Minutes - October 17th Luncheon

Minutes - October 17^th Luncheon.

Committee Reports:

Certification Committee - Finished their CPP preparati= on classes and had an all day review class - several people have taken the exam and all passed. A PSP course = is in the planning.

Law Enforcement & Public Safety Liason Committee -= The Law Enforcement/Public Safety Officer of the Month was Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Javier Urena. An armed suspect approached Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Jav= ier Urena from behind and fired an execution style shot at his head just barely missing. Deputy Urena’s quick thinking and immediate response resulte= d in a fierce exchange of gun fire and ultimately saved his own life.

On Saturday morning, July 21, 2007, Deputy Urena was off-duty at home in his apartment complex at 3777 S. Gessner. He had stepped outside to get an item from his patrol= car when he heard the sound of glass breakage and saw a suspect run from a burglarized vehicle. The suspect jumped into another vehicle and sped out of sight. Deputy Urena then heard a loud crash and the sound of a woman scream= ing. He immediately retrieved his duty weapon and drove the patrol car toward the front exit gate believing he could get a description of the suspect’s vehicle before escape.

In the hurried effort to get away, the suspect had wre= cked his vehicle and was stalled inside the apartment complex. When Deputy Urena drove upon the wreck he found the suspect and attempted to make an arrest. = The suspect resisted and a struggle began. Two civilian witnesses came to his a= id and held the suspect on the ground. Deputy Urena then turned to unlock his trunk to get handcuffs when he heard someone yell “Look out, he has a gun.” A second suspect had appeared and approached Deputy Urena from behind with a gun drawn.

After hearing the civilian yell, Deputy Urena’s immediate response was to lean to his right at which time he heard a loud g= un shot and felt severe pain in his left ear. Realizing he was in a fight for = his life, he turned toward the suspect and swung the handcuffs striking the sus= pect on the left side of the face as the suspect fired a second shot. Deputy Ure= na was then able to pull his duty weapon and fire two quick shots while the suspect repositioned and pointed his gun at Deputy Urena’s head. Depu= ty Urena’s reaction was to fall backwards toward the ground as the suspe= ct fired a third shot. Deputy Urena returned fire as the suspect fled away.

Deputy Urena’s fall had caused him to strike the= back of his head against the concrete. He was bleeding and in pain and felt as i= f he had been shot. He was unable to give chase and both suspects managed to esc= ape. All in all Deputy Urena suffered powder burns and stippling to the left sid= e of his face and upper body. His left ear drum was torn, his head was cut, and = his lower back was in pain, but otherwise he was unharmed.

Both suspects were later captured as a result of follo= w up investigation efforts. The suspect who had fired the shots was found to have been shot twice by Deputy Urena, once in his right leg and once in his abdo= men. He was charged with Attempt to Commit Capital Murder-Police Officer. The original suspect who Deputy Urena pursued was charged with Burglary of Motor Vehicle, Evading Arrest, and Escape.

Annual Chapter Educational Seminar Committee - a two d= ay seminar is ready for presentation on October 31st and November 1st at the AIG Campu= s.

The Speaker, Tom Brown, Regional Manager of HID, prese= nted a program on the new technologies of access control cards and their readers, = the interoperatability of various card systems and versions, and future trends.=