Hello, San Antonio. This is Sergeant Javier Salassar. This is our January 2014 episode of Behind the Badge. Before we begin our show, uh I did want to let you, our viewers, know uh just a little something. Uh this show, as is typical with most shows, is shot several weeks in advance. So, when we shot our January 2014 episode, uh, we knew that one of our officers, Officer Robert Bobby Deckard, had been critically injured in the line of duty, but we didn't know the full extent of his injuries. Um, as fate would have it, we just recently, a few hours ago, found out that that Bobby had passed. As you can imagine, the department, his his family in blue and his as well as the Decard family has been on an emotional roller coaster that uh that is going to is sure to continue. But the outpouring of support from our community, you um has been touching. It's been nothing short of inspiring. Uh, I didn't want to go our whole month of January with our January episode running and not acknowledge this tragic event in in the lives of of every SAPD officer and the Decard family. So, I just want to take the time to to thank you for all of your support to us and to Bobby's family. Um, and to let you know that our our February episode, February 2014 episode is going to be a 30 minute long tribute to the life and times of uh, Officer Bobby Deckard. So, thank you and enjoy the show. [Music] Happy new year. Welcome to this episode of Behind the Badge. I'm your host, Sergeant Javier Salasar. 2013 was an eventful year for the SAPD, and we're all excited to see what 2014 holds in store for us. We're still heavily involved in the recruiting process for new police officers and hope to graduate three classes this year. One of the sources for new cadets is a great program we'll be profiling today. The San Antonio Police Explorers program has been described as a gateway to a career in law enforcement. It's an exciting program which teaches young people the skills they need to be tomorrow's police officers. These skills will serve them well as they start their career in law enforcement or whatever career path they may decide. Join me as I sit down to discuss the benefits of the Explorers program with a few individuals who know these benefits firsthand. Later, Officer Misty Floyd will address an incredibly touching tribute that several SAPD officers have started as a way to honor our fallen heroes. Then, Officer Roger Zuniga will announce the winner for the National Night Out for this year and highlight the advantages citizens gain from participating in this program. So without further ado, we have uh Sergeant uh Levi Talamas and Officer Andrew Tran who who both are are foremost experts on the Explorer program. Uh Levi, you're actually a current explorer and you're hoping to enter a career in law enforcement, right? Yes, sir. That's correct. And then Andrew, you you were you spent some time in the Explorers and now you are a probationary police officer with the city of San Antonio, correct? Yes, sir. Good deal. Well, I thank you for both for coming out. Uh, you know, I know it's a worth worthwhile program and I can sit here and talk about it till I'm blew in the face, but of course I don't I don't have the firsthand knowledge, but you guys do. So, first off, Levi, how did you start how did you start in this program? Well, I was uh browsing SAPD's website a while back. I've always been interested in law enforcement and uh was under community, like the little community section, and saw the Explorers program and was interested uh read up on it and decided I was going to do that when I turned 14. And when I turned 14, I applied. Good deal. And you've been with them how long? about two and a half years. Okay. So, you're 16 now? Yes, sir. 16 and a half. Okay. Uh and you're you're thinking it's going to take you toward a career in law enforcement eventually? I do. Yes, sir. Okay, good. Uh do you feel like it's preparing you for that? Absolutely. Both tactics, you know, and how the department works and getting to go on ride alongs. It's all very, you know, valuable information that we're learning about the department and how to get on the department. Excellent. And Andrew, how how long did you spend with the Explorers? I spent uh close to three years, sir. Uh I joined a little bit late. I was 18 years old, but that's when a career in law enforcement really piqued my interest and um I found out about the Explorer program from a friend. I joined, did some ride alongs, and I was just hooked. You were hooked, huh? Yes, sir. Okay. And you've been with the police department now 7 months or so? Coming up on seven months, sir. Okay. What do you think some of the things are that you learned in the Explorers that helped prepare you for the street? I mean, the streets, uh, basically all the ride alongs I did, we did practice tactics. I was able to, you know, sit right next to Noster as he did his uh his daily duties for 8 8 hours, 10 hours. Uh I like to work uh the T- shift a lot. Okay. And that was 5:00 p.m. to 3 in the morning. So I got to