Allen Police: Behind the Badge

From Military Service to School Resource Officer: Anthony Garcia

• Allen Police Department • Season 1 • Episode 9

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Ever wonder what happens when a small-town Oklahoma boy becomes one of the most recognized faces in a Texas police department? Officer Anthony Garcia takes us on an unforgettable journey through his 17 years with Allen PD, from his military service in Bosnia and Iraq to becoming the School Resource Officer that seemingly every teenager in Allen knows by name.

Introduction to Officer Anthony Garcia

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Welcome back to another episode of Allen Police. Behind the Badge, we're your hosts, officer Sam Ripamani and Alexis Birmingham.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

And today our special guest is Officer Anthony Garcia. Thank you for joining us today.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

You're welcome, hey Anthony. So before we get into what you do for the department, we want to start off. You've been here what 16 years now.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

September will be 17. 17 years been here.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

what 16 years? Now, September will be 17. 17 years, oh man, time flies. So, in that 17 years, can you give us a good story, something that you've encountered while working here?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

There was one night my first few years I worked deep nights. And there was one night I was assigned up in the northeast part of town and we kept getting 911 hangups at this one residence. It was at the time Officer Collier and I. We responded, guy wouldn't answer the door, said he was okay, but I mean, he had been calling 911 like multiple times during the day, and so we decided to investigate a little bit further and, um, eventually we made it into the house through the garage and, uh, we detained the guy.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Um, and at that time officer Collier decided to do a protective sweep of the house and he came back down and was like hey, we got to get out of here now. And in my head I'm thinking this guy's already killed someone. And so we get him out of the house, get him in the back of my car and he's trying to speak to me the entire time and he's speaking like gibberish and so I'm not understanding him. So, long story short, we get, get him arrested. He, he had a grow house, um, growing marijuana all throughout the house.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

I didn't know that at the time and, uh, it goes to court and after it's all said and done, um, both parties are about to rest the case. The guy's like I want to, I want to testify. So he gets up on the stands and he goes. Well, because in my report I put I was having a hard time understanding what he was saying, and so he goes. Well, you know, your honor, hispanic officers have a hard time understanding English, and so this is why Officer Garcia was not able to understand me that night. And in my head I'm trying not to laugh out loud in court, but in my head I'm thinking dude, I've already gone up and testified.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

The judge has heard me speak, I'm pretty sure he knows that I can speak and understand English fairly well.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Wow, so do you speak Spanish? No yeah that's a, that's he tried, I mean he tried A for effort, I guess right. Wow, so never figured out why he was calling 911 or anything.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Well, I think he partook in all the things that he was growing and started hallucinating. One of the reasons why we got into the house is because Officer Carrier went around to the garage area and I was like around the kitchen area of the house and I could see a silhouette of him and he was yelling still and he said something about I'm going to cut your fingers off and I didn't know if he was talking to me or if he was talking to somebody else on the side of the house. So that gave us our exigency to get into the house.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Wow, you just never know what a 911 hang-up call is going to turn into. So where are you from?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Originally from.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Oklahoma. What part of Oklahoma are?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

you from the south central part Grew up not too far from. In the country Grew up not too far from Lake Texoma so spent many, many weekends out on the lake, lots of camping. I graduated high school from Medill High School in Medill, Oklahoma.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

How many were in your graduating class?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Graduating class was around 65. So very, very small. Everybody knew everybody. Kind of like Allen High School, right oh yeah, I know, I tell my kids all the time I'm like there's no way I could have survived in Allen High School.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

No, it's like it's a college. That's what it feels like.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Oh yeah, so many so many people.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

So, Medill, what brought you to Texas?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

So after I graduated high school, I decided to join the US Army, went off to basic training, got stationed at Fort Hood. From there I went to Bosnia for about I think it's somewhere between six to eight months, went back to Fort Hood and then got reassigned to Fort Knox, kentucky, as a permanent duty station. During that time I got married September or July 4th of 2001. And, if you know, not too long after that, september 11th happened and I told my wife I'm like, hey, we're not going to be here much longer. And so the army sent me back to Fort Hood and in March of 2004, I left to go to Iraq and came back the beginning of April of 2005. Wow, so after that I became a recruiter.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Because they thought I spoke Spanish, they sent me to the heavily Hispanic area of Dallas to recruit. And I country boy, I'm not living in Dallas, and I'm a country boy, I'm not living in Dallas. So we found Allen because it was small, and my wife fell in love with it. She got a job teaching in the school district and we decided to make Allen our home. So when it was time for my contract to expire and get out, I was looking for a job. And here you are, yeah.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

