One of the things I have loved so much about GPD is the sense of family. I always wondered what life would be like with a big brother and now I have a whole crew of them. A lot of them are younger than me, but that’s beside the point. This group of men and women has definitely become a family to me and I’m so thankful that they let me join them.
An aspect of that sense of family that really impresses me is how they care for one another. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t perfect, but they do pretty well. If an officer is on a scene and hasn’t said anything on their radio for a certain period of time, dispatch will get on and check their welfare. Most of the time nothing is wrong, but something could be and it’s great to hear them checking on the officers. A big one is if an officer’s emergency alert goes off and doesn’t respond right away. Dispatch will keep calling their radio number to see if they will respond. Officers out on the streets will begin calling their cell phone and others will begin driving to the location that the police officer was last known to be. A great effort is made to ensure that the officer is safe and doesn’t need any help. If an alert goes off that cannot be tied to a specific person’s radio, they will begin a roll call and make sure that everyone responds when their radio number is called.
As with most families, not everyone gets along with each other at all times. The law enforcement family definitely fits right into this idea. Personalities don’t always mesh and not everyone is best friends. They take very seriously that they are family though. When the uniform is on, the disagreements and feelings are put aside. If the person you don’t like goes to a call where there is potentially something dangerous, there is a chance it will become a life or death situation. At that point, none of the other stuff matter because you don’t let someone that wears the same uniform as you get hurt. I’ve seen officers who have had pretty big conflicts with each other run to each other’s side because a call sounded like it could be dangerous. There is a unity when the uniform is on and that’s pretty impressive.
Of course I’ve been pretty spoiled by being a part of this family. There are often nights when I leave the church late that a unit will be parked out in the parking lot making sure I get to my car safely. They have given me countless rides to places so I could avoid traffic or annoying parking situations. The officers have responded when I’ve needed something and are good about checking in on me. One great example of that is from the night that the security guard got shot at the San Luis. It happened on a Sunday night around 10:15pm. The guys that had the gun were not yet in custody. For those of you not from Galveston, the San Luis hotel is just a few blocks from the church. 10:30-10:45pm is often when I leave the church on Sunday evenings and would have been walking out by myself. One of the off-duty officers was getting ready to come down to Galveston to help and he thought about me leaving the church. He called and asked where I was and thankfully I was already home. He told me there was no way that he was going to let me walk out of the building by myself with the guys still on the loose. That phone call meant so much to me because I knew he had so many other things on his mind.
The fun part about family is getting to celebrate accomplishments together. It has been a joy to watch officers study for tests or work towards goals and get to celebrate with them when it goes well. It’s been a blessing to be a part of baby showers and birthday parties. It’s been an honor to preside at weddings and get to share in such a special moment.
“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” —Jane Howard
I’m so thankful that I get to call one of mine Galveston Police Department!!