experience a lot of calls, I got to uh you know, spend at least 10 hours sitting next to an officer. So I feel that that did help prepare me. Okay. Good. Good. So I mean a lot of the things that I guess you as opposed to one of your classmates uh there are certain situations you're finding yourself on the street that it's not the first time you've seen it having been in the Explorers. Correct. Yes, sir. Okay. So, so Levi, what do you think is the funniest thing you've done so far with the Explorers? It would definitely have to be on ride alongs and working Fiesta. Um, just getting to work handinhand with those officers and learning how they work and getting to see, you know, how calls actually go compared to what you see on TV. So, I mean, I wouldn't be able to pick a specific call or anything, but it's all it's all a lot of fun getting to work with them. Sure. Sure. And and my understanding is that you guys do some competitions, correct? That's very true. Uh we do a lot of statewide competitions and local competitions where uh explore posts from all over the state and sometimes the country uh will come in and we'll get to compete and meet each other and uh see how each other how we compare to each other. And we're pretty competitive here in San Antonio. That's very that's very true. Pretty good team. Did you do any of the competitions? I did. I did several as uh my time as an explorer. Okay. With the uh San Antonio Proost. Okay. And what type what type of uh events are they doing in these what kind of stuff can you expect in these competition? just uh scenarios you could encounter as a police officer. They try to make it as real as possible. You know, um basically you show up to a competition, there are several categories, but you will actually draw, so you don't know which categories you're going to get. Categories could range from misdemeanor traffic stop, felony traffic stop, active shooter, and uh a PT test. Actually, I've seen that on uh competitions as well. So So you get there for the day for your competition, and you have no clue what you're going to face. That's correct. Sounds pretty much like a shift, typical shift in law enforcement. really. So, it does it just flat out prepares you for it. Okay. And there's also some uh some requirements they they require you as far as uh your school your school work. Is that correct? That's correct. You have to maintain a C average uh and be able to pass all of your classes basically. Okay. And I mean that's a gateway to the academy anyway, isn't it, Andrew? Isn't that what they kind of expect in the academy is that it's a lot like a college atmosphere? Yes, sir. And you're expected to make the grade. So, it really is a good prep. Well, I mean I think it's just a a cool setup. I I really wish there would been something like this when I was when I was growing up that we could have done. So, I'm thankful for for young guys like you that are willing to take that up and and follow that career. And I I wish the best you the both of you the best of luck in in your career paths. I really do. We're going to take a quick break, but when we return, we're going to talk to Lieutenant Marcus Booth with the San Antonio Police Recruiting Detail. He's also one of the explorer coordinators for the city of San Antonio, and he'll be talking to us a bit about the program and the requirements to get in. Uh it's going to be great. So, stick around. [Music] San Anton Police Department. Sir, have you been drinking tonight? Yes, but I've only had two beers. Sir, go ahead and step out of the car. What? I was just going around the corner. Stay right over there for me. But it's my birthday. Like it's over. All I need you to just turn around, sir. No, please. I promise. Turn around. Put your hands behind your back. Turn around. Put your hands behind your back. Don't you know who I am? There's no excuse for drinking and driving. Drink, drive, go to [Music] jail. Welcome back. We're here talking to Lieutenant Marcus Booth. uh he's with the recruiting detail as I mentioned and he's one of the explorer coordinators for the city. Uh Lieutenant Booth, welcome to the show. No, thanks for having me on today Javier. Uh you know, we're talking about the explorers as you know and and uh we just kind of wanted to go over uh what some of the folks at at home that may be thinking about this program, what they can expect, what some of the requirements are. So what are the requirements? 