A nine-year old canine whose future once looked bleak enjoyed a first class flight to Houston Tuesday afternoon, thanks to an enterprising Corpus Christi Animal Control Officer and a non-profit animal rescue network called “Pilots N Paws”.

The dog named “Gucci” arrived at the Corpus Christi Animal Shelter last Thursday when her owner surrendered her.  Gucci’s owner was forced to make the difficult decision to surrender her when apartment management informed the pet’s owner that she was only allowed two pets; Gucci sadly became the odd dog out.

When Gucci tested positive for heartworms the next day, Animal Control Officer James Matt Ray realized that placing her for adoption would be difficult due to her age and health issues.   Ray quickly went into action and found an animal rescue group called PugHearts of Houston that specializes in rescuing that particular breed.  Ray contacted the group and they agreed to rescue Gucci, but there was still the problem of how to get her to Houston.  Undaunted, Ray continued to search the internet and found “Pilots N Paws”, a non-profit website that serves as a meeting place for those who rescue, shelter or foster animals, and volunteer pilots willing to assist with the transportation of at-risk animals.

Pilots N Paws was founded in 2008 by animal-lover Debi Boies and pilot Jon Wehrenberg. The idea first took flight when Jon agreed to help Debi by flying a rescued Doberman from Florida to South Carolina. The trip was a success and the two brainstormed on how to rescue other animals.  As a result of their collaboration,  the website, http://www.pilotsnpaws.org was soon launched. Today the organization has 3,168 pilot volunteers and 10,551 volunteers responsible for saving thousands of animals each year.

Through the website Officer Ray contacted Wade Roberts, a pilot from Pearland, Texas, who agreed to pick up Gucci and fly her back to Houston.  ACO Ray met Roberts Tuesday morning at a small airport in Port Aransas and by 11:30 am Gucci was on her way to a new life in Houston-all thanks to a caring pilot and the Animal Control Officer who went beyond the call of duty to save her.

The Corpus Christi Police Department remembers fallen officer, Lieutenant Stuart J. Alexander who was killed in the line of duty March 11, 2009. A Corpus Christi Police Patrol Officer initiated a traffic stop and the violator attacked and physically assaulted the officer. The violator fled from the traffic stop and scene of the assault of the police officer in a vehicle. The violator used the vehicle as a weapon against responding officers and rammed several pursuing patrol vehicles.

Lieutenant Alexander positioned himself on the grass median on State Highway 358 near Agnes for road spike deployment. The violator abruptly swerved and intentionally struck Lieutenant Alexander.

The suspect continued to use his vehicle as a weapon against officers until he was shot by Corpus Christi Police Officers and arrested.

Lieutenant Stuart Alexander was 47 years old, a 20 year veteran of the Corpus Christi Police Department and is survived by his wife, his son, and three grandchildren.

Interested in becoming a Police Officer?

The Corpus Christi Police Department invites qualified men and women to apply for a rewarding and dedicated career as a police officer. Accept the Challenge and visit one of our Pre-Assessment Workouts or Women in Policing Seminars.

The Pre-Assesments will allow anyone wanting to be a police officer to visit the training center and take the fitness test prior to the actual test.  The assessment will allow police candidates to work on achieving a passing score at the time of the test.

No reservation required is required and walk-ins are welcome. The Pre-Assessment Workouts will be scheduled for the following dates and held at the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Training Center, 4510 Corona.

• Thursday, March 7, 2013 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
• Thursday, March 14, 2013 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
• Saturday, March 16, 2013 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am
• Thursday, March 21, 2013 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
• Thursday, March 28, 2013 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
• Thursday, April 4, 2013 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
• Saturday, April 6, 2013 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am

The Corpus Christi Police Department’s Training Division will also host a “Women in Policing” Seminar on Friday, March 22, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  A second seminar will be held Friday, April 5, 2013 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Police Department’s Training Center, 4510 Corona Drive.

This seminar will give prospective female applicants an opportunity to hear from successful female officers and ask questions about how they juggle family life and a law enforcement career. Topics of discussion will include; the application process, the police academy, and career opportunities within the Corpus Christi Police Department.

Please join us and explore an exciting career in law enforcement and hear from women who have very successful careers with the Corpus Christi Police Department.

For additional information please contact Maryann Carrillo at (361) 826-4071.

The Corpus Christi Police Department, Corpus Christi Fire Department, and Driscoll Children’s Hospital received a load of stuffed animals from high schools from all over Texas on Friday at the DECA state conference at the American Bank Center.

