January 10, 2019 600 AM
PRESIDIO – Longtime City of Presidio policeman Jose Cabezuela has signed a contract to become the city’s new Chief of Police.
Raised in Presidio, Cabezuela has 20 years of law enforcement experience, having worked with the Presidio County Sheriff’s Department, area drug task forces, and for the past 12 years has served as a City of Presidio policeman.
“I want to continue serving the public,” Cabezuela said on Wednesday. “I love my job, and my motto is to work with all other agencies.”
Cabezuela is also a Presidio County commissioner, representing half of the city of Presidio and south Presidio County, along with Commissioner Eloy Aranda.
In the March 2018, Democratic Party primary election, Cabezuela and Edgar Ramirez were the top two vote-getters in a three-person race, and then he defeated Ramirez by one vote in a runoff election.
The election was to fill the commissioner’s post vacated by Lorenzo Hernandez, who pleaded guilty last year to public corruption charges.
While Cabezuela was technically not supposed to take office until January 1, County Judge Cinderela Guevara appointed him to the vacant post shortly after his runoff election win.
According to City of Presidio Administrator Joe Portillo, Cabezeula will oversee three commissioned officers and three reserve officers.
“Our contingency of both full time and reserve officers makes it attractive, we have more boots on the ground and less of a financial impact,” Portillo said. He added that since Presidio has many trained officers, they get to serve as reserve officers, and in a crisis are available to help.
“Chief Cabezuela has a reputation of being even handed and fair in our community and has established a good interpersonal relationship with the US Border Patrol, US Customs and Border Protection, Texas DPS, the Presidio County Sheriff’s Office and the PISD Police Department. I have complete faith in him to do his duties and more importantly serve the citizens of Presidio,” Portillo said.
