WSPD

Congratulations to Pastor Donovan Burkett of First Church International in White Settlement for receiving an Award of Appreciation from Mayor Faron Young and Chief Christopher Cook. Donovan was one of two faith leaders that received this year's recognition as a part of the department's Pastor's Coalition. Pastor Burkett's church was instrumental in ensuring children and families had a great Christmas last December. CONGRATS AND WELL DESERVED!

Officers with @WSPDTX responded to an "accidental" shooting on Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 4:41 p.m. in the 8200 block of West Freeway at an indoor gun range. Officers quickly arrived and began administering first aid to control the bleeding prior to the Fire Department and EMS arriving. The investigation revealed that three adults arrived at the location to conduct a shooting session. At the conclusion of the session, one adult removed a magazine from the firearm. As this adult was holding the gun, their hand was covering the muzzle of the weapon. Unfortunately, this same adult depressed the trigger while holding the muzzle and suffered a serious hand injury, which ultimately required transportation via ambulance to a local hospital for treatment. The injuries are not life-threatening and the person will survive. No foul play is suspected and the firearms were legal to possess so there will not be any criminal charges.

Shout out to @WESTCOMMTX Dispatcher Debbie Stephens for successfully completing an active shooter class for public safety telecommunicators. Our teams (@WSPDTX Police, Dispatch, and Fire) are committed to the best training, tactics, and responses should we ever be called upon to immediately act.

A missing person's report (adult) from the @PlanoPoliceDept was cleared by @WSPDTX Sgt. Frank Blaustein's shift on Saturday, March 21, 2026. The @WESTCOMMTX Dispatch Center notified patrol officers of a @Flock_Safety license plate reader alert at the S. Cherry Lane and I.H. 30 Service Road indicating a possible missing elderly person. Officers Jonathan Loser and Sam Brown quickly responded and located the vehicle in West Fort Worth. After making contact with the driver, this missing person's report was able to be cleared and there were no issues at all. The person was in excellent health and was no longer missing. Dispatcher Debbie Stephens was on the console during this call for service. Great job by Sgt. Blaustein's shift!

Grateful to attend the Easter Egg Hunt for kids and teens with special needs. Special thanks Grahams Place for hosting a great event this morning! I joined Mayor Faron Young, City Manager Jeffrey James, Councilwoman Kandace Espinosa, Councilman Alan Price, and Community Services Director Rich Tharp along with @WSPDTX Lt. James Stewart and @WESTCOMMTX Dispatcher Adrianne Stewart to welcome families from all across our community. Fantastic event with lots of smiles!

As a reminder, the Special Olympics Texas Law Enforcement Torch Run is kicking off in White Settlement again on Friday, March 27, 2026. We are the first stop across the State of Texas so this is super exciting for our community! Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the Opening Ceremony at 8:45 a.m. The walk/run will start at 9:00 a.m. This year, the W.S.I.S.D. JETS Special Olympics Team will be joining our @WSPDTX police officers and @WESTCOMMTX dispatchers! You can join this effort as a spectator (free) or as an entrant with a $40 fee for adults and $25 fee for youth. We will also have special guests with Mayor Faron Young and the City Council, City Manager Jeffrey J. James, and myself. Come out to support Special Olympics next Friday! To register for the WSPD team, go to this link: pro.gofundme.com/team/787963

Here is our @WSPD monthly report from February 2026. With 303 traffic stops and 47 arrests, the department made good strides on recovering stolen cars and making felony arrests. The department also made an arrest of an attempted burglary of a motor vehicle suspect who was pulling on door handles at an apartment complex in the 1700 block of S. Las Vegas Trail, which we will share the details soon. All around, outstanding work by our public safety team. Have a great week!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy St. Patrick's Day! Celebrate responsibly and don’t press your luck!

Thank you again to VFW 5617 for the kind donation of $2,600 to support the Special Olympics JETS, part of the WSISD Special Programs. The JETS have had an amazing semester across a wide range of activities and sports. The @WSPDTX is a proud supporter of this important program.

2025 Annual Report available now: #page/1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">heyzine.com/flip-book/8edb… Check out the great accomplishments that our public safety team achieved in 2025. Have a great weekend!

Lt. James Stewart represented our team at a hiring event today where 42 law enforcement agencies were recruiting. Our Civil Service testing opened February 16, 2026 and closes at 5 p.m. on March 18, 2026. Apply below by clicking the link: wstx.us/1466/Recruitin…

The COPS Office announced the winners of the 2026 Uplifting the Image: Highlighting Heroes Photo Contest! Learn more about the contest and check out the winning images here: cops.usdoj.gov/photocontest

On this International Women’s Day, our public safety team honors and salutes the women who serve, lead, and inspire – on our law enforcement team, our police dispatch team, and our animal services team. Currently, women only account for 28% of law enforcement positions nationally – however, in our agency, women represent 47% of our total workforce – something we are thankful for as they serve in a variety of capacities and roles to keep our community safe. We are grateful for the service, dedication, and commitment that our women teammates provide to our community and profession. Whether they’re on the front line in our @WSPDTX Patrol Division, serve behind the scenes performing vital administrative tasks in our Police Administration Division, work as a detective in our Investigations Division, serve as an expert communicator on our Strategic Comms Team, manage an event or program in our Community Services Division, or provide that lifeline in our @WESTCOMMTX Dispatch Center between our community and emergency first responders, we are proud to work alongside such a dedicated workforce.