And you've been with Allen since. You say was it eight 2008? Yeah, so just to, I started in 07. You were right after me. I remember y'all were a big group that kind of hired in at the same time.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

I think there was eight or nine of us yeah, I remember them a lot of y'all are still here too, so that's awesome yeah, there's, I think there's three of us still, three or four of us still here, not as many as I thought, but yeah, uh, yeah. So that is another story. Like went to when I first applied there's, they're only going to hire two and I'm thinking all right, my odds are pretty good.

Military Service and Coming to Allen

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

I'm good old country boy. I've never done really anything wrong. I'm pretty fit. Um so show up to the testing and there's like 400 people there. I'm like, oh my goodness, I don't know if I'm going to make this. I know that feeling, but God has a plan and I made it. That's awesome.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Same kind of situation for me when I test it in 07. I show up out there to the track and I think there's probably a little over 300 people that day and I think they're hiring four spots. And I'm looking around and some of these guys I'm like this guy could play in the NFL.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

Like this guy.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

look at these athletes, you know we get out on the track and I was not in the best running shape at the time. I was okay because I was young. But there's guys out there running. You know nine and a half minute mile and a half, I'm like.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

I have no chance.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

But, like you said, you got to go through the whole process.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, all the physical stuff. Officer Longton, it was either him or I coming in first and second and I'm like man you got to get out of here man.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

I'm trying to win all these. Oh sorry, Go ahead.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

You've always been kind of a runner, though, right, yes, I'm good at it. I hate it, though. Like I could go out and run right now and run a fairly good mile time.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Yeah, like our PT test we do. You just keep going.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

How's he getting all these reps? I don't do cardio on my own at all, yeah, so what do you do now for the department? Uh, currently I'm I work in as a school resource officer. I'm at the Lowry freshman center. Uh, when I first started, I started off at Erickson. I was at the middle school. Uh at Erickson for uh four years and then moved over to Curtis middle school. Um moved over there when my son was in eighth grade and uh, so I got to mess with him. Um was that at Curtis for five years and uh, I just finished my second year at the freshman center. So going on my third year there.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

So were you at the middle school with Peyton, your daughter. I was um.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

I was at the middle school with Peyton, your daughter.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

I was I was at the middle school with her. I bet she loved that.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

And then at the time, Sergeant Collier was the supervisor for the freshman center.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

He's like an uncle to her. Well, yeah.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Well, he asked me to move up to the freshman center. That's why I'm there now, and it just so happened to be her freshman year.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Oh my goodness.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

She can't get away from dad. She didn't mind it as much.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

My son was the one that didn't like it.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

He didn't like all the extra attention.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

He's kind of shy, oh yeah.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, yeah, I messed with him the first day of school, his eighth grade year.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

Did you? I told him.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

I told him. I was like hey, if you, if you ignore me in the hallway, I'm gonna make this bad for you. So first, first period bell rings and I see him in the hallway and he ignores me. So walk into the class and introduce myself as the uh new sro and it's like oh, by the way, anybody want to see baby pictures of caden?

Officer Sam Rippamonti

oh no his face got red, poor guy. But you know what he'll grow up? He'll do the same thing to his kids one day. Oh yeah, oh yeah. And he was a big wrestler in high school, right.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, he was Wrestled. He got into it. We always thought he would be good. My wife and I tried to convince him to do it when he was little and I think it was fourth grade when he finally decided to try it out. And he tried it with a bunch of friends, friends and they all convinced him to do it.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

