Breck Porter / The Police News

July 19, 2009

GALVESTON -  Nearly 100 members of police and sheriff's police academy alumni associations from throughout southeast Texas and the Gulf Coast area gathered in Galveston Saturday for the Region One meeting of the Texas Citizen's Police Academy Alumni Association.

Jointly hosted by the Galveston Police and Galveston County Sheriff's alumni associations, the event was staged at the McGuire-Dent Recreation Center and featured guest speaker, United States Deputy Marshal Alfredo Perez of the Southern District of Texas Marshal's Office in Houston.

Attendee's were given a display of police equipment used by the Galveston Police Department's SWAT Teams, Marine & Dive Teams.  The Marine & Dive Teams were called away during the event in response to a man who jumped from the Galveston Causeway into Galveston Bay.

Sheriff Freddie Poor introduced some of his top commanders and displayed the recently introduced new uniform for Sheriff's deputies.

Perez gave a slide presentation covering the many and varied duties of U.S. Marshal's.  Many were astonished to learn of the vast duties and jurisdiction of the Marshal's Service, the enforcement arm of the federal government,

Perez served as Southern District Task Force Commander for the recently completed Operation Falcon, a nationwide sweep which resulted in the arrested of over 30,000 wanted fugitives nationwide.  Dozens of those arrests were made in the Houston-Galveston area involving local and area law enforcement agencies.  Many of these arrests were reported on this website and in The Police News print edition.

(L-R) Galveston County Sheriff Freddie Poor and Galveston Police Chief Charles Wiley wait to be introduced by Tammy Harper, Galveston County Citizen's Sheriff's Academy President and Cindi Rose, Galveston Police Department Citizen's Police Academy President.

U.S. Deputy Marshal Alfredo Perez, prepares to give PowerPoint presentation for Citizen's Police Academy members gathered in Galveston for their Region One meeting.

Galveston Police Sgt. John Courtney, Commander of the Special Operations Unit which participated in Operation Falcon with the U.S. Marshal's Service.

It was a full house at the McGuire-Dent Center Saturday for the Region One meeting of the Texas Citizen's Police Academy Alumni Association.

Deputy Marshal Alfred Perez with former Galveston Police CPAAA President Amelia Collins, program chairperson for Saturday's Region One meeting.

Police News Photos