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San Angelo lieutenant Les Bird to retire after 33 years, will return part time for school safety
Summary
Lieutenant Les Bird of the San Angelo Police Department announced he will retire Jan. 31 after 33 years and four months with the department and plans to rehire part time to work in elementary school safety, citing faith, family and a desire for lower-stress duty.
Lieutenant Les Bird of the San Angelo Police Department said he will retire Jan. 31 after 33 years and four months with the department and that he plans to return on a part-time basis to serve as a school safety officer.
Bird discussed his career and plans in a conversation with Chief Travis Griffith on the department's podcast Beyond the Badge. Bird described a career that included patrol duty, leadership of the criminal investigation division and communications (dispatch, records and IT), and creation of a street crimes unit in 2019. "I was in charge of security on the interior of Fort Concho back when the FLDS incident occurred," Bird said, describing a two-week stretch in which he worked long shifts coordinating multiple agencies. He also said he served as incident commander in 2005 overseeing security at the Colosseum when it sheltered evacuees from Hurricane Katrina.
Bird said policing has changed dramatically since he started: "When I first started you had a radio with five channels on it..." He called the arrival of body-worn cameras a positive development that "can help you" when officers do their jobs. He also praised the department's drone team as "an awesome team" that provides critical situational awareness during incidents.
Asked about resilience in demanding roles, Bird attributed it to faith and family. "I believe in Jesus Christ... I read the Bible every day," he said, and emphasized keeping "work at work" and having friendships outside law enforcement. He urged new officers not to let their identity be only their job and to maintain time away from police work.
On retirement plans, Bird said he does not intend to stop working entirely. "I'm gonna rehire part time and work in elementary school for school safety," he said, adding that the role will be lower stress with weekday shifts and summers off.
Chief Griffith closed the episode by thanking Bird for his service to the San Angelo community. The lieutenant said he looks forward to spending more time with family while continuing a limited role in public safety.
The podcast episode provides a firsthand account of Bird's career, field experiences and personal approach to policing and post-retirement work.