That's what it takes and he was the only one that stuck with it and wrestled for Allen High School, which is one of the best wrestling high schools in the state of Texas. They just recently won their 15th team state title. Yeah, my son was part of the one of, I think it was after his senior year. The next year they they didn't win, they got second Uh, and then they got first last year. So they got re reclaimed the state title. Um, but uh, yeah, he wrestled uh four years on varsity and uh three times state placer. His uh sophomore year he got fifth. Uh junior year he got sixth, and senior year he got second at state that's impressive, is he still wrestling?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

now uh, he, he just picked it back up. Um, he wrestled last year for, uh, texas a&m. Um, they have a club team, yeah, and so he qualified. He picked it up like with three weeks left of the season and it was fun to watch him because he was still pretty dominant, but if it got out of the first or second period he was gassed.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

A little gassed.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

That's how I would be too, but he qualified for the national tournament and went two and two there, misplacing by two rounds Wow.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

So I have a last last year, my seventh grader. They like them to do another sport other than just football, so he's a lineman. It's my only child that's kind of more like a lineman. And uh, the offensive line coach is the wrestling coach. He's like peyton, I want you to come wrestle. We had no idea and he brought home the, what they call it, a singlet oh yeah oh, he's at that there's no way I'm doing this, yeah that was one reason why he didn't want to do it.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

I'm not wearing this in front of people because he's bigger, full.

School Resource Officer Experience

Officer Sam Rippamonti

I said come on, try the singlet, and I want to see it. So finally convinced him. I was like, oh, it's fine, you look just like the rest of them out there. But we showed up in our first tournament, never wrestled. We were a small school out in Gunner. You know we come to a wrestling tournament here in Allen. I'm like man, some of these kids are like seventh grade and they're just throwing boys around everywhere and I think he had four matches that day. He came out and he won the first one, I was like hey, maybe this is his sport.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Then he went 0 for 3 on the next three and he came out and he was like dad, I'm done with wrestling. This is terrible. First and only wrestling tournament.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

That was it. He's like I'm done.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Not doing this again.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, it's a one for him. It's a tough sport. He'll wrestle me now, and after about the first two minutes I give up because I don't have the stamina.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

You got to pin him quick or it's over oh no, he's stronger than me now.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Oh no, You've reached that point.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Oh yeah, that's me. You know my oldest. He's in college as well and I get into it back and forth and I'm like man, if he really wants to go at it, I'm gonna have to try to knock him out like right off the bat, because he's bigger, stronger and faster than me now well, I'll tell him if we're gonna fight for real, I'm gonna cheat, so I'll win.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

No fair fight right so you've been in schools for how many years? Uh going on my 13th year, but I feel like I can't go anywhere now and and have a, you know, a teenager come up to me and be like do you know, officer garcia, it happens a lot all, all the time every event we go to, there's always a young kid.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

They're like oh, officer garcia does he work with you guys? Yeah, I uh, I love what I do now. Um, I I didn't growing up in Oklahoma, I didn't realize the time and was never around, and so I kind of I kind of know how it feels to to be feeling like you're alone while you're in school, and so I would go, I go around and I I talked to every single kid and I I try to make them know that that I'm there for them, that I love them, I care for them and if they ever need anything.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

I'm here for them.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

We're not exaggerating, it's everywhere.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

Yeah, lots of love from everyone.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Yeah, and it's the parents too. They come up and they have nothing but positive things to say. So, whatever it is you're doing in the schools and you're definitely making a positive impact. So thank you, keep doing that. It takes a. It takes a special person. You know my wife's a teacher person. You know my wife's a teacher. Your wife's been in education for a long time.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Like I don't know how y'all do it, you have to be, you have to be built for that oh yeah, because, uh, there's a lot of energy going through those halls of those schools there's a lot of energy, lots, lots of smiles all day long and lots of talking. That goes all then. I don't like to talk a lot, but yeah, I feel like.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

I've seen you in some like dance-offs and stuff at pep rallies and things like that you know I'm not Barbie boxes and different pictures.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, you get with my friends that I hang out with a lot and they'll tell you I'm not a dancer, but I will try. I've seen you outside of work, I know.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

That's funny, so um what about my Texas, since you're talking about? Uh, okay.