14 to 20 years of age, doing well in school, and and have a good reasonably clean background. Got a couple minor issues. We're going to help you work through those. We try to rather uh get people into the program that are that have good good backgrounds and a good perspective on life. The young guys I was talking to earlier, Levi and Andrew were were telling me that uh you know you guys do stay on them as as members of the program to to stay on their grades to stay in shape. That's correct. You know, and that's part of kind of growing up, learning about law enforcement, uh gaining perspective on the career. uh we we want to make help kids mature, help them gain professionalism, learn how to be on time wherever they show up and and uh and and to respond professionally in in in a work environment. So, it's it's a real great mentoring tool for us um to help these kids and and kind of help them grow into whatever field they want to get into, law enforcement or what whatever it ends up being. Sure. Um now, I noticed that their rank structure runs somewhat similar to what our the SAPD rank structure is. It does. the rank structure, uh, like you're saying, it follows along with ours. And as they improve in the program, as they get better, as they gain leadership skills and abilities, they're gaining detectives, sergeant, lieutenant, and and even deputy chief and chief ranks chief of the post. Okay. It It's really neat to see them grow through the program and and you can see that they're they're really picking up leadership skills as as they move on. Sure. And it keeps them kind of goal goal oriented, I would imagine, because they're they're picking up rank as they go, short-term goals, and then their long-term goal, many of them, is they they want to be police officers in in the in the long run. To somebody that's interested, where do they go website-wise and where do they who do they call to to try to get information? So, we have a website set up called sapdexplorers.com. You can get on that website and learn a lot about exploring itself. And there's also a form on there you can fill out. It's going to give you uh an ability to communicate with our explorer post advisors and as soon as you fill that out and send it to us, we'll we'll contact you and and get you involved in the program. And of course, you can check it out on on sapdcareers.com. We have stuff on there and then also the uh the SAPD Facebook page. We're certainly grateful to all of our guests for taking the time to come out here today and share their information about this great program. SAPD would also like to urge those of you interested in a future career in law enforcement to take advantage of the opportunity by applying. We're going to take a quick break, but when we come back, Officer Floyd is going to talk to us about how two SAPD officers have found a way to honor our fallen brothers and sisters in blue. [Music] Hey, what are you doing? Where'd you learn to drive? What? I'm in a hurry and these stupid trucks are in the way. You know, unsafe driving, like cutting off 18-wheers, can lead to fatal accidents. Relax. I know what I'm doing. Stop being a backseat driver. You're probably the reason the SAPD traffic unit has that tacked program. Tacked? What's that? tacted. Ticketing aggressive cars and trucks. Traffic officers are ticketing aggressive and unsafe drivers. Regardless of the number of wheels you have in your vehicle, everyone should drive safely and respect the driver around them. Let's work together, San Antonio, to make our streets safer for everyone. [Music] Welcome back and thanks for joining me on this segment of On the Beat. As many of you can imagine, there are few things harder in life than burying a family member. With each officer who loses his or her life across the nation, that is exactly what it feels like for their fellow officers. We often find ways to honor the legacy of those lost and to keep their memory and spirit alive. One of the most immediate changes police officers can fill is the void of their fallen comrade in roll call. As each assigned officer's name is announced prior to the start of the shift, the emotional aftermath of losing a brother or sister in blue can be a hard situation to endure. But a few determined SAPD officers have found a way to honor our fallen police officers in a very unique way. Officers Tommy Capel and Brandon Bunch have joined together to start a campaign to celebrate these officers lives and to keep their memory alive. We'd like to thank both of them for being here today. Guys, thank you so much for coming out. Tommy and and Brandon, thank you so much. Um, guys, what can you tell me about the significance of this chair? What is the main purpose of this chair? It holds their place in roll call and pretty much ensures that they're not forgotten um and that people look at it every day when they go to roll call. So, it's just in their memory really. Now, where is it? Is it at the front of the roll call room or how do you guys present it in roll call? Kind of depends on on the department of the shift and what they want to do with it. I mean, we we we kind of give it to them and it's it's how to be. Some people have put it where that officer sat. Some people just have it on the side just so it's there and prominent. And now with us all being officers here, I think a lot of people in the community don't realize that roll call is really just a nice way for us all to kind of get together before the shift. We laugh, joke sometimes, you know, we're just silly. And so to have that void of a fallen officer when you do um get to roll call, it it really is it leaves a hole, wouldn't you