BPOC #105 continues forward-Starting with 23 cadets the class is now at 21 with one cadet unable to participate due to a physical injury which occurred during off duty exercise; and a second cadet making a career change decision;

  2.  Speaking of the Academy, Inspector Ken Baptiste is back from his year+ tour of duty with the Texas Air National Guard as part of Operation Lone Star at the border-We are blessed to have Ken with us again!

3.  And, as discussed briefly at the chiefs' conference in September, ODOP continues to work with Chancellor Milliken on a prospective new UTSP Police Academy and Training Center initiative--Sr. Inspectors Bobby Harper and Rey Trevino are doing the heavy lifting on this for us;

  4.  Inspector Geoff Merritt was able to return to the Academy and teach a class to BPOC #105 as Geoff continues his recovery-It's always a blessing to have Geoff in the classroom!

  5.  On the replacement Police Inspector position at ODOP downtown (Paul Maslyk's former position):  we had 24 applications before closing the job posting with 14 initial interviews and three finalists selected for a second interview; we should have this position filled before Thanksgiving;

  6.  On the new FTE Police Inspector position at the Academy:  We have 15 applications and will be closing the job posting this week in order to begin interviews;

  7.  On the Administrative Associate position (new FTE) at the Academy:  the job posting remains open but is expected to close before Thanksgiving;

  8.  We have a Board of Regents meeting on 16-17 November;

  9.  I know I speak for all of us when I say thanks again to Chief Don Verett and his staff at UT Austin PD for the marvelous job they did with our 2022 chiefs' conference-Bravo!

  10. The policy on facial hair has been issued and minor changes to policies on outer load bearing vests and sexual assault record-keeping are in the queue; my thanks to A/C Glenn Cole, UT Arlington PD, for the stylistic and formatting changes he recommended to our Code of Conduct policy-We will be adopting those as recommended to update the policy language and narrative;

  11. Sr. Inspector Angel Lemmonds successfully completed the Senior Management Institute for Police hosted by the Police Executive Research Forum in Boston, the first ODOP Inspector to ever attend;

  12. Inspector Ken Baptiste will be ODOP's next participant in the FBI National Academy program and we applaud him for his interest;

  13. We have DAV training scheduled for 11/16 with Sr. Inspector Harper coordinating that effort;

  14. The next meeting of the Academy Advisory Board is scheduled for 11/29/22 at the Academy-My thanks to Chief Parks as the Chair and Inspector Ashley Griffin for coordinating the meeting-We will have some rotation on the AAB with Chief Zacharias retiring, Chief (retired) Robert Dahlstrom stepping down and some movement in the public members;

  15. For perhaps the first time in UTSP history, we will have two police chief searches underway at the same time-I am working with the senior leadership at both UT Austin and UT Dallas to facilitate both of these searches;

  16. My hope is to have the 2021 Use of Force and Pursuit reports finalized and posted shortly as well as the annual 2021 UTSP/ODOP report-Short staffing has simply slowed all of those production efforts;

  17. After the first of the new year, A/D Ruben Puente will take a fresh look at moving forward on a new UTSP recruiting video production;

  18. My thanks to A/D Puente for a highly successful Internal Affairs training class and special thanks to Sr. Inspector Charlie Dunn, UT Houston PD, for his partnership in making that class happen;

  19. High praise to Chief Adan Cruz and Chief Mike Parks for making the transfer of policing responsibilities at the UT Center at Laredo from UTHSC SA PD to UTRGV PD a complete success;

  20. Chief Ken Adcox and A/C Jay Tillerson have forwarded their recommendation regarding retirement system changes that began with our discussion at the chiefs' conference--I have asked Faye Godwin, UTS Employee Benefits, to review and then begin to run the numbers; thanks to Ken and Jay;

  21. The policy on the Peer Support program should be forthcoming shortly and is being coordinated by Inspector Ashley Griffin;

  22. My thanks to COS David Ferrero and Inspector Griffin for changing their schedules and working essentially continuously at the Academy for BPOC #105 to backfill for our staffing shortage there; and thanks to Sr. Inspector Rey Trevino and Inspector Robert DeRohn for stepping up to instruct additional classes for the BPOC-We should all be proud of this Academy Team (Rey, Ashley, Geoff, Ken, Robert and David) making it happen for Class 105;

  23. Given the integration of the UT Health Center Tyler with the University of Tyler to create a single institution over a year ago, Chiefs Robert Cromley and Mike Medders continue to work in partnership and with ODOP to finalize the transition from two institution police departments into a single PD-Kudos to both Robert and Mike for their hard work and investment of time for this initiative-ODOP is working closely with the UTT senior leadership to assist;

