Fairmount Beat – Jan./Feb. 2014

by Sergio L. Guadarrama, Neighborhood Patrol Officer
Hello. My name is Sergio L Guadarrama and as many of you might know I am your new Neighborhood Police Officer. I will be taking over for Officer Mark Russell who I know has been a great asset to all of you. Filling his shoes will be a difficult task but I will do my very best to accommodate you in any way that I can. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call or email me. I look forward to meeting and working with you and I hope I can make an impact in the area and continue to make this neighborhood a safe place. So far I have been welcomed with open arms but I’m not surprised by that. These past few weeks I’ve enjoyed driving in the neighborhoods and waving at residents and kids on their bikes or playing in their front yard. I’ve met many of you personally and I hope to meet many more as the months go along. Thank you again for the warm welcome.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I was born and raised here in Fort Worth and I grew up in the southwest side. I attended catholic school from Kindergarten through 8th grade at St. Andrews Catholic School. I went to Nolan Catholic High School for my freshman year in high school. My sophomore through senior year I went to Southwest High School. I always pictured myself going into law of some sort but I always thought I would be a prosecuting attorney. In February of 1995 I went on a ride along with my cousin who is a Fort Worth police officer. At the end of that shift my goals and aspirations changed completely.

I knew what I was born to do. My calling was to be a police officer. I was only 18 years old at the time so I continued my education by taking basic courses at community college and I worked as a sales clerk at Alexander Lumber Company on Montgomery St for over three years. I applied for the Fort Worth Police Department in July of 1998 and I was hired in April of 1999 at the age of 22. For fourteen years I have worked in patrol on the midnight shift on the east, south, west, and central division.

I’ve been a Field Training Officer for 7 years and a certified instructor at the police academy for 4 years. I first worked this area from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2007 to 2010. It seems that the same problems back then are the same problems that exist today in this area. Burglaries and thefts were the problems then and I see it really hasn’t changed much. It just so happens what I enjoy to do the most is catching burglars and thieves. I worked midnight shift for fourteen years so I was able to sneak up on people and creep around so I’m going to have to come up with different strategies. I will.

My goal is to be as visible as possible in the neighborhoods and deter any wrong doers that may have bad intentions in mind. I’ll also come up with other ways to patrol covertly. I may be out of patrol but the patrol officer in me will always be present. I understand that the true goal of police work is to help people. I have never lost sight of that and I never will.

As far as my personal life I am married to an ER nurse and I have a beautiful, smart, outgoing, and feisty 12 year old daughter who is the light of my life. I love all sports but I am a huge Dallas Cowboys fan and I have been since birth. I love to eat all kinds of food. Traveling is my passion outside of work and I love to read.