My name is John Gonzalez, and I am a patrol officer with UTMB PD in Galveston. I am a B.O.I. (Born on Island), and was delivered in the very building that our department is now located in. My father is from Monterrey, Mexico, my mom is from Galveston, and I have three younger siblings, two brothers and a sister. My wife works at UTMB as well, in the ICU as a Registered Nurse. My wife and I have a two year old boy that keeps us on our toes and brings a little more light to our lives. My hobbies include vehicles, firearms, and photography.
During high school, I worked part time at my uncles’ restaurant across the street from UTMB. Upon graduating from high school, I stayed with the restaurant full time for eight years. Between delivering big orders to various offices and catering for meetings and events, I learned the campus like the back of my hand. Through this, I also had the opportunity to meet countless people who, to this day, remember me from working at my uncles’ restaurant.
Policing has always piqued my interest. I completed a Citizen’s Police Academy with the Galveston Police Department. This only further intrigued me because it allowed me to see why police do some of the things they do. It was at this point that I decided that I wanted to become a police officer. I joined the UTMB police department in March 2010 as a Guard with the goal of becoming a police officer. I was granted the opportunity to take the test and graduated as a member of the 92nd BPOC at the system academy in December 2011.
During my time at UTMB, I have had many roles, including Glock Armorer, AR15 Armorer, and ALERRT Instructor. One of my favorite roles within the department is being a member of our Bike Patrol Program. At this time, I have been with UTMB PD as a commissioned officer for close to six years, with much time and opportunity ahead of me in my career. One of my short term goals is to become a firearms instructor. This is because I have a passion for firearms and enjoy teaching safety and proper technique to help others achieve their goals with their firearms in a safe manner. A moderate to long term goal of mine is to become a member of our Criminal Investigations Division. I hope to achieve this goal to gain more investigative knowledge and further my career.
I enjoy being a police officer on the island. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to know I am contributing to the community the way I do in this profession. Also, there are always people vacationing and attending special events which helps keep things interesting and fun on and off the job.
