Up close and personal with the candidates for new Texas police chief
City Hall has announced four applicants that are in the running for police chief of the Abilene Police Department. Here is an in-depth look at one of the first applicants, Albert Garcia.
Albert Garcia, a West Texas native, has served as a police officer for almost 31 years. Hoping to make his parents proud, he began his police career just after college in Levelland.
Since his first posting, Garcia has served three cities as the chief of police. He first served the small city of Idalou as chief of police in 2003. As he began that position, however, the two other officers in that department resigned. Garcia was forced to serve the city of Idalou solo, until he was able to grow their police department by five members.
From there, Garcia went on to serve as police chief in Littlefield and subsequently Levelland since 2017. When asked what his most valuable experience has been, he sadly recalled a critical incident in July 2021 when an active sniper shot and killed one deputy in addition to one other officer on the force.
What Chief Garcia said he learned from this incredibly tough event was the value of teamwork. He was able to manage the situation as over 200 agents responded to the call from Levelland in their time of need. From state to federal to the local sheriff’s office, Garcia led the team in order to bring the alleged sniper to justice. The accused is currently awaiting trial, which is projected to occur in September 2024.
That fateful event taught Garcia that “teamwork is where we are all successful.”
As a result of that incident, Garcia received the Medal of Valor from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and the Medal of Honor from his own police department. He is proud of those medals but wishes he would have never had to receive them at all.
In addition to serving as the Levelland Chief of Police, Garcia was elected as the President of the Texas Police Chiefs Association (TPCA) in April of this year. He now governs the more than 1,400 members in the organization. Garcia has testified at both the Texas and U.S. Capitols in order to represent police chiefs and guide new police legislation.
Garcia also holds a Master Peace Officer Certification, which is the highest level of certification a police officer can achieve.
One of his biggest achievements, however, is the establishment of the nonprofit Blue & You LPD (Levelland Police Department). Garcia was instrumental in the establishment of this nonprofit police organization.
Blue & You hosts fundraisers such as tournaments or color runs in order to raise money for their local community. The highlight every year is when they sponsor children at Christmastime.
Each year, Levelland officers pick up underprivileged children, while donning their blue Santa hats and running their police lights. The officers then drive the children to breakfast at McDonalds, and then on to Walmart. Once there, each child spends $125 on Christmas gifts they would otherwise not have had.
Members of the community are on hand to cheer the police cruisers and the children as they head in to shop. Garcia notes that he is extremely proud to have community support in this yearly endeavor, without affecting the police department's budget.
Chief Garcia hopes, if chosen, he can bring about stability to the Abilene Police Department. He is “a servant leader” and wants to focus on teamwork, as he is a “staunch supporter of the police department being a part of the community.” Garcia wants to work hand in hand with our community to reduce the crime rate and make the city a safer place for every member of it.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: An in-depth look at potential police chief candidate from West Texas
