Division Commander to announce bid for San Angelo police chief

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story published the incorrect current title for Lieutenant Hernandez. We have updated his title.

Lieutenant Mike Hernandez will announce his bid for police chief of the city of San Angelo this Saturday, November 11.

Hernandez is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps where he served for three years and where got his start in security forces. For the second half of his military career, he served in the Fleet Marine Forces, part of the historic group who was always the first into the fight.

Following his time as a former Marine, Hernandez has had a storied police career that began when he joined the San Angelo Police Department in 1990. He was originally assigned to patrol for three years before being transferred to the gang unit.

In 1994, Hernandez then applied to the SWAT team where he went on to serve as the SWAT team leader for 10 years. It was there that in Hernandez's own words; he "learned that leading was not easy" in a high-risk field. He never took the job lightly, and never asked any member of his team to do what he wasn't willing to do himself.

From there, Hernandez went onto the narcotics division and then the special operations section, before pinning on Lieutenant in 2010. Lieutenant Hernandez currently serves as the commander of the Criminal Investigation Division and the Critical Incident Division. He also completed a leadership course at the FBI National Academy at Quantico and holds a Master Peace Officer Certification from the Texas Commission of Law Enforcement Standards and Education.

When asked what Hernandez hopes to achieve as the police chief of the city of San Angelo, Hernandez immediately replied with a desire to first change the culture. He remarked that "the motto of law enforcement is to protect and serve. I want to change that culture, because we serve more than we protect."

Lieutenant Hernandez emphasized that he is also very passionate about his career, which began as a result of an unfortunate early experience with family violence. Hernandez, therefore, hopes to truly serve his community first and then protect it.

When asked if he would change anything about San Angelo, he answered "nothing, although maybe to re-route the interstate" in order to keep San Angelo the perfect bubble that it is.

Lieutenant Mike Hernandez, current division commander, will announce his bid at 10 a.m. Saturday at City Hall, just prior to the Veteran's Day Parade.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Hernandez to announce bid for San Angelo police chief