Navigating Fatherhood as an SRO

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Um, yeah, so uh, in in 2023,. Uh, I had just gotten off work and was, uh, this was December 31st, so, uh, I had just gotten off work, was going to a friend of mine's house for a New Year's Eve party and my family were. They were already at the party, so I'm going to meet up with them, and my Texas by Josh Abbott band was playing on the radio, and so I'm like man, I'm going to do everything in this song in 2024.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

And so got there and ball drops and all that, and I tell my wife my plan and I I don't know if she thought that I was serious um, until the first event, and then, uh did, did everything in the song and uh, the last thing that I did was, uh, the last two things.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Uh had to go to el pasoo and see the sunset and then I drove down from El Paso down to Big Bend and hiked a couple of trails in Big Bend and that was the last two things. And, man, it was awesome. I kind of want to do it again.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

Did you do it all by yourself or did your family join you?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

There were several things that I did by myself, were several things that I've, uh did by myself. Um, the, the one that that I would say sucked the most was uh, and, and the actual event itself was awesome, but no one went with me. So I got up at four 30 in the morning, uh, on a Saturday morning, drove down to leaky lakey.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

however, you, say it Lakey Texas, Lakey, Texas.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

I know where he's going and floated the Frio River, floated the river for four hours, and so I don't know how long does it take to get down there. It's about a six and a half hour drive probably so, drove there six and a half hours, floated the river for four hours and drove back all in one day.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

I just got back from there a few weeks ago and, yeah, the Frio River is amazing, never gone and floated by myself, but I remember I started getting texts from Anthony asking questions about the Frio. I was like he's about to mark an item off his list.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, several of those events were very fun. I would say probably about 30% of the things I'd done by myself and, uh, most of the things my wife went with me.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Do you know how many items it was in that song? Ooh.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Uh. I think around 30 something, but it's spread out all over.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Texas. Oh yeah, so yeah, it definitely took some time to Took some time. So yeah, it definitely took some time to go through it. It took some time.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

And you know some of the events, like I had to go listen to Roger Kreger, had to go Pat Green.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

You just had to go do this stuff.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, had to go and you know, but so I mean those I had to go on a certain date. Yeah that's true, larry Joe Taylor Fest. The fireworks shows Fireworks show. So that thing was awesome, like if you have not seen the fireworks on Lake Possum Kingdom, you got to go. It's awesome.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Now I kind of want to do the song. I want to do all these items. So now that that's done, what are you on to now?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

You're not someone that sits still Well because I love to travel I decided when I went to Big Bend you go through Marfa, texas oh, that's cool and they have a beautiful courthouse down there and it's just right off the main street and so when I was driving I looked over and I saw it and at the time I didn't think anything of it. I was like, all right, when I come back by, I'll stop by and go take a look. And I hung out too much in Big Bend. Stop by and go take a look. And um, I just I hung out too much in big bend and so I had to hurry and get back. And so on the flight back to to Dallas, to Allen, um, I was like you know what? In 2025, I guess, uh, I'm going to go visit a County courthouses on a square, um, so I've been been to. What is? What month is it? We're in now seven. So I've been to what month is it? We're in now seven. So I've been to seven county courthouses already. I think my favorite is Sulphur Springs.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

That county courthouse.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

That's not too far from home.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, I went to that one with my wife and just the squares. It's a good square and so my wife enjoyed it.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

She used to go shopping. She said yeah, oh yeah, she didn't enjoy the last one too much. It was out in the middle of nowhere, not a whole lot around. Yeah, clarendon texas, I don't even know where that one is.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Uh, it's, it's uh, about an hour shy of getting to amarillo.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Oh, my goodness.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

So we did that in one day. Did that drive? Yeah, and she doesn't. Well, she drove back home on that one because I was tired, but she doesn't typically. I do all the driving. She just gets to ride. Yeah, she just gets to ride.

