Officer-Involved Shootings Up in San Angelo

A woven black stripe is stretched taut across the oval badges worn by many officers of the San Angelo Police Department this week, a sign of solidarity meant to honor the 126 officers killed in the line of duty in 2014 as officers begin an eventful Police Week.

Sky gray with a biting wind, members of the San Angelo PD, Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office and Customs and Border Protection stood before the police station on Monday morning in silence, listening as Chief Vasquez relayed the harrowing statistics of officer death and murder at the annual flag raising ceremony.

“Usually, when I make this speech, I tell you that traffic-related incidents are the leading cause of death,” Vasquez said. “This year, firearms were the leading cause of death with 50. That is a 56 percent increase from 2013. This number is alarming to me and it should be to you, too. Fifteen of those firearm deaths can be attributed to officers being ambushed. Thirty-four of the 50 that were killed by a firearm were killed by a suspect with a handgun, not an AR-15.”

As rows of officers from various agencies stood with stoic faces, Vasquez explained that there was a 24 percent increase in officer deaths nationwide in 2014 over 2013, with a total of 126. The number in 2015 is also steadily rising.

“I began working on this speech on Saturday evening,” he said. “At that time, the website stated that from Jan. 1 this year to May 9 we have had 43 killed in the line of duty already. Before midnight, that number rose to 45 with the two officers killed in Mississippi. We still don’t know all the details in that case, but we do know they were killed with firearms.”

With brazen acts of officer murder on the rise nationwide, the effects of the boldfaced anti-law sentiment has hit the force locally, as San Angelo experiences an uptick in officer-involved shootings.

“What’s scary in our community is our officer-involved shootings, which fortunately our officers have been safe, but any one of those incidents could have been totally opposite,” Vasquez said. “I can’t deny that they are on the rise here. I would have to say that they are on the rise. I’ve been the chief here now 11 years and I’ve been working with the organization 25 years. Officer-involved shootings never happened. We had one when I first became chief in 2004 and then it was years later before we had another. And now, if you look at our incidents, we’re having roughly one or two a year.”

Although it’s been almost 60 years since the last San Angelo police officer, 24-year-old Freddie Wagner, was killed in a crash leading a funeral procession, concern about officer safety on a local and national level remains a high priority. San Angelo has never had an officer killed by means of firearm, but the April 6, 2012 shooting death of Austin officer Jaime Padron rocked the department. Padron, whose family still resides in San Angelo, served 14 years at the SAPD before transferring to APD for three before he was killed.

“I am tired of the rhetoric stating that police across the country are becoming militarized,” Vasquez said. “Our organization understands and embodies the concept of community policing, but we also understand that if we don’t bring the right equipment to battle, we will lose the war.”

Part of that equipment locally includes rifles, which officers have been permitted to purchase since 2005 with money fronted by the city council and paid back via payroll deductions. The long guns are optional and are drawn during critical incidents.

“I’ve been to the police rifle school and it’s the best protection out there for our officers,” Vasquez said.

As the newly appointed President of the Texas Police Chiefs Association, Vasquez said his top priority will be officer safety. With murder the current leading cause of death among law enforcement officers, the chief stated he hasn’t devised a strategy to focus solely on gun issues, but has initiated a daily briefing for member departments to open the lines of discussion on how to handle certain situations.

“What are briefing trainings are doing, the association put together an officer safety committee and the head of that is the chief from Abilene…he’s sending out briefing trainings and they’re about six minute little video clips that we give to the officers and they’re all situational type incidents, so how would you respond if this is the type of call you have? And then there’s discussion among the officers and then we offer solutions.”

Vasquez said he thinks the training will bring awareness to his officers, and feels that those in the department are well aware that there are firearms out there and that use of those against officers has increased nationwide. Generally, however, Vasquez said there hasn’t really been a rise in criminal activity involving guns.

“I wouldn’t say that our firearm calls are any different now than they were before,” he said. “We get shots fired calls all the time, have for years. We respond and it’s probably a car backfiring. So I wouldn’t say that the illegal use of firearms in our community has increased that it’s obvious to anyone.”

Second to firearm-related deaths of on-duty officers was traffic accidents in 2014, when 49 were reported, up 11 percent over the previous year. Of those, 35 died in car crashes, nine were struck and killed outside their vehicle and five were involved in motorcycle crashes.

In total, Texas reported the second highest number of officer deaths in 2014 with 11, three people behind California, who reported 14 killed on duty, and one ahead of New York, who reported nine. May was the deadliest month of the year in 2014, when 18 officers were killed in the line of duty, while Friday proved to be the deadliest day with 23 deaths reported. The average age of officers killed was 41 and the average years of service was 12.

“We all know the dangers that lie ahead every day we come to work,” Vasquez said to the men and women gathered. “I know that you go into dangerous and alarming situations daily, and that you often things that many, many people could never imagine. Every day you risk your life on behalf of the citizens we serve. And for that, I thank you. I admire all of you for your decision to not only face those danger on behalf of our citizens, but to do it so nobly and professionally. You are the community’s heroes. You, the men and women of law enforcement, are my heroes.”

Monday was the official start to Police Week, which began in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which it falls as Police Week. 

Throughout the week, officers and the community are invited to take part in events to honor law enforcement officers and remember the fallen. The following events are open to the public:

• Law Enforcement Memorial Run & Dinner: Wednesday, May 13, 6:00 p.m., Police Department Headquarters, 401 E. Beauregard. (Registration table opens at 4:00 p.m.) Donations accepted.  Proceeds benefit the Jaime Padron Memorial Scholarship
• Ecumenical Service: Friday, May 15, 11:00 a.m., Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 3 S. Randolph St.  This service will honor Texas’ fallen peace officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2014.

For more information about the events or for sponsorship opportunities, contact Officer Tracy Gonzalez (325) 481-2718.