say? Yes, it does. A a major hole. Now, how did you guys come up with this idea to honor fallen officers? The idea had come about already. Um we're just kind of, you know, putting out the little more and giving people a opportunity to, you know, have one made for someone that they want to have it made for. Um, but the idea of it has been out there for a little while now. Tommy, you actually, prior to making any of these chairs, you had some experience in woodworking, right? Correct. Yeah, I haven't done woodworking since like middle school. Wow. Is there a team that was put together to build these chairs? Yeah, we started a nonprofit. It's me, Officer Bunch, Officer Pulling, my wife, and then we have a treasurer that helps us out also on the CPA side. And how is it funded? Where do you come up with the resources? uh from officers, the San Antonio Police Officer Association has been a big uh help for us, but our family, friends, anybody that will will help us out. Now, um from my understanding, you guys recently took a trip to Boston to honor an MIT fallen officer during the uh Boston um bombing at the marathon. Can you tell me a little bit about your trip? Uh it was same ones, me, bunch, Poland, and my wife took a trip up there. We the whole trip was funded by donations. Sapoa benevolent fund cleat helped us out. Um and we drove the chair all the way up there straight through non-stop. And how long was this trip? It's 33 hours. Wow. All of you in one vehicle for 33 hours. Yeah. Not many people could do that. Well, that I'm sure that they were very receptive when you got up there. Right. Right. They were. And it's kind of what made us realize, you know, we need to keep doing this. At the time, it wasn't something we knew we were going to continue. after that experience and we knew we had to keep doing it. Now, is this something that you intend to do for each fallen officer within our department? We'd like to um know of time and if we get more involved and we'd like to. We're kind of doing it upon request right now. Okay. Um now, from my understanding as well, each of these chairs are custom made. Is that correct? Correct. Right. Okay. Each one is made differently. The wording on them is different. We trace it on there and then route all the words. They're all different individual to that officer. Okay. And we're going to show our uh our viewers um exactly what some of these chairs look like. Now, it looked pretty uh detailed detail oriented in order to be able to carve out precisely, you know, all the lettering. Is that the most time consuming or what would you say is the most time consuming aspect of it? I would say that laying it out, you got to trace out each word, each letter. So that yeah, that's probably the most timeconsuming part of it, laying it out straight and correct, and you can't really mess up. You got to start over. Oh, I could mess it up. I'm I'm pretty sure I would be the one to mess it up. Um guys, I'm I'm so honored that you guys, you know, go and represent our department and go out into the community across the nation really to honor fallen officers. Um I I thank you so much for being on the show today and really for um playing such a major role in our department, too. I've worked with um Brandon before and it's really great to meet you. So, I thank you guys both once again for being here. That truly is a great way to honor our fallen brothers and sisters. No other officer will ever be able to take their place and we will continue to celebrate the great lives that they led. Speaking of celebrating, the wait has finally come to an end. I'm proud to announce that San Antonio has won the top award for National Night Out and the 300,000 plus population category. National Night Out is a community police awareness event designed to heighten crime prevention programs, strengthen police community partnerships, and to send a message to criminals that communities are organized and fighting back. These events are typically organized by block watches, nonprofit organizations, companies, and police departments. It's a great way to get out and meet your neighbors and really connect with those in the community who are focused on keeping our streets as safe as possible. Here's Officer Roger Zuniga with more details on the event. October 1st, 2013 marked the 30th anniversary of the National Night Out program. Today, we'll be speaking with Juan Ayala, San Antonio's National Night Out Coordinator, and Officer Ray Todd, the National Night Special Projects Officer. Juan and Ray, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you. For those viewers who do not know what National Night Out is, can you explain a little bit about what it is and and what we try to accomplish? Sure. The national night out program began actually in 1984 and it was a brainstorm idea of a person by the name of Matt Paskin. He is the uh national executive director of the national association of town watch and his idea and concepts were uh a program that could fight crime and drugs at the time. So what happened was with that