The Distributive Educational Clubs of America (DECA) organization had a state conference in Corpus Christi this past week. The purpose of DECA is to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges. The participating schools raised money to buy and construct stuffed animals from the “Build A Bear” company for the purpose to donate the bears to the Corpus Christi Police Department, the Corpus Christi Fire Department, and to Driscoll Children’s Hospital.

The bears were staged at the American Bank Center with a fire truck, police patrol car, and an ambulance while a representative from the Police Department, Fire Department, and Driscoll Children’s Hospital delivered a message of gratitude to the students for the generous donation.

The Corpus Christi Police Department received 100 bears and intend to use them to provide comfort to victims of traumatic events. This donation will offer comfort directly to victims of traumatic events by police.The Corpus Christi Police Department thanks the DECA organization for their generous donation and kind offer to help members of our community who need comfort most.

The Corpus Christi Police Awards Banquet was held at Yorktown Baptist Church Thursday night.  The Master of Ceremonies was Police Captain David Cook.  Corpus Christi Police Chief Floyd Simpson and his assistant chiefs Mike Markle and J.V. Garcia presented a variety of citations to employees of the Corpus Christi Police Department for outstanding performance.

Corpus Christi Police Chief, Floyd Simpson said, “This is a great time and a great opportunity for us to recognize the meritorious conduct of members of our police department throughout 2012”.

Certificates of Merit were awarded to Senior Officers Rodney Cantu, Brenda Garza, Emily Perez, and John Shultz.

Life Saving Awards were presented to Lieutenant Phillip Bintliff, Senior Officers Gracie Luna, Jason Tello, Adam Thurman, Armando Vasquez, Luis Rodriguez, Thomas Bauer, Ross Richards, Brandon Cordell, and Officer Alan Miller.

The Police Shield was awarded to Senior Officer Douglas Rush.

Police Captain Russell Sherman was awarded the Medal of Valor.

Glenn Ellen Dreggors was named the Volunteer of the year.

Lieutenant David Kureska was named Supervisor of the year, and Detective Richard L. Garcia was recognized as the Investigator of the year.

Janice Barrera was the Police Employee of the year.

Senior Officer Javier Cantu was awarded Officer of the Year.

This week the Corpus Christi Police Department received the first order of cars that will be rotated into patrol. The Ford Motor Company will no longer manufacture the Crown Victoria model cars and the Corpus Christi Police Department will replace the sedans with the Ford Police Interceptor. The fleet of patrol cars does not increase, these vehicles replace others which are rotated out of the Police inventory because of the normal wear and tear of the equipment.

The Police Interceptor is a five passenger sedan with a 3.7 liter V6 engine and 6 speed automatic transmission. The new cars are a white exterior with black cloth and vinyl interior.

Some of the features of this vehicle are 18 inch steel wheels, a full size 18 inch spare tire, underbody deflector plate, key locks for the driver door, truck, and passenger door, black vinyl floor covering, tilt and telescoping steering column, all wheel drive system, and dual spotlights. Some features that were included with the vehicle from the manufacturer are for safety such as the strobing lights on the interior of the trunk. The lights in the trunk provide visibility while the open trunk shields the overhead lightbar. There are also front, side, and safety canopy airbags on the interior of the cars.

The new vehicles arrived on February 27 from the manufacturer and must be outfitted with the decals, radio and computer console, light bars, push bumpers, cages, and other accessories installed locally. Much of the needed accessories will be able to be transferred from outgoing patrol cars into the new vehicles. The public can expect to see the new cars on the road in the Fall.

Seven Corpus Christi Police Officers were promoted to the rank of Senior Officer Wednesday, February 27, 2013 in a ceremony with Chief of Police Floyd Simpson at the Corpus Christi Police Department.

The officers successfully completed a proficiency exam which covered material from publications such as the Corpus Christi Police General Rules Manual, the Texas Criminal and Traffic Laws Manual, the Texas Penal Code, the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, the Texas Family Code, the Texas  Transportation Code, and the text-book titled Leadership, Ethics, and Policing for the 21^st Century by P.J. Ortmeier and Edwin Meese.

The officers must have attained 60 months of service as a commissioned officer in the Corpus Christi Police Department to be eligible to take the exam. Other requirements to take the exam are that they possess an Intermediate Peace Officer license issued by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education or at least have 60 hours college credit from an accredited college or university.

The Senior Officer exam was graded as an individual pass or fail examination with a minimum score of 70% required to pass the exam.

The Corpus Christi Police Department celebrates the newly promoted Senior Officers: Jamie L. Pelfrey, Isaac Rodriguez, Jason P. Tello, Daniel H. Sotello, Ernesto R. Coronado, William M. Hobbs, Eusebio Cano Jr.

