LAW ENFORCEMENT SPOTLIGHT: NO SUCH THING AS OFFDUTY

OFF-DUTY DOES NOT MEAN NOT ON-DUTY

While working his mall security side gig, Houston sergeant tackles man armed with ARstyle rifle, handgun, possibly preventing a mass shooting.

STORY BY NICK PERNA PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 NEWS/HOUSTON

As a sworn police officer, you are never truly off-duty. Once you take the oath and strap on a badge and gun, you become a 24/7/365 protector.

You don’t have to be working a shift at your department to be considered “on-duty.” Many officers supplement their income by doing pay jobs. These are security or traffic details where a private entity pays the officer to work for them. A lot of cops have side hustles working at sporting events, night clubs and other venues. No one likes doing them, but you gotta do what you gotta do to make ends meet.

EARLIER THIS YEAR, Sergeant Kendrick Simpo of the Houston Police Department was working a second job as a security guard at the Texas city’s Galleria Mall. He received a call about a man armed with a rifle, roaming around a department store. On this particular day, the mall was hosting a girls’ dance

L.E. SPOTLIGHT

Law enforcement officers are never “off-duty.” Sergeant Kendrick Simpo of the Houston Police Department was working his side job as a security guard at a mall when he got a call about an armed man on the premises. Sgt. Simpo tackled and detained the suspect until backup could arrive. competition. This meant there would be many vulnerable, defenseless targets for a psychopath to go after.

Sgt. Simpo had some serious issues to consider. He knew he had to stop the threat, but in a way that wouldn’t cause collateral injuries or result in mass panic. Sgt. Simpo had a handgun on him, but he decided not to use it. He opted for an open-field tackle instead.

He located the suspect, Guido Herrera, just 10 feet away from the dance competition. He closed the distance and took the suspect to the ground.

“I quickly bum-rushed, tackled him,” he told reporters. “And my first reaction was to make sure that I get a hold of the rifle. No matter what I grabbed, make sure I grabbed that rifle. I had in my mind (that) I was going to get shot. I just had to bear the pain, I knew it was going to hurt, and I was like, ‘Whatever I do, I cannot let go of this rifle.’”

Fortunately, Sgt. Simpo didn’t get shot. He was able to hold the suspect down and maintain control of the rifle until backup arrived and took him into custody. In addition to the AR-type rifle, the suspect had 120 rounds on him, as well as a handgun. Herrera was charged with a misdemeanor weapons possession offense. Six weeks later, he was arrested again after showing up at the Houston FBI Office and demanding to speak with the director of the agency. A gun was located in Herrera’s car. Herrera was sentenced to six months in jail for the mall incident and while some would say he got off easy, to be charged with a more serious crime would have required him to shoot an innocent person. He never got the chance, as Sgt. Simpo got to him first.

Editor’s note: Author Nick Perna is a sergeant with the Redwood City Police Department in northern California. He previously served as a paratrooper in the US Army and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also has a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco. He is a frequent contributor to multiple print and online forums on topics related to law enforcement, firearms, tactics and veterans issues.