Officer of the Year

By Jessica Coleman
Staff Writer
    “If the only life an officer saves is his own, is he a hero?”
    Edna Police Chief Chief Clinton Wooldridge addressed the crowd at the annual Jackson County 100 Club Banquet on Tuesday, Oct. 18, and said he contemplated that question for quite a while, especially after Edna Officer Luis Chavez shot an armed suspect on June 2. 
    Wooldridge finally concluded that yes, an officer who saves his own life is a hero, because he “saved the life of his wife’s husband, his children’s father, and of our coworker.”
    Luis Chavez was named the Jackson County 100 Club’s Officer of the Year, and the announcement was met with thunderous applause from 100 Club members, their families, and his fellow officers and their families.
    “First, I want to thank God for keeping me safe, and keeping all my brothers and sisters in law enforcement safe,” Chavez said as he accepted the award. He went on to thank individual departments that responded on June 2, and continued, “I just want to thank everybody for everything. Thank you.” 
    Chavez is an eight-year veteran of the Edna Police Department, and a resident of Victoria.