In the news:
Pasadena ISD police officers honored for national police week

The week of May 9-16 is marked annually as National Police Officers’ Week. Nationwide, it’s a time to honor those who serve and protect their communities and to remember those who have lost their lives because of it—and Pasadena ISD’s very own finest didn’t go unnoticed. The 35 police officers were honored recently at a reception at the district’s Administration Building.

“Along with student achievement, student safety is our top priority,” said Pasadena ISD Superintendent Kirk Lewis. “The officers of the Pasadena ISD Police Department are committed to making our students and staff feel safe and secure.”

The Pasadena ISD Police Department is responsible for keeping each student, parent, faculty member and guests safe on each of the schools campuses and buses and to ensure a positive learning environment free of crime, violence and the threat of violence. The department’s assistant chief Troy Harrison said it’s important to honor officers during this time.

“I believe that honoring these officers once a year is a privilege for each community,” he said. “Police officers work in a very complex field and fill many roles such as counselor, mediator, nurse, bouncer and even preacher at times. They can go from the simplest of calls to the most extreme of circumstances. It’s important for communities to recognize and honor their efforts.”

Pasadena ISD, a school district encompassing nearly 90 square miles with more than 60 schools and home of more than 50,000 students and 7,000 employees, leaves room for crime to take place—but the Pasadena ISD Police Department works around the clock to make safety a priority.

“Our responsibilities are taken very seriously by the members of this department and a great deal of training and commitment are needed to assure safety in all the areas,” Harrison said. “We want parents, students and staff to feel safe on campus and to know that we are here for them. We consider ourselves lucky to live and work in a community such as ours where family values are still present.”

Along with its police officers, the department is also made up of 8 civilian support personnel, 75 crossing guards and two K-9 units. Among the 35 sworn officers, several are specialized in K-9, bikes, CNT hostage negotiators, SWAT, Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) and detectives. Each member of the department is a member of the Emergency Response team and is trained to respond to a threat with one officer if needed and to protect the lives of the students and faculty.

The K-9 officers provide narcotic and explosive ordinance detection and the program is highly rated, consistently performing well in the certification process. Detectives are responsible for detailed and/or involved criminal investigations, and the CNT and SWAT officers serve with City of Pasadena tactical units. The Bike Division Officers patrol all district facilities and special events.

 The department’s ICAC Unit, responsible for responding to online child exploitation in Texas, was created under a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Pasadena ISD is the only school district police force in the nation that has been awarded the grant, and the department has made over 20 arrests for internet crimes against children in the past year.

“One of the goals of this task force is to give presentations to principals, students, parents and community members,” said Pasadena ISD Detective Matthew Gray. “By knowing the dangers and how these predators attempt to manipulate the system, it is an extra resource for the safety of our young people.”

Every Pasadena ISD police officer receives a minimum of 100 hours of training annually. In addition to state required training, officers receive specialized training in areas such as interview techniques, handwriting analysis, active shooter resolution and a wide array of force-on-force scenarios using the latest Simunition pistols and rifles.

“Having our own department assures continuity in safety and response no matter what city or county an incident occurs in,” Harrison said. “Having officers on duty who are specially trained in emergency response to active shooters, chemical leaks, bomb detection and other high profile incidents is paramount. The response time to these type incidents is very quick due to the officers being on duty during the school day.”

While safety always comes first for Pasadena ISD police officers, the department is also instrumental in educating students and parents through a variety of programs such as Safe and Drug Free Schools, GASP (Games Adolescents Shouldn’t Play), Tobacco Prevention, DARE, Gang Awareness and Beat the Heat, which educates youth about the problems of illegal drug and alcohol use. In addition, officers are active participants in the Texas Police Olympics, Red Ribbon Week and Law Enforcement Day.

The Pasadena ISD Police Officers Association is also a valued asset of the department and school district. The members have donated about $30,000 in time to cut costs associated with the annual McDonald’s Texas Invitational Basketball Tournament, which is an annual fundraiser for the Pasadena ISD Education Foundation. The Association also holds various fundraisers throughout the year including its annual golf tournament allowing it to provide more than $15,000 in local scholarships to 20 students in the last few years.

“The men and women of the association work tirelessly to help the youth they serve to become productive citizens in our society by providing not only positive role models, but a means of furthering their education in a career field of their choice,” Harrison said.

Funds from the association have also been used to assist local families devastated by fire or other disaster throughout the year as well as to injured district employees.

“Our officers are always taking the extra steps needed to ensure safety and academic achievement on our campuses and instill values in our students needed to live safe and healthy lives,” Lewis said. “They do their jobs with a high level of professionalism and integrity, and I am extremely proud of the job they do on a daily basis.”