Harris County Sheriff's Office Welcomes 60 New Deputies
On January 18, 2024, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and the Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) welcomed 60 new deputies to the Sheriff’s Office family. The graduation ceremony – and each cadet’s pledge to HCSO’s sacred oath of office – culminated in resilience, teamwork, and a passion to serve others.
The HCSO academy training lays the foundation for a deputy’s law enforcement career. It equips them with the knowledge, tools, skills, and mindset to carry out our mission and core values.
During their journey, cadets engaged in 1,211 hours of curriculum over 42 weeks, ranging from classroom instruction and firearms training to simulations, emergency vehicle operations, and patrol training. The training topics included critical crisis intervention, de-escalation techniques, tactical communications, and the Texas Penal Code.
Cadets shared personal stories about what led them to the academy – and what motivated them to keep going.
Valedictorian Deputy Adan Del Fierro feels the Class of B1-2023 is a big family. They worked, laughed, sweat, and even cried together. "This has been the best experience of my life so far with sound, ethical, and determined people," said Valedictorian Deputy Del Fierro. "We need to build trust between our community one person at a time, and I will make every interaction count."
Some have dreamed of becoming a police officer since they were a kid, while some followed the footsteps of a family member who wore the same uniform. Some served in the military and saw this as the next chapter in their service to our community, and others may have view it as an opportunity to help others.
The B1-2023 Basic Peace Officer Course (BPOC) is a diverse class, 31% of whom are women, hailing from all over Texas, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Vietnam, and Turkey.
The class motto is “Here I Am, Send Me,” reflecting a readiness and willingness to serve and respond to a call of duty.
"This was not an easy course, academically, for these cadets. We lost cadets due to academic failure, so those who have earned their badge earned it," said HCSO Academy Deputy/Instructor Jessica L. Leggett. "Cadets put time outside of class in study sessions, whether with other cadets outside of the academy or staying at the academy until 7:00 p.m., some nights studying with a counselor."
Cadets are put through countless scenarios during their training in the BPOC. These scenarios range from a virtual reality training simulator to force-on-force training, where simulation weapons are used during training. They successfully navigated multiple scenarios including Active Shooter, Officer Down, Mental Health, Family Violence, Building Entry, Use of Force, and many others.
"B1-2023 achieved a 98% first-time pass rate on their TCOLE licensing exam, which means 59 out of 60 cadets passed their 250-question state exam on the first try. This is a huge accomplishment, especially for a class of this size," said Instructor Leggett.
The class also completed two 5-mile fun runs, a challenging distance that the rigorous physical training made possible.
"The most memorable moment I had in this academy would be the five-mile obstacle course run with the command staff. We were paired up in groups of two. Deputy Martinez and I were able to finish second place," said Deputy Del Fierro. "Once we finished, we caught up to the person at the end of the run, and we encouraged him to keep running. Deputy Martinez and I ended up running the course twice. I had never run or pushed myself to run so much in my life. This run showed me that I can achieve more than I ever thought I could."
At the podium on Thursday, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez challenged the new deputies to handle each call and assignment with pride, imploring the deputies to always have a servant leader’s heart, even on their most difficult days.
“We would like to acknowledge all the HCSO Academy Instructors, especially Sgt. Jose Lopez for leading the class. His leadership skills were the driving force behind the success of the cadets in this class. He motivated, inspired, and kept them engaged at all times. We owe the success of this class largely to him,” said Gonzalez.
Source: HCSO
