Officer Overcomes Adversity to Serve Community

Keith Lane ran down the street at top speed, intent on capturing the man before him as he attempted to elude police and what would certainly be a jail sentence, if captured.

Circling around the Cross Keys, the man ditched a bag of methamphetamine as Lane closed in, radioing for backup as his heels hit the pavement.

“‘Please don’t die, please don’t die, please don’t die!’’ Lane thought, running harder than he probably should have. He’d been back on the streets for exactly three days, and although he’d passed the stress test, doctors likely would have advised against a full-on sprint after a criminal. He had, after all, suffered a heart attack roughly one month prior.

As backup units arrived in droves, Lane and other officers set up perimeter and sniffed the guy out, ultimately placing him in handcuffs and transporting him to the Tom Green County Jail.

Looking back on that day in February 2014, Lane laughs and shrugs off the alternate ending that could have come of the story, humbly maintaining that he was just doing his job. Jokes about his Superman effort circulate among friends and colleagues aplenty, and he says he’s pretty sure so many of his fellow officers responded because they thought he might have another heart attack. Still, he said, he couldn’t have done it without them.

“I had a choice at that moment,” he explains. “I almost died, but I didn’t, thank God...I had a choice to make: it was either stay in the car or do my job. I didn’t even make that choice, I didn’t have a hesitation, I didn’t even question it. It didn’t hit me of what I was doing until I was catching up to the guy, sprinting as fast as I can…”

Keith Lane joined the San Angelo Police Department in June 2012 after several years of studying and holding various positions that, unwittingly, would pave the way for a career with the police department.

He was born in San Angelo and grew up on 14th St. until the age of 3 or 4, then moved with his family to Water Valley, where he remained through high school.

Following the example of his mother, father and grandfather, Lane has always had a strong work ethic, describing himself simply as “just a dude that works” and offering credit to those around him who have steered him on his path to success.

With a father in the oilfield and a mother working for Hirschfield Steel, Lane remembers his parents working hard as he grew up—sometimes multiple jobs—to provide for the family. He said that tradition of diligence was passed down to him, one of the defining traits that pushes him as a patrol officer.

“My granddad had his leg severed by a train when he was in the military,” he said. “He never stopped working. He was always a cowboy. He drove cattle. He did a cattle drive with like 400 head and he had one leg. I see what my granddad did with one leg…he didn’t accept excuses, he didn’t let stuff hold him back. He worked until he couldn’t, and that’s the mentality that I have.”

Following high school, Lane enrolled at ASU, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in international business. For four years he worked with the probation department visiting people on community supervision, and also held jobs at the Attorney General’s Office working with a child support officer, and at the workforce, where he interacted with at-risk youth.

Halfway through his master’s in Industrial Organizational Psychology, a family matter sprang up that encouraged Lane to pursue his aspiration of becoming a police officer.

“I’ve always been kind of curious what I was meant to be, you know. And I’ll admit, I was afraid to apply,” he said. “I pushed it off for a long time—probably shouldn’t have, but I did—I just didn’t think I had it. I was at a point where I needed to face my fears. I saw what this person was going through and I realized that the stuff that I was struggling with was menial at best.”

After being hired in June 2012, Lane went into the Academy and graduated in December. In May 2014, he was awarded the title Rookie of the Year for his performance during his first year on the force.

The accolades continued in November, when command staff elected Lane as the department’s Officer of the Month for his “community service”.

“The Chief receives regular compliments from citizens for his (Lane’s) positive attitude and assistance, both on and off duty,” Public Information Officer Brian Robinson said.

Keith Lane accepts the compliment shyly, suggesting a hundred other names he feels are just as deserving for recognition.

“I can’t really take a lot of credit for this,” he said. “That’s really nice stuff that they were saying about me, but if I’ve done anything right, I’ve had a lot of great guys that I’ve worked with. Some of the credit’s got to go to them because they’ve helped me and opened my eyes up to a lot of stuff and showed me stuff.”

Speaking to his upbeat personality, Lane laughs and refers back to an old adage he learned growing up: You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. He said everyone has their stereotypes and judgments, but the reality is that beyond the surface we’re all human and deserve to be treated as such.

"I’m only going to get one shot at meeting that person, one shot to make a good impression, one shot to show them, ‘no, we’re not this heartless force of dudes here to ruin your life,’ you know? A lot of people they get this idea—I was watching this show the other day and it’s like everybody gets their head slammed on the hood of a car when they get arrested, and I’m like, I don’t think I’ve ever done that, ever,” he said.

After nearly two years on the force, Lane still shows that initial excitement for the job observable in new recruits. It takes a lot of compartmentalizing, he said, to go from, for example, an animal call to an assault in progress, but he’s certain he’s been led to this position to make a difference.

“I’m just as excited chasing down some dog in the Sunset Mall parking lot as I am going to a call about a guy who’s high on whatever…it’s all a learning experience. I love what I do. I love the city I do it for,” he said.

In September, Lane completed the physical training for SWAT at the local obstacle course, but fell short on the gun range. Even after suffering a heart attack in January, he feels he’s finally on the path that God meant for him to be on.

“Now that I look back, it’s like, dang. All the skills that I’ve built up and learned—everything I’ve done before—I’m able to apply it here,” he said. “It seems like this is the path I was supposed to be on a long time ago. I just wish I had the sense at the time to see it. It’s one of those ‘his time and not my time’ type of things. I’m a pretty spiritual dude. You’ve got to be spiritually sound to do this kind of work.”