My Texas Challenge Adventures

Officer Sam Rippamonti

It's lunch and shopping spree. I like it, so you do the courthouses. What about? You have this little group of guys, right? I shouldn't say little. A couple of them, you know, work for the department, but yeah so, uh, I would call it a gang, but it's more like I guess we'll call it a club I guess we'll call it a club.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, uh, so it's called river banking um and river banking boys.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

It's all.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

It's all guys at the moment, all guys most of the guys are are allen pd guys. Uh, we have one mckinney pd guy and then we have, uh, uh, one of my best friends that's not in law enforcement, he's in, he's in the group, and then uh, then another guy that's not law enforcement.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

So, um, but yeah, I mean we just we travel to different rivers and um mostly in Texas mostly in Texas, but we've gone to Missouri, we've gone to Arkansas, we've gone to Oklahoma um, trying to plan a trip up to Tennessee here pretty soon. Um, so we've done the, the two toughest rivers in Texas, uh, the devil's river down in Del Rio and then the uh just recently did the Pecos river. Um, it's near Del Rio, but Comstock and Pandale um kind of out in the middle of nowhere. Uh, that one kicked my tail. Uh, I cried a few times on the inside. Um, well, if I had cell service I probably would have called my mom.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

You can't just turn around and go back.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

No, no, you can turn around and go back. No, you can't turn around and go back. You can't go with the flow on that one. So it was rough.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

So y'all just put up a tent camp out. Yeah, yeah, Sleep under the stars.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Riverbank. You just throw up a tent there sleep under the stars.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Is it catch what you eat, kind of thing.

River Banking Boys Expeditions

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Oh we've not done that yet. What I am. I am, uh, my nickname on in the group is cookie, so I do all the cooking. Um, I love, love to cook. Uh, so I mean, we'll do steaks, we'll do barbecue pork chops, we've done jambalaya. Uh, we've done shrimp bowls. Um, I mean, whatever. Whatever the boys want, I'll cook for them.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

Don't you record these trips?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, yeah, uh, we just started a YouTube channel. Don't you record these trips? Yeah, we just started a YouTube channel.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

So far, we only have one Brazos River trip on the channel, and just recently the Pecos River, which again, there's a lot of content in that video, but not great content because I'm just learning on how to do YouTube and things of that nature.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

So do you, do you go, do you go down river and set up cameras?

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Not yet. If you do that, maybe just wait on your guys to show up. Yeah, yeah, not be in the shot with it.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

But, but yeah, so the rivers in Texas we've done the Brazos. We typically go and put in just right off, right outside of Lake Possum Kingdom, and we'll uh that one um is about a 20 mile section, and so we'll do that. Usually when we do that and we will do it, uh, into two nights, three days, uh, we've done. Uh, what else have we done in Texas? Uh, devil's River We've done once Pecos, pecos, pecos. That was like a five-night or six days.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Oh wow, that's a long trip, yeah.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

That one. That's the longest river we've done. It was. The total length is about 65 miles and then, like once you factor in paddling sideways and back up river and all that, I think Officer Ramirez, I think he recorded 70-something total miles, or almost 80-something miles that he paddled. Wow, All in all.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Sounds exhausting, it was. Are you in?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

kayaks In kayaks, yeah.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Are they the pedal ones, or you have to paddle? No, no.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

You got to paddle. You can't be cheating out there.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

I'd have to have the foot pedals. Can't be cheating out there. No, dude, let's have a break, yeah.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

But, no we have a good time out there. I mean, it's all about getting out there. Most of the rivers that we go to there's no self-service, and so I mean you're kind of off the grid.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

It's a good way to disconnect, I guess, oh yeah, disconnect. But y'all smell great when you're driving home from the end of your river trip. All in a truck together, yeah.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

So May 6th two years ago, myself and Sergeant Cleveland and Officer Forcan we were on the river, and typically you don't get any cell service out there, and all of a sudden Sergeant Cleveland's phone starts ringing and it's his wife letting him know about the outlet mall. And so that was like a god thing that in that one little section area he was able to get service and we were able to figure out what was going on.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

It was we were too far away to like be able to hurry up and get off the river. Um, and I don't know if you remember that day, but a big storm came and so we got caught on the river in the big storm. Oh yeah, what a.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

What a day, oh yeah.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

How long have you had?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

this group like traveling. Oh. So, um, I, I, I started this uh, uh around COVID timeframe. Um, so I had, I had gone on a uh on a trip on to the Buffalo river in Arkansas, uh, with one of uh, our former officers that uh that when he worked in Richardson. There's a big group that goes out there and does the Buffalo River once a year. And I got an invite. It was myself and Officer Collier and Sergeant Cleveland and at the time, sergeant DeBlanc.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