idea uh he developed the thing about turn on the lights, meet your neighbor, go outside and take some time. So that began in 1984. Uh Texas celebrates a national night out on the first Tuesday of October every year. Uh back in 1984, there was approximately about 2.5 million uh participants and this year we had over 34 million that participated nationwide. Wow. When did San Antonio actually get involved in National Night Out and how did we and the SAPD develop that community relationship? Sure. Uh again, back in 1984, uh the idea was to simply go out, turn on the lights, meet your neighbor. And from that, uh the concept grew for the police department to get more involved. And so what they did is they focus on the safe officers for all substations. And they allowed the safe officers to get involved with their communities. And as the program grew a little bit larger, uh they they noticed that they needed somebody that could be there more of a permanent basis to kind of direct. So the uh community service supervisor of which I do now, okay, actually came into focus around the 1990s. Uh with that being said, uh the program has grown to the extent where this year we had about 300,000 people participate alone in San Antonio. Incredible. and it's including now uh the Bear County and surrounding cities. It's a great program. I know the SAPD helps foster that uh community relationship. Officer Todd, could you speak about how the SAPD uh uses the resources and how we go about making that contact with the community to help make this make this a success? Yes, Roger. I I have to uh put a lot of emphasis on uh on the department's safe vision. uh each substation uh contributes uh a lot of time and a lot of of their officers efforts uh toward the the uh the NN O night that would that would come up. Uh, also I've got to uh I've got to say that uh the San Antonio Police Department's volunteer and policing program also very very instrumental in uh in providing uh the logistical help to help co help Juan coordinate uh NN O uh to help him uh with all of the events leading up to National Night Out. Uh we uh rely on the safe unit supervision or or I do um uh we provide transportation for a lot of our dignitaries on that night. So I have to rely on the supervisors to help me put officers in place uh so that we can provide this transportation. When does national night out start here in San Antonio? Actually, it begins around February and by February, I'm talking about you start planning for the events and so forth. Okay? And there's always preNo events. Those are our target safety fairs. They usually start around June. That's that's our kickoff. We usually host about four safety fairs at four different target events. Okay. at this location is where the participants that have registered, they come to us and they are able to obtain their banner for their neighborhoods and also obtain uh other handouts from organizations that are setting up with a booth there. So, they are able to come out and and participate with us. Uh events others like uh the uh missions baseball game, okay, takes place in August. Uh usually we have the Blue Eagle helicopter comes in with the mascots and they greet the audience and so forth and that's a big event. Thanks so much for tuning in and celebrating this great accomplishment with us. Two thumbs up to the citizens of San Antonio for their dedication and commitment to keeping our streets safe and to police chief William McManis for being the driving force behind this initiative. [Music] Sure, you could settle for an ordinary job or you could choose something more. You can embark on a career where you have a chance to make the world a better place, where the people that you work with, they're as close-knit as family. It's a place where you'll earn the respect of the community every single day. You could become a San Antonio police officer. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It isn't easy and it's not for everyone. The training you'll get in the academy will challenge you, but it'll also teach you our guiding principles: compassion, integrity, fairness, and respect. On the way, you'll build friendships, and you'll keep them for the rest of your life. Once you graduate, the places you can go with your career in the San Antonio Police Department are limitless. If I had a opportunity to talk to somebody young out of school, our department offers so many opportunities. If you want to be a SWAT member, you can be a SWAT member. If you want to be a hostage negotiator, you can be a hostage negotiator. If you want to be a bike patrolman, you can be a bike patrolman. If you want to be a helicopter pilot like myself, you can be a helicopter pilot. We offer the training. We offer so many opportunities to advance. Not only that, we off also offer uh education. If you're a high schooler and and with some limited college and you want to continue education, well, guess what? We pay for your education. My name is Michelle Ramos. I am a detective with the San Antonio Police Department. I work