As the sun rises and illuminates the city of Texarkana, Police Officer and Neighborhood Area Coordinator Jeff Estes ties his boots, grabs his badge and heads to work, where he commits his day to the safety and protection of the community of Texarkana.
Officer Estes attended high school in Redwater, Texas and completed Police Academy in Texarkana. After eight years working as a Correctional Officer for the Texas Department for Criminal Justice, Officer Estes began his work for the Texarkana Police Department.
The community of Texarkana has been home to Estes for many years and now he dedicates his work to protect the people of this community, going above and beyond to find the solution to any problem, often putting himself in harm’s way in order to keep someone else in absolute safety.
Every day brings new challenges for Officer Estes who says an officer must always be ready for anything, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. “You can usually tell most of the time, if something is going south but things happen really fast,” explained Estes. “One should always have a nervous feeling, not to be scared, but to always think ‘what if’ and always have a solution in case something was to happen.”
Officer Estes recalls a time when he was able to solve a critical situation, remembering this moment as the most rewarding day on the job. “There was one instance when we got called out about 3 in the morning on a pretty intense hostage situation, it took me about three hours to talk him out of the house and release the hostage. But afterwards we got the victim out safely. That was really intense but it was really rewarding,” said Estes.
Officer Estes’ selfless work does not go unnoticed by the community of Texarkana. “The community often thanks us for the service we provide for them. The closeness of the community is something I love. I do neighborhood watch groups and everyone lets each other know what is going on in their neighborhood.”
As a Neighborhood Area Coordinator Officer Estes along with his partner Office Parker, combine efforts in order to bring peace of mind to all of those who reside in the community of Texarkana, working together to always have a solution no matter what the problem might be. “Myself and Officer Parker work together as Neighborhood Area Coordinators. Our main job is to focus on neighborhood problems, and work with the people to solve those problems in a way that is beneficial to the community,” said 42-year-old Estes.
Neighborhood problems can range from loud music, loud animals, to high traffic at specific residences, among others. “We get the whole community involved to solve the problem. We figure out the best possible solution,” explained Estes.
Officer Ester has earned the trust of his community by his unselfish efforts to maintain the well-being of every individual, and it was this trust that led him to be elected as Constable Precinct 3 Bowie County. Officer Estes goes into office January 17. “It was pretty awesome to be elected. It lets me know that I am trusted in the community.”
