In honor of National Volunteer Week, we’re saying thank you to the more than 200 volunteer reservists who work in all areas of our agency and give their time to make our communities safer.
Our Reserve Command is an integral part of our agency, and the significant contributions of these deputies are visible in nearly every bureau and unit, from patrol and criminal warrants to high tech crimes and crime scene investigations.
Our Reserve Command is the largest sheriff’s office reserve organization in Texas and the second largest in the nation. The Command has served as a model reserve program in policing across the state and country. It’s an effective way to diversify and expand our ranks without increasing the burden on taxpayers.
Reserve deputies are duly sworn, certified peace officers who receive the same extensive training and licensing as full-time deputies. They are members of our community who have a passion for public service and want to make a difference in the field of law enforcement. They represent various professions and backgrounds, including business owners, dentists, teachers, and physicians. Many deputies began their journey with the Sheriff’s Office as a reserve deputy.
Reserve deputies wear the same uniform and Pride of Texas patch, answer the same calls for service, and have the same duty and expectations as full-time deputies to always honor the badge they wear as a symbol of public faith and trust.
The responsibilities of a reserve deputy are rewarding, challenging, and diverse. Reserve deputies also support special operations and task forces, such as multi-agency DWI initiatives that combat impaired drivers on Harris County roadways.
We’re highlighting only a few of the many dedicated men and women who generously gift us their time, love for our community, and expertise every day as volunteer reservists.
Meet Investigator O’Leary, Missing Persons Unit
Investigator O’Leary focuses on cold cases, gathering critical information to locate the missing person, interviewing witnesses, identifying the circumstances of the disappearance, and initiating the collection of DNA samples from the missing person’s family members. Investigator O’Leary works with a number of area law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI and Texas DPS.
O’Leary is the Emergency Alert Specialist at Texas Center for the Missing, a nonprofit dedicated to providing crisis intervention, prevention, and community education to the missing and their families. In this capacity, she issues Amber and Silver Alerts to the Houston-Galveston region and trains law enforcement personnel on how to issue missing person alerts. Before her role there, she was a stay-at-home mom and an office manager. She has 20 years of service as a reservist.
It’s a privilege to put this badge on every day and do what I do,” O’Leary said. “It’s amazing the opportunities we have as reservists. For me, staying in contact with the families of the missing, no matter how much time passes, lets them know someone still cares about finding their loved one.
Meet Reserve Sgt. Ramos, Criminal Warrants Unit
Arrest warrants are received regularly and assigned to our Criminal Warrants Unit for execution. Sgt. Ramos helps oversee the arrest warrant enforcement, researching the suspects and their offenses and briefing deputies on their assignments and safety goals.
Ramos, RRT/NPS, is the senior lead respiratory therapist at The Woman’s Hospital of Texas and an instructor at San Jacinto College, where he teaches respiratory care in a clinical setting. Sgt. Ramos says he knew he made the right decision to become a reserve deputy when his youngest daughter was born in 2005. For him, serving others has always been a part of his life and this was another way to be an example for his daughter by giving back to the community. He has 16 years of service as a reservist.
We’re just regular people who love our community and what we do,” Ramos said. “It takes a special person to be in law enforcement, and a more special person to volunteer their time to do this job.
Meet Reserve Major Heuszel, Special Operations Division
Reserve Major Heuszel helps oversee the Special Operations Division, which is made up of the Criminal Warrants Unit, High Tech Crimes Unit, Missing Persons Unit, Sex Offender Registration Task Force, and detention.
Dr. Heuszel is a practicing dentist in west Houston with more than 40 years of experience in dentistry. He was propelled to earn the badge in 1991 after wanting to learn more about neighborhood watch programs and ways to protect his neighborhood. He has since served in several reserve roles and divisions, including patrolling Harris County waterways in the Marine Division, as an instructor at the training academy, and as a mounted patrol deputy.
My reward for volunteering is knowing I am helping my community,” Heuszel said. “I hold my head high when I tell someone I am a Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy. It’s a blessing and second family.
If you’re looking to maintain your career or retirement while also fulfilling your call to serve, learn more about our Reserve Command here. To our volunteer reservists, thank you for contributing in every capacity within the Sheriff’s Office. Every day, you make Harris County a safer place to live and work.
We Mourn the Passing of Deputy Alexander Gwosdz
We mourn the death of Deputy Alexander Gwosdz, who died Thursday from COVID-19 complications. Our hearts, prayers, and condolences go out to his grieving family, loved ones, and colleagues.
Deputy Gwosdz, 32, was a 9-year agency veteran of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. He joined the agency in 2012 as a detention officer. Since graduating from the Sheriff’s Office Basic Peace Officer Course in 2014, he has served as a patrol deputy in northwest Harris County.
Deputy Gwosdz’s father, Chris Gwosdz, retired from the Sheriff’s Office in 2020 after 34 years of service.
He is the fourth Sheriff’s Office deputy, and the fifth employee agency-wide, to die after contracting the virus.
We are devastated and saddened by another loss of life and reminded again of the dangers of this terrible virus. Deputy Gwosdz loved his job. He had a servant’s heart. He came from a law enforcement family. His whole life was ahead of him.