author: HCMUD 150

We gathered outside the Emergency Dispatch Center for a candlelight vigil to honor Sgt. Bruce Watson on Jan. 5, 2021. The 20-year agency veteran was fatally struck by a vehicle while off-duty leading a funeral procession in the Pearland area.

After six months of Basic Peace Officer Course training, we welcomed 60 new deputies to our Sheriff’s Office family on Jan. 26, 2021. The B1-2020 class kept going in the face of unimaginable challenges: a pandemic and the sudden and heartbreaking loss of their classmate, Cadet Cornelius Anderson.

Project Lifesaver Coordinator Deputy Ashley Schubert hugs a child after a home visit on Feb. 1, 2021. The child, who has Down syndrome, wears a tracking device that helps deputies locate her if she becomes lost. We have partnered with Project Lifesaver International to provide the tracking program for persons who are prone to wandering due to their cognitive conditions.

We held a K9 retirement ceremony for K9s Rico, Lucky, and Gerard at our training academy on Feb. 5, 2021.

Major Susan Cotter talks with deputies at our training academy on March 5, 2021. Major Cotter is the agency’s first female Patrol Bureau Major.

Motorcycle deputies at Detention Officer Robert Perez’s funeral on Feb. 24, 2021, at Humble First Assembly of God Church. Officer Perez passed away after contracting COVID-19. He was a U.S. Navy veteran who served at the Harris County Jail for five years.

Patrol District 4 Deputy Nguyen during a multi-agency initiative to combat gang activity in west Harris County. Each of our five patrol districts has a Crime Reduction Unit. The mission of the CRU is to ensure the safety of residents through proactive operations and investigations that target high crime areas.

Sheriff’s Office helicopters fly over Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church during funeral services for Deputy Alexander Gwosdz, 32, who passed away on April 22, 2021, from COVID-19 complications. He served as a patrol deputy in northwest Harris County. His father retired from the Sheriff’s Office after 34 years of service.

Family members pray during a Peace Officer Memorial at Crime Stoppers of Houston on May 6, 2021.

Deputies and detention officers placed flags on graves at the Houston National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day on May 28, 2021.

Detention officers participated in a fire and life safety training drill with their colleagues playing the role of incarcerated people in June 2021. The drill – complete with artificial flames and smoke – provides valuable training to help our detention staff respond quickly and efficiently during an emergency.

Cadets welcomed Beyond the Call of Duty’s End of Watch Ride to Remember riders and a memorial trailer to our training academy on June 17, 2021. The touring memorial honored peace officers across the nation who died in the line of duty in 2020.

Our Bomb Unit and law enforcement partners tested and rendered safe a Civil War-era cannonball discovered under downtown Houston on June 17, 2021.

Rapper and Community Philanthropist, Trae The Truth, delivered 2,000 pints of ice cream to the Harris County Jail on July 15, 2021. He co-owns an ice cream shop that employs people with special needs.

We joined our community in McNair for a Juneteenth Parade on June 19, 2021. Juneteenth celebrates the culture and achievements of African Americans and the end of slavery.

Boarding Home Detail Deputies Lowry and Mora inspected a boarding home in west Harris County on Aug. 12, 2021. The new unit proactively identifies, permits, and addresses any ongoing issues associated with boarding homes in Harris County. Harris County is the first county to enforce mandated boarding home regulations in Texas.

Community Problem-Oriented Policing Unit Deputy Ravin Washington works in Patrol District 1 in north Harris County on Aug. 17, 2021. The new unit fosters meaningful relationships with residents and supports the unique needs of our communities.

A riderless horse at the funeral services for Deputy Shaun Waters at Community of Faith Church on Aug. 18, 2021. Deputy Waters, 42, was assigned to Patrol District 4 in west Harris County as a patrol field training officer. He passed away after contracting COVID-19.

On Oct. 5, 2021, we interacted with residents across the county during National Night Out festivities. This tradition is dedicated to getting to know one another and strengthening our community bonds.

Deputy Natalie Guevara is pinned by her mother, Reserve Deputy Angela Lopez, at the Basic Peace Officer Course graduation for Class B1-2021 on Oct. 12, 2021.

Patrol District 2 Substation’s Trunk-a-Treat Halloween Celebration on Oct. 31, 2021.

Deputies and teammates participated in Houston’s first annual Day of the Dead Parade on Nov. 6, 2021.

Our Honor Guard members at the funeral services for Deputy Joshua Sieman at Parkway Fellowship in Richmond, TX on Nov. 3, 2021. Deputy Sieman, 39, passed away on Oct. 21, 2021, of COVID-19 complications. He joined our agency in 2016 and was assigned to Patrol District 5 in northwest Harris County, where he served as a member of the Crime Reduction Unit.

We participated in the City of Houston’s Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11, 2021.

Communications Officer Brandi Rivers answers 911 calls at our emergency call center on Nov. 30, 2021. She is a 14-year agency veteran.