But I went out there and I loved it and I was like, all right, I'm going to get into this. But I had young kids and so they took all my time. And so once COVID happened, I got more time freed up, started looking at it and found that the Brazos River has a shuttle service out there and so went out there. The first time I went it was just me, a friend of mine, uh, my son and his son, and then I kept going back out there and was loving it. So then I was like let's start a group up. So there's, I don't know, 13, I think uh in our group right now.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

Uh actually leaving.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Actually leaving to go to Junction, texas, to do the South Llano River and there's six of us going down there tomorrow.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

How many nights?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

This will be three nights, four days to go. I think it's going to be roughly about 16 miles.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

You get all your meals planned up.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, yeah, so we'll have. Usually steak is the first night, so we'll do steak and roasted potatoes with jalapenos in there. Y'all are roughing it up Some roasted corn on the open flames and whatever else the boys want as a side, and night two will be chicken and sausage jambalaya. And then night three, we're going to have a Frito chili pie. I'm going to make some chili out there and you can either eat chili by itself or have the Frito pie.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

That all sounds really good. I'm going to show up for dinner time. I don't want to do the floating or the kayaking and then we're just fishing all day. Are you catching any fish on these ships? Oh yeah, yeah. Well, some of us, let's ask the real question.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Some of us. There's a few that are castermans and then a few of us that are fishermen. That would be me.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

I would just be flinging it just talking to everybody Sounds like it's a lot of fun, though.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

It is a lot of fun.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

I'm sure it's exhausting, but a lot of good numbers. So shifting gears back to to work. We're gonna talk about work a little bit in the schools. You're gonna be at the freshman center again this year.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yes, sir, at the freshman center.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

So what is something that you would want to tell the community, with school getting ready to ramp up and um, yeah.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

So, uh, one of our, our biggest issues there, uh, is, uh, things getting stolen out of the locker rooms, um, and then, typically, when you go and ask the athlete like, well, was your, was your stuff locked? No, I didn't lock it, I didn't, you know, I didn't have time or, um, don't know how to open my lock, um, so I would highly encourage everybody I, I speak to, uh, the football team, um, I don't speak to the other sports, but I speak to the football team and I try to encourage them hey, use that lock. If it's valuable to you, it's going to be valuable to somebody else, and so lock your stuff. And that would be one of the biggest things that I would, I would try to stress is there something new you can share with the unit like?

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

what's new with the unit Like?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

what's new in your unit currently? Uh, what's new in our unit? Um, well, not not much that I could think of. We, we just started the uh, the working five days a week and, um, building a comp bank, and so having the summer off has has been uh, uh awesome, but at the same time, uh, I'm spending more money because I'm you're going to all these portals?

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

well, that I got more free time, so I'm like I need to work and you guys train during the summer, don't you?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

yeah, we trained during the summer. We recently, just uh last week, uh went to our our national conference. Um unfortunately, it was held in uh the state of Texas this year, so we didn't get to really travel. But it's a great time getting to meet and conversate with officers from other states and kind of see what their problems are and how they're handling their issues and vice versa, them asking us and stuff like that.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

I think I saw a picture of you cooking Was it jambalaya? In the parking lot.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah. So we did jambalaya on Tuesday. No, yeah, tuesday did jambalaya out in the parking lot and then on Thursday I did taco salad.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

And where was this at?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

At the Gaylord in Grapevine. Oh, I'm sure they love that. They didn't know, they don't need to know, don't listen.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

That's funny, so are you ready?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

for school to start back. I'm ready. I wish we went to school year-round. I mean have some breaks.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

But Well in the past y'all worked patrol in the summertime right.

