Governor Abbott Addresses Texas Police Chiefs Association’s Annual Conference
Governor Greg Abbott visited Galveston today to address the Texas Police Chiefs Association’s Annual Conference. Governor Abbott was introduced by his hometown police chief, Retired Chief of Police Michael Courville of the Duncanville Police Department.
“As governor, I share your mission to keep Texas secure. Working together, we can keep Texas a safer place,” Governor Abbott said. “On behalf of the people of Texas, thank you for your service.”
Excerpts From Gov. Abbott’s Texas Police Chiefs Association’s Annual Conference Remarks:
**Gov. Abbott often deviates from prepared remarks.
I want to express my deep appreciation to all of you for the sacrifices you and your families make every day to keep Texans safe.
Since I was with you last, a few things have changed. I’m enjoying being your Governor. I get to do bold things – fun things, like welcome Pancake Abbott, the new first puppy of Texas, and profound things, like declaring February 2nd Chris Kyle Day.
One thing that has not changed from my days as Attorney General is my commitment to working with you to keep Texas safe. As Attorney General, I made protecting Texans my top priority. The law enforcement division in the Attorney General’s office began to fight crimes in new ways. We launched the cyber-crimes unit to track down child predators. We created the fugitive unit to arrest thousands of sex offenders. Our 160 commissioned peace officers proudly stood shoulder to shoulder with Police Departments and law enforcement agencies across the state. As governor, my foremost responsibility remains public safety. I will continue to work by your side to ensure we keep our fellow Texans safe.
In addition to the usual duties you’ve been performing, we’re adding to your plate—the extraordinary responsibility to help the state respond to threats posed by a porous border. That includes crime caused by drug cartels and international gangs.
Last Friday, I went on another tour of the border, where I was given an update on Operation Strong Safety. The most significant public safety and homeland security vulnerability in Texas is an unsecured border with Mexico. It has enabled the Cartels to become multi-billion dollar international crime syndicates that dominate the U.S. drug and human smuggling markets. They employ terrorist tactics and corruption to expand their criminal enterprise activities and they work closely with Texas-based gangs to further their criminal operations throughout the state.
As governor, I will not allow our porous border to go undefended. I will not allow our fellow Texans to be preyed on by cartels and human traffickers. I will secure our border. I declared it an emergency item in my State of the State address and the House and Senate have responded. But critical to our efforts is the role of local law enforcement. State and federal law enforcement cannot do their jobs without you on the front lines. And I see the state’s job as supporting you and your communities. My border bill includes more funding for local law enforcement.
We must do more to crack down on gang activity and prevent organized crime from taking root across Texas. I added the North Texas Anti-Gang Center, which will combat organized gang activity in an 11-county region around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, replicating success in Houston. We’re also working to establish the South Texas Anti-Gang Center in Weslaco.
While giving you added tools and responsibilities, we’ll never lose sight of the risks you face every day. We saw this last month when 3 SWAT officers were shot in Corpus Christi while serving a warrant. Thankfully, they are all out of the hospital now and the suspect is awaiting trial for three counts of attempted capital murder. This serves as a reminder of the priority that must be placed on officer safety.
It’s also a reminder that the men and women who protect and serve and the families who stand by their sides deserve our deepest respect. Like so many Texans, I am grateful for your dedication and commitment as peace officers.
Your sacrifices have not gone unnoticed. Here is a letter from a young girl from Tyler I was privileged to meet. I’d like to read you what she wrote:
Hi! My name is Savannah Solis and I am 10 years old. I am honored to speak for my generation. I want to be a voice for all kids to let the world know that we love and respect our police officers. They have daughters like me who wait for their fathers and mothers to come home every night. Because of this, I have a goal. My goal is to tell as many police officers as I can that I love them and that I am thankful for all that they do for us. To my heroes – that is you – I want to say – don’t stop. Please don’t give up. Many are standing with me today to let you know that what you do matters. Officers across Texas- she says – you matter to me.
Savannah speaks for millions of Texans: What you do matters. We will keep you in our prayers and we will have your back just like you’ve had ours.
As governor, I share your mission to keep Texas secure. Working together, we can keep Texas a safer place. On behalf of the people of Texas, thank you for your service. May God bless you and your families and may God forever bless the great State of Texas.