WE NEED YOUR HELP. ALL OF US KNOW OF THE EXCELLENCE demonstrated every day and evening by the hard-working, highly professional officers in the Houston Police Department. Every general membership meeting the Houston Police Officers Union recognizes this excellence by recognizing the HPOU Patrol Officer(s) of the Month and the HPOU Investigator(s) of the Month.Read more
We want to thank you for your beautiful peace lily in your expression of sympathy. From the family of Gary Loafman. (Jeffrey Michaels) Dad Thank you for your kindness & the beautiful plant. Sam Piccolo Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Houston Police Officers’ Union, My family and I want to thank youRead more
Dear HPOU, Thank you so much for the plant you sent following my daughter Erin’s passing. Your expression of sympathy is truly appreciated. -Glenn Riddle Dear HPOU, Thank you so much for the beautiful croton plant you sent to R.D.’s memorial service. The HPOA/HPOU held a special place in his heart and he lovedRead more
Keep up the good fight! As I honor those who have served to keep my country strong, safe, and free, I will be remembering you and those who served beside you. Thank you for being there when your country – and all Americans – needed you! -Edward Sweat, Ret. LEORead more
Thank you for the beautiful plant. We really appreciate the thoughtfulness during our loss. -David Russell and Family Thank you all for the flowers and support during this difficult time. God Bless, Chuck Kennedy Dearest Police Family, Thank you all so much for the beautiful croton plant for dad’s funeral. We cannot expressRead more
HPOU has named Detective Jaylan Lewis as the February Investigator of the Month for his outstanding work in the year that just ended. Here is the story of his achievements. On last Nov. 17, while on his assigned duty as an investigator for the Cyber and Financial Crimes Division, Detective Lewis received a call fromRead more
Sgt. Josue Villa has been assigned to the South Gessner Patrol Division for the past eight months developing extensive knowledge of criminal investigations while actively following upon cases from the South Gessner Patrol District. Villa’s work prompted HPOU to name him as the February Patrol Officer of the Month. Sgt. Villa’s knowledge of known criminal’sRead more
The HPOU honored Officers Zachary Thomas and Antonio Cisneros as Patrol Officers of the month in January of the New Year. Thomas and Cisneros have made three significant calls that have led to the arrests of notorious gang leaders and violent gang members in the South Gessner district. During these incidents officers have made arrestsRead more
Detective Roderick Stanfield was assigned a case for follow-up investigation on May 1, 2019 after the original report of a sexual assault disclosure was made on about five weeks earlier. The HPOU honored Stanfield by selecting him Investigator of the Month for January. During the investigation, Detective Stanfield learned of the Continuous Sexual Abuse ofRead more
ALTUNTAS Kadem Altuntas passed away on Friday, January 22, 2021, at the age of 68. She is the mother-in-law of Commander Y. Bashir, assigned to Major Assaults & Family Violence Division. Funeral services was held in Kayseri, Turkey. BAILEY Ms. Verrita K. Bailey passed away on Friday, January 22, 2021, at the age of 55.Read more
ALCANTAR Mr. Elpidio Damian Alcantar, Jr. passed away on Friday, December 11, 2020, at the age of 42. He is the brother of Sergeant Carlos F. Alcantar, assigned to the Eastside Division. ARANZETA Mr. Eugenio “Albert” Aranzeta passed away on Saturday, November 21, 2020, at the age of 67. He is the father of PoliceRead more
Most of you know me and know that I have been a proactive officer my entire career. This is the first time I have ever felt that we could be seeing the death of proactive policing.
Like most of you, I was astounded by the indictment of Officer Gallegos for Murder relating to the Harding Street raid from Jan. 28, 2019. Make no mistake about it, this is nothing more than TV justice for this district attorney.
I find it a little odd that she would bring this charge three days before the time limit for the family to file a wrongful death lawsuit. I also find it suspect that the attorney for the family is the same attorney that DA Ogg hired to work on the Arkima case, which was another case she filed for political reasons – and lost!
As I stated in my press conference, Officer Galleg
Happy New Year!
We can all agree that 2020 was a very stressful year. It all started with COVID 19, a virus that drastically changed all our lives. The political climate was high, as riots broke out, police reform was put at the forefront, and we sadly lost many of our brothers.
But as bad as it was, the rank and file of the Houston Police Department proved again why we are the best police department in the nation. Just like Hurricane Harvey, every officer went to work and did everything possible to keep the City of Houston from burning like other cities. We stayed Houston Strong!
The restraint and professionalism our officers demonstrated was very impressive. I received calls from other police unions around the nation praising our department for how we performed under pressure. I
Looking back over my time with the Union it is evident that I have worked with some really great leaders. As an HPOU board member, I had the good fortune to work with Gary Blankinship and J. J. Berry, who were class guys and taught me a lot about what a union should be and how it should function.
After taking J. J.’s place as 1st vice president in 2012, I had the honor of working with Ray Hunt and Joe Gamaldi, both of whom have been exceptional leaders for our great organization, and individuals that I am proud to call friends.
As most of you know, Joe worked very hard and burned a lot of time to prepare for the sergeant’s exam. In what should not be a surprise to anyone that he ended up number one on the list.
I am so very proud of his hard work and dedication to t
Editor’s note: Due to deadlines, this article was written prior to election results.
If it seems like not a day passes without you seeing in the news that another police officer was shot in the United States, you are right.
There has been a police officer shot every 28 hours this year That’s 255 as of Nov. 1.
Forty officers made the ultimate sacrifice as a result of that gunfire. While some politicians and news media pundits pontificate that there is no war on police officers, the statistics tell a very different story.
More than the last two years we have seen more than a 26 percent increase in police officers being shot. The current numbers show that it is not slowing down. In fact, it is getting worse – too far out of hand!
I will always express hope that t
I feel like I write this article every year, and every year it becomes more and more important that you get out to vote.
In case you have been living under a rock, we are living in very tumultuous times, especially if you are a police officer. Now more than ever it is your DUTY as a police officer to not only vote, but make sure that you educate your friends, family, co-workers, fellow church goers and anyone else you know on the issues important to us and who to vote for.
Then you need to follow up with folks to make sure they vote. You may need to give them a ride, you may need to take them with you. Be sure to go the extra mile because every vote counts in this election. One seat lost, flipped, one race won or lost can make all the difference in protection of our rights as police