When a recruiting sergeant destroyed his dream of flying helicopters for the Army (they had no plans to enlist candidates for the Warrant Officer Program in 1979) he turned his attention to law enforcement. Upon completing several college courses in criminal justice, John was hired by the Houston Police Department in October of 1981. John spent seven successful years with “HPD” participating on executive committees in “Neighborhood Oriented Policing” and earning numerous commendations for his work in patrol, detention and vice assignments.
Having been a regular visitor to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, John decided to bring his police career north to the Arlington Police Department in 1988. Additional success was achieved with participation in “Community Based Policing” committees as well as representing his fellow officers on the APD “policy review board.”
Reluctantly, John left APD and Texas in 1992 (regarded as the worst decision he ever made) and continued his law enforcement career with a large department for an additional 21 years. After holding positions in patrol, vice and narcotics units, John was promoted to detective in 1995 where he was a member of multiple units including homicide, robbery and financial crimes. During this period, John was elected President of his police officer’s association, completed supervision school, negotiated labor contracts and represented his officers in all facets of their careers. He earned a master’s degree in management in 2011 and retired in 2012 with a total of 31 years “on the job.”
Not pausing to rest, John became a criminal investigator for a prominent insurance company and quickly returned to Texas. After five years in corporate America, disenchantment with the “private sector” led John back to service as a licensed Texas Peace Officer with the University of Texas at Arlington police department. Joining the UTA police as a senior detective, John has joined his fellow detectives in a litany of investigations leading him to establish relationships with most of the federal law enforcement agencies as well as many within the state of Texas. John is a member of the UTA police awards committee and participated in the 2018 UTA PD Strategic Planning Session. John holds a master peace officer certificate and is a certified TCOLE instructor.
Outside of his UTA police career, John is a former sports editor and published author having his first novel, “Gunslingers, A Story of the Old West” debut in August of 2019. The second book in the series will be released early in 2020. John, who’s married with one daughter, is also an avid sports fan of the Rangers, Cowboys and Mavericks and a Dallas Stars season ticket holder.