  24. COS David Ferrero continues to work closely with the state grant folks on our UTSP application for ballistic grant funding-At their recommendation we have reduced the request to shields only and deleted the additional costs of cases and wings-This should put us back on the active for consideration list;

  25. ODOP sent Sr. Inspector Angel Lemmonds, Inspector Ashley Griffin and Sr. Administrative Associate Lydia Navarro to the recent TCOLE conference in Corpus;

  26. Lydia Navarro does incredibly crucial work on behalf of all of us day in and day out here at ODOP but rarely gets the credit that she deserves for her work with TCOLE on a daily basis and supporting every UTSP licensed person throughout the year-Please join me in congratulating Lydia on her promotion to Senior Administrative Associate!  Thank you, Lydia!

  27. A/D Ruben Puente is managing the racial profiling program with the retirement of Inspector Paul Maslyk;

Texas System Police Association Executive Board of Directors held its monthly meeting on October 29, 2022 to discuss the association's business. Topics of discussion were: Texas System Police Association Banquet Texas System Police Association June Meeting and Training Conference TSPA Store. TSPA Website Victory over Violence Walk/Run ______________________________________________________________ The Executive Board will move the TSPA Banquet to June 2023, to be a part of the June Membership Meeting and Training Conference. The TSPA Executive Board of Directors and the TSPAF Board of Directors have agreed to schedule the event for June 9-10, 2023. The location selected is at the Aloft Hotel at 2333 W. Mockingbird Lane in Dallas, Texas. A board member asked should the association continue to sell products online. The Executive Board decided it would ask the TSPAF Board of Directors to control the sales of association and foundation merchandise online. The association has employed a web designer to create a better functioning and looking website for our members. The Executive Board of Director has signed the contracts for service. Because of the importance of a functioning professional website, the Executive Board moved the date from January to November. Texas System Police Association will attend the Victory over Violence Walk/Run. The board is planning to ask the membership and others to register a member of team TSPA for the walk/run. The event will be posted soon. The Executive Board is now researching companies that will give discounts to the association's membership. Also, a motion was made to purchase and sell TSPA coins. The motion asked for the new coins to have the association seal on the front of the coin and the foundation seal on the back of the coin. The Executive Board will create a plan to increase membership in TSPA. The plan will be created and the Executive Board will be briefed at the next board meeting. Items still of the agenda for the TSPA Executive Board: Mediation for campus police officers CLEAT’s bill concerning TRS retirement Other benefit TSPA can offer to its members

The Texas System Police Association and Texas System Police Association Foundation both have a NEW telephone number. We have moved to an upgraded system which provides a TOLL FREE number for our members. Our automated system will make sure your call is routed to the appropriate person.

Make note of our NEW number, although it is EASY to remember.

1-877-4MY-TSPA    or   1-877-469-8772

Each day, UT System Public Safety Officer helps to maintain safe and secure UT campus and communities, to providing students, staff, and employees with a peace of mind. To recognize their commitment to our safety, the Texas System Police Association will recognize the National Security Officer Appreciation Week on September 18–24, 2022. In celebration of this week, we invite all to submit messages of thanks to the Pubic Safety Officer in your area.

MEET and GREET

Saturday, August 28, 2021 at 11am

Location: Fuzzy's Taco Shop  - 4740 W. Mockingbird Ln, Dallas, Tx

Come meet with your TSPA Board Members and learn more about our association. We welcome potential members to join us, ask questions, and become members of our association. Remember.... we are here to support YOU when YOU need it most. As a CLEAT affiliated association, we have additional support that will back us when needed.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AT 11:00 am AT FUZZY'S TACO SHOP!

WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!!!

The Texas System Police Association has officially re-opened following COVID-19. We are excited about upcoming opportunities  throughout the next year. We have also officially established the Texas System Police Association Foundation which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

Here is the link of the conference.  TSPA was officially ratified as an affiliated association.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_prjktqewY&feature=youtu.be

