July Sampling of UT Police Safety Heroes

August 10, 2021 By: Maribel Salazar

Officers Stephen Augustine and Tyrone Davis and Sergeants Raul Tenorio and Oscar Wilhite responded to a call made by the UT Housing Director concerned about a resident. The resident, they learned, had drank water from a bottle and soon realized that it had a suspicious smell. The officers conducted a welfare check on the individual, who had tried some home remedies from online sources. To ensure the safety of the individual, EMS was called to check the resident’s vitals.

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Missing person alerts are not uncommon at MD Anderson's sprawling Main Building. In one incident, a missing person alert was broadcast on a woman reported missing by her husband. With heavy rain pummeling the area, PSO Roy Lee searched all levels of TMC Garage 10 before he and fellow PSO George Baldillez found the woman at the loading dock and subsequently reunited her with her husband.

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In another incident, nursing staff were unable to locate a patient who had wandered away. PSO Jefferson Palacio found the missing patient in the Pavilion lobby. With the assistance of Officer Walter Spivey, the patient was escorted back to the unit.

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Reporting suspicious behaviors and activity are central to the effectiveness of security measures. In an example of attentiveness of hospital screening staff, Officer Khanh Phuong-Ngo responded to a screening entrance where staff were requesting assistance after an individual tried to enter the facility with a deactivated employee ID badge.  After administrators were unable to verify credentials, the individual was denied access into MD Anderson.

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Construction site theft also has impacted new facilities, and attentive staff proactively called for help when unknown individuals were seen at a UTHealth construction site in the Texas Medical Center. The Houston Police Department received the call for help after security workers at the site spotted unknown individuals after-hours on the property. Officers Brandon Hazlerig and Kenneth Horton, and Sergeants Cesar Pedroza and Sergeant Raul Tenorio set up a perimeter around the construction site. After locating and questioning three individuals, they were able to obtain confirmation from the construction superintendent that the trio was authorized to be present at the site.

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