By Elizabeth Sims
Enterprise Editor

Protect and serve. These two words are often put together, but very few truly know what it means to live these out daily. For student resource officer Ricky Jimenez, these words are the foundation of his job, protecting students and faculty at Coppell High School and serving them to the best of his ability.

Though most see these actions on a day-to-day basis in the hallways, Jimenez was performing these

duties long before he even set foot through the doors of CHS. Prior to joining the Coppell Police Department, Jimenez enlisted in the Army Reserves to fulfill a dream of serving in the military while pursuing an interest in becoming a police officer.

“It was something I had always wanted to do and had the opportunity to do in a way that I didn’t have to commit full time, so that’s why I joined the reserves instead of going into active duty,” Jimenez said. “It was a great opportunity to do something I had always wanted to do but still give me the chance to do police work. I wanted to have a little bit of both worlds.”

After six months of basic training, Jimenez officially joined the 607 Military Police Battalion in Grand Prairie, Texas. During this time, he also attended the police academy, but those plans were put on hold when his unit was mobilized and deployed in 2003 for Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq before the war officially began. Once the war started, his unit became a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jimenez served as first sergeant for his team of fuel specialists.

“Our job was very crucial because nothing moves without fuel and we supplied the fuel for everything,” Jimenez said. “It was a very dangerous job because we had to haul fuel everywhere we went for all of the

missions. Driving a fuel truck, you are a big target.”

Despite the dangers that came with his job, Jimenez wanted to take it on to challenge himself.

“It’s a very challenging job in the military, but in my mind I would always think, ‘Well if I don’t like this I can just do something else’ because you can always change your own ways, but I never did change it because I really enjoyed it,” Jimenez said.

Once his tour was complete, Jimenez went back to the police academy to start over on his training to become an officer. At this time, he switched units and joined the Baker Company 90th Aviation Support Battalion at a joint reserve base in Fort Worth, Texas. Looking back on his experience, fear is the number one thing that stands out in Jimenez’s mind.

“I experienced fear like I never experienced before. It was challenging because as a sergeant I had to hide my fears and help my soldiers carry out their missions and the tasks assigned to us,” Jimenez said. “It’s challenging to function and make decisions when you’re exhausted and far from home and miss your family. It was challenging to keep the morale up, but we pitched in and joked around and made the best of it.”

When Jimenez completed his education at the police academy, he started working on the patrol unit doing the night shift. He did this for several years before he heard about a job opening as a student resource officer in 2008. Tired of working nights, Jimenez decided to apply for the job.

“I just thought I would give it a shot, and it turned out that I was the only one that applied,” Jimenez said.

He started out at CHS before being moved to Coppell Middle School West for six months. Jimenez then returned to CHS only to be moved to New Tech in 2010. Finally, he came back to CHS to stay, where he served as the sole student resource officer until officer Rachel Freeman joined him last year. Working in the same office space, the officers became fast friends, and Freeman could see evidence of his military experience come out in the way he did his job.

“There are very few people who are actually trained to respond to an active shooter situation. Even in law enforcement, although you train for it, if the situation were to present itself, reacting is difficult,” Freeman said. “There are only two officers in our department that have seen active combat and Officer Jimenez is one of them. When I think about it, if a situation like [Newtown, Conn.] were to occur at Coppell High School, there is not a single other officer that I would want with me because of his experience in a warlike environment.”

Though it may just seem like another day on the job for him, Jimenez has earned the respect of many that work with him, especially principal Mike Jasso.

“I feel that his experience prepared him to be a fine police officer. He demonstrates a really strong work ethic and he demonstrates a huge amount of dedication to making sure he does his job well,” Jasso said. “I couldn’t be prouder to have him as one of our SROs.”

Through their time working together, Jasso and Jimenez have had numerous conversations about his experiences, and most recently, a huge turning point in his military career.

“I like to consider Officer Jimenez a friend, and there would be times where we would have personal conversation, just asking about our kids and such. In the context of those conversations, every once in awhile he would say something like, ‘My kids are great but I am not going to see them this weekend because I have reserve duty’,” Jasso said. “Over the course of the two and a half years I’ve been back, I have learned that not only was he in the reserves, but he would mention that his last reserve weekend was coming up. I could not be more proud of him; he is a veteran of war and then he continued to serve our country through the reserves just makes him a great man and a great role model.”

After 12 years of service in the Army Reserves, Jimenez decided to not renew his contract and leave the military. With his last official day being Oct. 17, he looks forward to more time with his family, which he describes as his greatest priority.

“My priorities have changed now. I have a family and two kids and I want to have my weekends free so I can enjoy it with my family,” Jimenez said.