7/12/2020

To the members of TSPA who are employed by the UTSW PD,

               Members of the TSPA Executive Board were approached concerning the many issues within the UTSW Police Department. As a result, an emergency meeting was called according to the association bylaws. A formal document was prepared and presented to the Executive Board of Directors advising them of our members complaints and concerns. During the meeting, the executive board was briefed and it was decided that a member of the Executive Board would launch a job satisfaction survey to further understand the problems within the UTSW Police Department. The survey was launched on May 26, 2020 and concluded July 6, 2020. Prior to the completion of the survey, members of the Executive Board contacted Chief Marcus Lewis to request a meeting. The meeting was approximately a two hours long meeting, which members of the Executive Board shared information with him. The board also offered him help in troubleshooting problems inside his department, which he gratefully accepted. Members of the Executive Board further explained to Chief Lewis that the TSPA Job Satisfaction Survey would be closed soon. He was also told that he would be given a complete copy of the survey. He was informed that the TSPA Executive Board would like to schedule a meeting with him to discuss the results of survey. On 07/06/2020, Chief Marcus Lewis was given a complete copy of the TSPA Job Satisfaction Survey by TSPA President Troy Mondine. TSPA Executive Board of Directors will now give Chief Lewis time to review the survey. He further explained that he would contact the board in the third week of this month to discuss further the results of the survey. In our conversation with the Chief Lewis, the contact was pleasant, and we are hopeful for a new and better UTSW Police Department. I will keep the membership posted on the events as they occur.

Troy Mondine

TSPA President

C.L.E.A.T President Todd Harrison and Executive Director Charley Wilkinson called a meeting of the C.L.E.A.T Board of Directors (affiliated local association presidents or their designees) on Thursday, June 18, 2020. The meeting was held via Zoom at 10am. The meeting was a way for C.L.E.A.T to interact with affiliated local association leaders in trying times in order to keep them up to date on what they are doing, and to also obtain feedback from each local association on today’s issues. Also, because of the incredibly fast moving changes in current affairs, the C.L.E.A.T. executive director and  their legislative lobby team will be holding an early legislative workshop to begin work for the next legislative session. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29th in Austin, Texas. C.L.E.A.T. has invited TSPA President Troy Mondine, or a designee of the TSPA Executive Board of Directors, to attend the meeting. Communication has already been sent by Mondine that TSPA will be represented at the meeting.

     On June 18th at 10 am, all of the C.L.E.A.T local affiliated presidents were asked to join a zoom call to hear from President, Todd Harrison and Executive Director, Charley Wilkison. See below for a summary of the information that was shared with local leadership:

1. Reminder that C.L.E.A.T is hosting a legislative workshop on July 29th at the ATT Conference Center in Austin from 8am-3pm. They encourage our local presidents to attend as they continue to strategize for the upcoming legislative session. State Representative James White will be the keynote speaker.

2. Given the current situation, C.L.E.A.T has adjusted its outlook for next session and realizes that we must fight for our core values and leave everything else at the door. This is not a time for enhancing criminal penalties or addressing peripheral issues such as bail, task forces, or asset forfeiture, but it is instead a time to ensure we maintain all benefits currently held by Texas peace officers. C.L.E.A.T. will be heavily focused on the following items this session:

1. Collective Bargaining / Meet and Confer
2. Civil Service (CH 143) and maintaining professional standards
3. Retirement / Pensions
4. Qualified Immunity

 

“Medical personnel were there for us on 9/11 and we want to be there for them today,” said Officer Eric Brozek

Today at 12:42 PM

By Larry Higgs
NJ Advance Media Group, Edison, N.J.

HACKENSACK, NJ — When Port Authority police officers asked how they could help doctors, nurses and paramedics on the front lines of the coronavirus fight, they might not have expected to become a cleaning crew.

But this is a dirty job being done with love.

On Friday, off-duty Port Authority police officers spent the gray day decontaminating ambulances, paramedics’ trucks and even the boots and pants of emergency medical service workers after they delivered patients to Hackensack Hospital.

“Medical personnel were there for us on 9-11 (at the World Trade Center) and we want to be there for them today,” said Officer Eric Brozek, who works at the Holland Tunnel police command.

The job is important to make sure the COVID-19 virus goes no further. Officers use spray equipment to decontaminate ambulance interiors, and outside door handles, while EMS crews are in the hospital. They treated stretchers when they returned, Brozek said.

Officers are also offering to decontaminate employee shuttle buses and doctors’ and nurses’ personal vehicles, so they don’t have to worry about taking coronavirus home to their families, he said.

“We will do whatever it takes to help the medical professionals courageously battling COVID-19 on the front lines,” said Paul Nunziato, President, Port Authority Police Benevolent Association. “They are saving lives. They have never let us down. It is our duty, desire and citizenship to come to their aid.”

Port Authority police are about to get some back-up from Bergen County Sheriff’s Officers, who plan to decontaminate medical workers’ cars Saturday morning as they leave from working the third shift or arrive for the morning shift, said Derek Sands, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

“We decided this was a way to give back to the medical community. They have families and they don’t want to bring the virus home with them,” he said. “This is our thank you.”

Starbucks teamed up with the officers to provide coffee for the medical workers to drink while their vehicles are being decontaminated.

If it works out, Sheriff’s officers plan to expand the effort to other Bergen County hospitals, he said.

©2020 NJ Advance Media Group, Edison, N.J.