Ted Poe: “peace officers are a noble breed, daily risking their lives to protect and serve the rest of us. They are what separate…”

“peace officers are a noble breed, daily risking their lives to protect and serve the rest of us. They are what separate the evil of the lawless from us. Two weeks ago on a dark, cool misty Texas night, Needville, Texas, Independent School District Chief of Police Ernie Mendoza, was coming home from his job. He had been supervising a basketball game at one of the local schools. As chief of police of Needville Independent School District, it was his job to protect students during school and during events. However, on the same road was 29-year-old construction worker Guillermo Paniagua. Guillermo was drunk and driving his pickup truck. He was headed toward the chief's car. And within moments Gulliermo's truck crossed the center stripe of the road, slammed head first into the chief of police's vehicle. The crash instantly killed this dedicated police chief. The chief had devoted 25 years of his life as one of Texas's lawmen. It was something that meant a lot to him. He was proud to serve his country as a peace officer.”