School Safety and Junior Police Academy

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, either patrol or uh, the, the junior police academy that we host, um, it was, it was about 50, 50. Uh, half of the unit would go work patrol and half the unit would work the camps. So it's more involvement in the camp now, since y'all aren't now yeah, now, now everybody worked the camp this summer, um that's kind of nice too, yeah yeah, we only had three camps this summer and um they were, they were all full so yeah, we see, we see the Eventbrite stuff.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

It fills up quick.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

The kids love it, oh yeah.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, and it's funny that you'll get some of the kids that will do it all the way up through their senior year and they'll come back every year knowing that for the most part, it's all going to be the same thing that they did last year. I try to change a few things up here and there.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Do they still wear the drunk goggles?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, yeah, we don't have the golf cart anymore.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

We have this little bicycle thing I've ridden that little bike.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

Yeah, that thing looks fun Do those kids end up in the Explore program a lot of times, or how does that work?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, we push that big time, and so we will have a few that will join through there. Jacob Groves he was one of the kids that came through police camp.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Now in our police academy.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Now he's in the police academy trying to be an officer, but he joined the Explorers.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

What do they do? What do they do? Do they learn kind of what officers are doing?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, so when I first, when I first became a school resource officer and got involved with the Junior Police Academy, it was more just like classroom stuff, and so I tried to make it more more kind of like a junior police academy where they would learn We'll teach them a few of the laws and teach them some of the techniques and stuff that we do like building searches and stuff like that, and then then we'll put them through scenarios.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

Um, and they, they love the scenario day yeah, because we recently just hosted our own um explorers, um what was it called?

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

oh uh, their competition. Right, it was a competition that we had here.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

That was a long.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, I used to be involved with the art explorer program, um, and then I haven't done that in a few years just cause it was taking up too much of my time and I had other things going on, but uh. But yeah, those explorer competitions they're awesome it's. It's good to see kids from all across the state come and compete against each other and some of them I think would be would do better, some of our officers. So yeah, it was rough. I, I, this one, I was an actor for the active shooter and yeah, some of those teams were pretty good.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Yeah, I was an actor in a domestic and. I was the aggressoror, so I was that. I was getting thrown around high school, kids all night some of them don't look like high school kids.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

There's some, yeah, some of them pretty strong big old boys coming in there and just picking me up like nothing. Yeah, I was uh on one of the scenarios. Uh, he, he had me proned out on the floor and then all next thing I know he's like jumping down on my back and I'm like oh no. And he was a big boy, so it was a lot of weight.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

It's just interesting to see how each team they do the scenario so differently than each other, and it's pretty interesting to watch.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Yeah, but it's such an upper hand if you want to have a career in law enforcement one day, going through the camps and then going into the Explorers. It's almost like cheating when you go into the police academy.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

There's a cheat code.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

Yeah, you have so much knowledge about the profession already. It has to make it much easier and less stressful.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

There was nothing like that in my high school.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

And they get to meet our officers and have those connections.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yes.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

And it's really good for them.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Yeah, you know Officer Groves. He worked in the jail, but I mean just through his explorer time, I mean he already knew a bunch of the officers and then working in the jail got to know almost everybody else.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

So definitely a cheat code.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

I used him for undercover tobacco steam when he was in high school.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

He was just a young kid and nobody would sell to him because he looked like he just looked like a baby going in there. And now he's recruiting the police academy for us he graduated with my son all grown up. But, anthony, we really appreciate you coming out today and talking to us, thank you.

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

Thank you for having me.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

We're excited for the school year. What's the Eagles look like this year? I know you're always into the football team.

Explorer Program and School Year Ahead

School Resource Officer Anthony Garcia

So yeah, I know the offensive line is a big concern. Defense should be pretty strong Quarterback. It just depends on which one they go with. We did have a kid move in not too long ago, so he's a freshman, but he's supposed to be a stud, so I don't know. We'll see what happens.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

It's always exciting to watch the Allen Eagles play on Friday night. Oh yeah, we'll be there with you now that I don't have one playing in high school. So thank you again.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

Yes, we really appreciate you coming on today.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

If you'd like to learn more about our school resource officer or upcoming events in the Allen Police Department, go to our website, allenpoliceorg.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

And make sure to like and subscribe, and if you have any questions, leave them down in the comments below.

Officer Sam Rippamonti

We'll see you next time.

Community Outreach Coordinator Alexus Birmingham

Bye.