The Corpus Christi Police Department’s commitment to “Keep Corpus Christi Safe” has continued with its “Zero Tolerance No Insurance Initiative”

On Saturday, March 2, 2013, a total of 95 cars, trucks, and motorcycles will be auctioned at the Corpus Christi Police Department’s  Vehicle Impound Lot located at 5485 Greenwood Drive during our monthly auction. The site has four paved acres for an auction lot.

Approximately 17 of these vehicles are “No Insurance” impounds. On Friday, March 1, 2013, the general public will be allowed to register and view the vehicles to be auctioned from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There is no registration fee.

On the day of the auction, the general public can continue to register and view the vehicles from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The auction will commence promptly at 10:00 a.m.   The vehicles to be auctioned can be viewed at www.siskauction.com. An auction list may also be downloaded from the same website.

The department’s strong stand and enforcement of this “Zero Tolerance No Insurance Initiative” will continue and all vehicles involved in accidents will be impounded and the driver cited if they are unable to provide financial proof of insurance. Driver’s license and proof of financial responsibility checkpoints will continue to be conducted at the Shift Captains’ authorization.

During 2012, Officers issued 5,756 citations for Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility and impounded 1,009 vehicles.  In 2013, Officers have issued 487 citations and impounded 140 for the same charge.

The Corpus Christi Police Department will accept applications from interested clergy of all faiths to serve the community in a Police Chaplain Corps. The purpose of the Police Chaplain Corps is to meet optional counseling needs of the officers of the Corpus Christi Police Department and to provide comfort to members of the community in times of crisis based on request.

Clergy of all faiths and denominations are encouraged to apply to be volunteers. Anyone interested may contact Senior Officer Chuck Freeman by email at charlesf@cctexas.com for an application.

A candidate for Police Chaplain must meet the minimum qualifications for appointment:

1. Be an ordained or licensed member of the clergy who resides in Corpus Christi in good standing and is endorsed for police chaplaincy by a religious organization or denomination recognized by the State of Texas.

2. Complete a volunteer police chaplain background investigation.

3. Be a U.S. citizen and possess a valid and current Texas driver’s license.

4. Have NOT been convicted or under investigation of a Class B misdemeanor or greater offense.

5. Have NOT been convicted or under investigation of any family violence offense.

6. Have not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude

Application Process: Includes but is not limited to the following:

1. Complete an initial interview with the Senior Police Chaplain.

2. Complete and return the Corpus Christi Police Chaplain Application.

3. Submit a copy your ordination and/or license and a letter of endorsement for police chaplaincy from your religious organization.

4. Sign the CCPD annual police chaplain commitment agreement.

5. Endorse and sign the International Conference of Police Chaplains Code of Ethics.

6. Endorse and sign the Corpus Christi Police Chaplain Vision Statement.

7. Complete and return CCPD Police Chaplain background packet; successfully pass CCPD Police Chaplain background investigation.

8. Successfully complete CCPD Police Chaplain Basic Certification Training Course.

9. Successfully complete an interview with the Corpus Christi Police Chaplain Personnel Committee.

10. Complete police chaplain field training program of at least three to six months.

11. Receive recommendation for appointment to chaplain from CCPD Senior Police Chaplain.

12. Be approved and appointed as a Police Chaplain by the Corpus Christi Chief of Police.

Completion and appointment as Police Chaplaincy:

1. Participate in the Police Chaplain training program at a minimum of twelve hours annually.

2. Provide services as an On-Call Police Chaplain for a one month period.

3. Graduate from the Corpus Christi Citizens Police Academy within one year of appointment.

4. Complete a minimum of two police Ride-Alongs annually.

Chief Floyd Simpson and former Chief of Police Troy Riggs were recently highlighted in a national publication. The Police Executive Research Forum included case studies from departments in Camden NJ, Lane County OR, Manchester, England and Corpus Christi Texas.

The publication focused on the strategies that the agencies used when they were faced with significant budget cuts. The Corpus Christi Police Department was chosen as the first of the studies. Topics included are: Maintaining and Improving the Patrol Function, Tactics for Avoiding Layoffs, Impact on Crime, Parking Control, Maintaining Employee Morale and the Chief’s Perspective on The Future of Policing.

Chief Simpson attributed the success of the Department and the national recognition on the hard work of the Officers, the support of the community and the exposure from the media. “Without each of these three, the story would not be told” he said. Chief Simpson went on to say that the support of the council and city manager are also a key role in this process. “In these lean budget times, we must be more efficient” he concluded.

The publication is available online by visiting the PERF website @ http://www.policeforum.org/