The AAPOL recognizes exceptional achievement in any police endeavor including, but not limited to displays of extraordinary valor, crime prevention, investigative activity, community outreach, lifesaving, and innovative approaches to police service. On October 28, 2023, at the AAPOL awards gala Houston Police Department’s Eastside Patrol Officer Adrian Rogers was named the recipient of the 2023 Harold L. Preston Patrol Officer of the Year Award.
In June of 2023, Officer Rogers was on routine patrol in Houston’s east end and observed a woman running and when he approached her, she turned around and he observed her crying, and in fear for her life. Officer Rogers discovered that the woman had just been assaulted and shot at twice by her boyfriend attempted to blocked her from exiting the house when she escaped and ran for her life. Officer Rogers was further advised that her boyfriend had a court hearing the next day for Aggravated Assault-Impeding Breath. Officer Rogers was advised by the woman her boyfriend was in a vehicle backing out of the driveway Officer Rogers along with backup officers follow him to a convenience store. Officers had the customers exit the convenience store and set up a perimeter when the male’s friends arrived on the scene threatening the complainant. Officers observed the man pull out his gun and tragically died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Officer Rogers stated, “This scene was a success because of the actions of the complainant (survivor) and the actions of Eastside Station patrol officers, tactical units, and supervisors. Sergeant Garza, Officer Morales and Officer Ramirez put their lives on the line when they walked into the store with the armed suspect. Sergeant Garza displayed active leadership and poise while giving commands while the suspect had a gun in his hand and Officers’ Morales and Ramirez showed their extraordinary experience and valor by communicating to each other in real time their tactical positions. Lieutenant Wilborn was there on the front lines assisting with scene management. Eastside evening shift Officers’ Soto, Centeno, Hernandez, and Pellerin assisted with outside perimeter while certain individuals in the crowd were yelling epithets at the survivor. Night shift officers assisted in taking the complainant back to the original scene while there were several suspicious vehicles circling the target area and there was a real sign of an active threat. Night shift officers like Officer Brink who stayed with the complainant until she was able to be reunited with her grandmother until 4 am in the morning. Other nightshift officers like Kichamu, Martinez and Judge Jones assisted with scene management. Commander Coleman made the Canal Street scene and managed the media. This incident like many other incidents shows Eastside patrol station is a family that is here for its officers and its community and citizens.”
Officer Rogers recently reunited with the woman, and she indicated that if not for Officer Rogers she thinks that this could have been a domestic violence murder-suicide. When the woman stated to Officer Rogers that he is her big hero, Officer Rogers stated that she is the hero, she is the person that escaped the situation. Officer Rogers and all the officers who made this scene should be commended for their professionalism, teamwork, and safety techniques.
Responding to domestic violence calls for service is one of the most volatile and dangerous situations for police officers. They lead to about 14 percent of officer deaths every year according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Domestic violence constitutes anywhere from 15 to 50 percent of total calls received by police, according to the National Institute of Justice. Officers are also hurt in domestic violence responses. FBI data show of all officers who were assaulted in 2021, nearly 29 percent were responding to disturbance calls.
Everyone involved in the domestic violence intervention is a hero. The intervention is a partnership among law enforcement, victim advocates, community members and social service providers though which police and prosecutors clearly communicate to abusers that intimate partner violence is violence, and violence won’t be tolerated in our community. Helping survivors and their families and the relentless pursuit to end domestic violence is our community mission.
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About the Author
Kira Webster, Lieutenant at the Houston Police Department
Major Assault & Family Violence Division