Here's your @WSPDTX Weekend Rewind as sunny skies return to our community on Sunday. Over the past few weeks, lots of great work being accomplished by the team. * Officer Jonathan Loser conducted some safety and security training at a local school * Overall crime fell to a historic low of 31.7% since 2021 * Several impaired driver and DWI arrests * Mayor Young highlighted a recent article by Chief Cook that was published in the Fort Worth Report on living and working in his hometown * The Thunderbirds made a pit stop to refuel * WSPD leadership team had lunch with our recruits currently in the police academy * A fifth stolen car was recovered in the past three weeks from a license plate reader technology * @WESTCOMMTX Dispatcher Adrianne Stewart represented the team in Dallas at a super plunge fundraise for Special Olympics Texas * Chief Cook represented the team at Brewer High School for the JETS basketball tournament * Sgt. Brandon Tibbit graduated from the prestigious Institute for Law Enforcement Administration’s School of Police Supervision * Officers responded to an apartment fire to assist with evacuations * Officer Wesley Gregory did a media story with KXAS NBC 5 on our StarChase pursuit intervention technology * Corporal Will Poarch also did a news story with CBS11 DFW on our StarChase pursuit intervention technology  * A local coffee company donated some goodies to employees  * Our Honor Guard completed training and assisted with a recent celebration of life service * THE DEPARTMENT WAS NOTIFIED THAT WE WERE ONE OF TWELVE AGENCIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT WON THE NATIONAL PHOTO CONTEST FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE'S TRUST BUILDING PROJECT. Have a great weekend!

Your hometown @WSPDTX police department represented at the @wsisdschools JETS Special Olympics Basketball Tournament this week. The JETS competed against Brewer High School Boys Basketball players and WSISD administrators and staff during the match. VFW 5617 leadership was also on hand to cheer on the athletes (they also recently donated $2,600 to the JETS). Congratulations to all the athletes who had an amazing sports season and for winning the tournament! Supporting our community matters!

Another one in the win column for our @WSPDTX public safety team! A @Flock_Safety license plate reader alerted Sgt. Frank Blaustein's shift that an occupied stolen car that was entered from @GrandPrairiePD was in the vicinity of S. Las Vegas Trail and the I.H. 30 service road around 12:49 p.m. on Saturday, March 7th. Officers saturated the area and located the stolen car in the 2800 block of S. Las Vegas Trail at an apartment complex as it was getting ready to leave. Officers initiated a felony traffic stop on the car and detained two occupants. The driver (a teen juvenile) was arrested for felony Unauthorized Use of Motor Vehicle. The victim was able to get their car back, undamaged, once notified by officers. Great job by Officers Jonathan Loser, Sam Brown, Corporal Will Poarch, and @WESTCOMMTX Dispatchers Debbie Stephens and Terry Nunley.

On Tuesday during the regular City Council meeting, I presented our @WSPDTX department's 2025 Annual Report which showcased the achievements and hard work completed by our public safety team. Since 2021, overall crime has continued to decline by a whopping 31.7% across town (364 total offenses recorded in 2025 as compared to 533 in 2021). Overall crime was down 11% as compared to 2024, with an additional 9 offenses on the violent crime categories and a reduction of 57 offenses on the property crime categories. You can check out the full report here: heyzine.com/flip-book/8edb… We are grateful for the continued engagement and partnership with our community to continue the diligent work in enhancing public safety across the city. Thank you WS!

Congratulations are in order for @WSPDTX Detective Geovanny Ramirez and Officer Jonathan Loser. Geovanny was awarded his Advanced Peace Officer License from the @TCOLE Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Jonathan was awarded his Intermediate Peace Officer Licenses from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Both of these achievements require time in grade, required courses, and education. GREAT JOB!!!

Here's a little check-in with a couple of our @WSPDTX recruits that are attending the Regional Police Academy in Arlington. Chief Cook and a few members of the executive leadership team met with recruit Ethan Jones and Lillian Perkins for lunch today... of course, we had to go to Dino's Subs!!! After two months in the academy, they continue to do great. Looking forward to their graduation in a few months where they can start field training before being "cut loose" on their own. Our third recruit, Stuart Totz, is also doing well and was unable to meet for lunch today due to being assigned to an emergency driving school at the academy this week. Stuart's academy class is a little further along due to starting earlier and his graduation date is quickly approaching in May. Keep up the great work!

Great work that our @WSPDTX team wanted to share on identifying, locating, and arresting a suspect that began slashing tires early this morning around 2:30 a.m. near Ingram Street and Clifford Street. He continued his crime spree at 9 a.m. by slashing a city Public Works Department truck's tires. In total, at least half a dozen vehicles had their tires flattened by this suspect. Less than 14 hours after his initial offense, the team found the suspect identified as Steven Rivera in the 800 block of N. Las Vegas Trail wearing the same shirt that he wore during the commission of these criminal mischief crimes. Sgt. Frank Blaustein along with his shift took him into custody. He has also been charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance after illicit drugs were located on his person and remains in the WSPD temporary holding facility before being transferred to the Tarrant County Jail. Special thanks to all the community members and businesses who provided video footage of these crime incidents that assisted officers and detectives with quickly getting this bad guy identified and into custody! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!