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City honors new 911 dispatch graduates; officer named a national 'Top Cop'
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Summary
Corpus Christi recognized seven recent Metrocom 911 academy graduates and marked National Police Officers Memorial Week; Officer Marco Ramirez was named among NAPO's Top Cops and two fallen officers from the department will be added to the national memorial wall.
Corpus Christi officials recognized seven recent graduates of the city’s Metrocom 911 academy during the City Council meeting, and the council observed National Police Officers Memorial Week as families and colleagues prepared to travel to Washington, D.C., for national ceremonies.
The recognition included four graduates who attended the meeting — Jessica Ortegaon, Marco Rangel, Achilleo Estrada and Isabella Gomez — and remarks from Assistant Chief Christopher White of the Corpus Christi Police Department, who outlined the academy’s training and screening. “It’s an honor to be here this morning to share a good story with you. That’s what we’re doing today,” White said.
Council members praised the graduates’ public-safety work and stressed retention efforts. City Manager Peter Zanoni noted the city has increased pay and improved working conditions to keep trained telecommunicators. White described the training as roughly 240 hours covering emergency communications, medical dispatch certification and state licensing. He said on-the-job training typically takes six to 12 weeks after the academy.
The council also observed National Police Officers Memorial Week (the week that includes May 15) and previewed events in Washington, D.C., and locally, including a vigil at the Nueces County Courthouse. City officials said two Corpus Christi officers who died last year will be named at the national candlelight vigil and engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial wall: Officer Vicente Ortiz and Officer Kyle Hicks.
In addition, the council and Police Department recognized Officer Marco Ramirez, who the City Manager said will be among 10 national recipients of the National Association of Police Organizations’ Top Cops awards for actions during a fatal disturbance. Ramirez, introduced at the meeting, said, “I thank the department for believing that I deserved the award. And, I wanna say I love and miss Kyle every day along with our other fellow officer that passed away.”
The council’s remarks and the department presentation emphasized the neighborhood-level role of Metrocom staff and the city’s continuing efforts to recruit and retain telecommunicators, who the assistant chief said were formally recognized as first responders by the state in 2019. The council scheduled no formal votes related to public-safety staffing at the meeting; the presentations were informational and ceremonial.
