Page 10 - TPA Journal November December2021

in their lifestyle. The trainer’s goals were to make their help available easily and readily to all
oifficers, and build that lifestyle change one day at a time to promote a lifetime of health and
happiness. This resulted in that trainer being extremely busy and well utilized - a great tool to
leverage with city management in the request for more officers added to the department.

Most of all, the Chief held steadfast to his commitment to these programs. They were not given
a back seat to the hot topic of the day, nor were they shuffled aside for another project. They
were made a priority from the top of the organization to the bottom, and that greatly resonated
with the officers.

In closing, I asked the Chief: “What final words of advice would you like to convey to other
law enforcement command staff?”

• Don’t be afraid to move the mountain. We need to be training the officers of tomorrow,
encouraging them to innovate, and inspiring them to excel and always strive to be the
best. Our tactics and mindset are great for today, but we always need to be looking to
evolve for the needs of tomorrow. This needs to be instilled in new officers’ DNA.

• We chose this profession and to be in these big chairs. We must make choices for the
right reasons. We must always leave our agencies better than when we found it.

• Connect with your people and be involved in their lives. Use your position to do things
for your people as a servant leader. Your officers are your single most important resource.

• Don’t be afraid to fail. It is always better to try and fail than it is to do nothing.

• Training is the way. Provide as many opportunities as you can for your officers to train
in everything they can. .

I would like to thank Chief Sauceda for taking the time to meet with me and for the
programs his agency has put in place to support their people. I want to thank the
Officers of Brownsville PD for their dedicated service and steadfast commitment to
TTPOA. I hope we in the SWAT community can continue to build leaders that go on
in their careers to embrace training and evolution and make all of us better officers to
weather the years ahead. We owe it to the ones who came before, the ones beside us
every day, and the ones who have yet to raise their right hand to set a culture of
excellence and expectation of proficiency. This is what it looks like when it’s done
right.

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