in the homicide unit. So, we I am assigned to the murder detail team. We investigate murders, deal with families. It's nothing like TV. If a young woman was considering this job with the San Antonio Police Department, I tell her to go for it. There's plenty of job opportunities, different units that they can become a part of. It's a great job. Some female detectives where it's easier for us to talk to certain victims, uh certain family members, some witnesses also. You know, we have women who won't open up to men as much as they open up to women. Well, I'm a patrolman. I work at night. It's dog watch. So, it's a different world out there when you're working at night. Uh, so while everyone's sleeping, you know, we're up fighting crimes. It's it's not a joke and it's not a game and it isn't easy, but the the benefits are so so great. The people that I work with, I have work with the best individuals I've that I've ever met. And also knowing that I'm protecting the city that I'm raising my daughter in, it helps me feel good. My current job, I'm assigned to the downtown bike patrol, and we patrol downtown, uh, assisting tourists, uh, helping people out and looking for, uh, crime situations. The best compliment I've received is, uh, citizens were telling me, I wish police in our town were like you guys. Very helpful, very friendly, very professional. There's, uh, a lot of opportunity to rise through the ranks and promote. Yearly there's tests that are given from detective and all the way up to chief of police and there have been people um in the department that have made the uh made the promotions and made the rank all the way up there. My name is Willie Dylan. I'm with the San Antonio Police Department hostage negotiations team. On a day-to-day basis, what we do, we'll go out if we get a call of a barricaded suspect, a hostage situation, uh someone who doesn't want to come out, uh we would negotiate with them to come out just to uh you save the life of the hostage or the person on the other end of the phone. Anytime you can save a life, uh even if it's uh uh the person on the wrong side of the fence, uh it's it's a great reward for you, you know, and it's a reward for their family, it's a reward for their friends, uh their spouses. So, um I really feel good about it when we have a successful uh outcome. The transition coming from the military to the San Antonio Police Department was very smooth because it's a structured environment. Uh it's an environment where you know you know what you have to do. You have your rules, your regulations just as in San Antonio Police Department. We have our general manuals and procedures to follow. So, the transition for me was uh easy. Uh it's a family environment same as the military. Uh you take care of one another as you do in the military. So, that transition was great. My name is Officer Zachary Waters. I work with the San Antonio Police Department and I've been on the force about a year. I love the fact that I don't sit behind a desk and have to do mundane stuff on a day-to-day basis. I get to patrol around the neighborhoods that I work in and live in. I get to work with the community, people that I live and serve, and I get to enjoy the fact that I get to protect and serve and people call upon me when they're in a time of need. Uh for myself, I'm from out of state. I'm from California. I moved here for the job to join a San Antonio Police Department. I think it's something that this career provides me the opportunity to be able to leave this place a little bit better when I signed on and I put this uniform on. My name is Sergeant Leslie Curo with the San Antonio Police Department. I supervise a group of patrolmen. These are the guys that make the calls out on the street. The the friendships that I've made on the force, I wouldn't even consider them friendships. It's it's like family. Um I've worked closely with so many wonderful people that I I consider them as my brothers and sisters. If you think you have what it takes to become part of the SAPD family, we'd like to talk to you. Visit sapdcareers.com to print an application or you can call 211020750. Talk with one of our recruiters about one of our upcoming information sessions. 2013's proven to be a very eventful year. We expect no less than the best as we roll into 2014. As each year passes, we continue to set new goals and resolutions. But one thing never changes. SAPD is committed to protecting and serving the Alamo City, and we will continue to work handinand with the outstanding citizens in our community. We're glad you took out the time to learn more about SAPD's Explorer program and all the benefits to joining. We're also pleased to announce San Antonio's first place win for National Night Out. And most of all, I'd like to thank each of you for taking a moment to help us honor the memory of our fallen brothers and sisters. for this episode of Behind the Badge. I'm your host, Sergeant Javier Salasar. Stay safe and we'll see you again [Music] soon. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]