Deputy Pamela Webster prayed with a child participating in Shop With a Cop at a Walmart in Tomball, TX on Dec. 11, 2021. 22 children served by Sunshine thru the Rain, a nonprofit that supports children that lost one or both of their parents, received holiday shopping sprees and quality time with our deputies and detention officers.

Unidos Deputies Luz Blanco and Laura Magallanes review Christmas wish lists with sisters who lost their mother to COVID-19. We joined other law enforcement partners at Target to provide children in our area with a shopping spree and holiday cheer at an annual tradition, Shop With a Cop, Shop With a Jock, on Dec. 14, 2021.

The holidays are a time for us to reflect on our blessings and the true meaning of the celebrations. We have witnessed countless displays of neighbors helping neighbors and overwhelming support from our community for those in need. And our teammates have come together to donate toys and gifts and to spend quality time with children and seniors in our area.

The compassion and resilience that so many in our community have shown this year is inspiring. As we celebrate Christmas and the holiday season, I just wanted to pause and express my gratitude for your support.

Some of our teammates will work through the holidays, sacrificing time spent with their loved ones. Our job never stops, and I’m grateful for those who serve and protect our residents with honor and courage.

I hope everyone enjoys time with their loved ones. We’re grateful for your readership and partnership and wish you and yours a restful and joyous holiday! Stay safe.

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Nearly two dozen teammates from across our agency completed a 10-week course at the University of St. Thomas to learn the basic concepts of the Mandarin language. The specialized training program designed for law enforcement personnel improves communication and public safety by providing those on the front lines of protecting our community with language and cultural training, which helps them better connect with the diverse communities they serve.

As part of the course, participants learned common phrases peace officers are most likely to use when interacting with Mandarin Chinese-speaking residents. They also visited local businesses and restaurants in Asiatown to practice the language lessons beyond the classroom.
The curriculum included recognizing common words and tones used during police encounters, such as traffic stops, calls for service, medical emergencies, and other situations.

Throughout the course, students wrote down phrases in practice activities. They said them out loud, individually and as a group. Their knowledge was evaluated through scenarios, oral reviews, and question and answer reviews.

It’s more about the simple interactions, not necessarily reaching a great level of fluency. A simple, “Hello, I’m a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office,” can go a long way. The class included patrol deputies, criminal investigators, detention officers, communications officers, bailiffs, and other team members.

“Language is a big part of a community’s culture,” said Major Tony Huynh, who oversees our Professional Development and Standards Bureau.

Major Huynh, who took the course, said, “This is the first time our team members participated in this specialized program for law enforcement.

We are now able to use key terminologies and basic phrases while understanding culture differences to connect with the community we serve.

It is amazing how a simple ‘Good morning,’ ‘How are you,’ and ‘Thank you’ in the native language of a resident can break down barriers and open hearts and minds.

“Language is a big part of a community’s culture,” said Major Tony Huynh, who oversees our Professional Development and Standards Bureau.

We want to extend our sincere gratitude to the University of St. Thomas and the Taipei Economic and Culture Office in Houston for bringing this training opportunity to our agency.”

As public servants, our actions must be driven by our training and love for our community. This opportunity builds on our philosophy of community-oriented policing and reinforces the vital role that our residents and partners play in ensuring public safety. Communicating and building trust with those we serve are key to our jobs.

This is an extra step toward more effective community policing.

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Now in its 27th year, our annual holiday toy drive brings joyful memories to the children served by the Children’s Assessment Center (CAC), an advocacy center dedicated to providing compassionate services to abused children in our area.

Every holiday season, Sheriff’s Office team members purchase toys and other gifts from wish lists to help make the holidays brighter, making a difference in the lives of children in need. Today, our teammates and CAC staff unloaded a semi-truck full of gifts for 512 children.
Our agency participates in a coordinated response against child abuse that includes partnering with advocates. It’s a heartbreaking issue and one we cannot confront alone. Our close, long-time partnership with the CAC has helped ensure the well-being and safety of our community’s most valuable asset. Our Crimes Against Children Unit investigators, whose mission is to thoroughly investigate allegations of child abuse, work hand in hand with the advocacy center to provide abused children with the proper assistance, treatment, and support services to start their healing process.

Shop With a Cop Benefiting Sunshine Thru the Rain

This weekend, Sheriff’s Office deputies and detention officers plan to shop with 22 children served by Sunshine thru the Rain for holiday gifts at a Walmart in Tomball. Each child will work on a holiday craft and get $200 to spend on gifts, including clothes, toys, and other things they need or want.

“It’s not uncommon for the officers to open their own wallets at the registers to make sure everything in the shopping cart makes it home,” said Joanne Rodriguez, president and founder of Sunshine thru the Rain, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting children that have lost one or both of their parents.

“This is their favorite event and something they look forward to all year,” said Heather, one of the surviving parents. “It’s hard to describe it – it’s seen in their faces and felt by being there.”

I’m thankful to lead an agency that comes together during this special time of the year to benefit children in our community. Our community’s giving spirit makes a difference in the lives of children who may not have experienced the warmth and joy of the holidays without their neighbor’s support.

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