Officer Down: Young deputy and fiancée killed, officer’s younger brother seriously injured

SAN ANTONIO, TX – A young deputy’s life and
fiancée’s life were taken on Wednesday night near Corpus
Christi. Noah Calderon, 20, is the youngest deputy in the Bexar County
Sheriff’s Office. He is the youngest in BCSO’s history.

The San Patricio County Sheriff’s Office stated Noah Calderon
and his fiancée crashed with a 18-wheeler on Highway 188 and FM
796 between Sinton and Mathis. The tanker truck failed to yield the
right-of-way and collided with Calderon’s vehicle.

Noah’s younger brother, Luke, 13, was also with them and was
airlifted to University Hospital in San Antonio. He is in critical
condition. Luke suffered a spinal injury along with an injury to
the arm and broken jaw. Both Luke and Noah had been ejected from
the vehicle.

Noah Calderon was hired when he was 18 years old back in
September 2018. The BCSO had just lowered their age requirement to
18, allowing anyone who was 18 to apply for the academy, The Blue
Shirt Program. Calderon was the top cadet, academically, in the
BCSO Academy where he set several records. He was later assigned to
the Bexar County Jail Annex 3rd Detail. He was also used for
recruiting other cadets.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said: “As an
agency, we mourn the loss of a great man and brother in blue. I ask
that you keep Noah’s family, friends, and everyone affected in
your prayers. Our community lost a young man who was absolutely
going to run his agency one of these days.”

Noah’s father, Sgt. Edward Calderon, is a BCSO Deputy as well,
assigned to the Patrol Division. Noah was hoping to follow in his
dad’s footsteps.

The Sheriff thought highly of Noah already and felt that he was
the future of BCSO. Sheriff Salazar said: “He was on a
super star trajectory. A very intelligent young man who knew what
he wanted to do.†He thought he was very intelligent and
was starting to get prepared for a career in law enforcement.

Noah’s fiancée was Samantha Grace Handy, 21 years old.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the fatal
traffic collision.

Memorial arrangements have not been scheduled yet.

KSAT 12 News reported that Noah Calderon wanted to inspire
others to follow their dreams.

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Sheriff Salazar released the news about Noah in a press
conference from his office. He mentioned how Noah was one of the
deputies in the Blue Shirt Program, hired at 18.

He also mentioned that Noah was liked and he was
“everybody’s little brother.†Sheriff Salazar told the story
of how they celebrated his 19th birthday and they decorated it with
dinosaurs because he was like a little kid, their little brother,
their son.

Sheriff Salazar responded to a question about the accident and
said that it is an example that proves that drivers need to be safe
while driving out there and make sure they are paying attention to
others while driving.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar made the following
statement:

“It is with a heavy heart that I
report, Deputy Noah Calderon, who was assigned to the Detention
Bureau, was killed last night in a car crash.

Preliminary information is that Noah, his fiancée, and
his younger brother were traveling to Corpus Christi when an
18-wheeler struck their vehicle. It is reported that the 18-wheeler
may have run a stop sign. Noah’s fiancée was killed on
impact.

Noah died shortly thereafter, and his little brother was
transported to University Hospital in San Antonio by AirLIFE. The
young man is currently in surgery with critical
injuries.

Noah’s father, Patrol Sergeant Edward Calderon and his
wife, are with their young son, and the family is in need of our
prayers at this time. BCSO Family Assistance deputies are making
arrangements to transport Noah’s remains back to San Antonio
tomorrow, Friday, August 14, 2020.

As an agency we mourn the loss of a great man and our
brother in blue. I ask that you keep Noah’s family, friends and
everyone affected in your prayers.â€

We recently reported on another tragic wreck that took the life
of a young officer and his daughter in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Gill
was on vacation with his family in Oregon on July 25th.  Gill and
his 14-year-old Tiffany were involved a single vehicle crash which
left them both dead. 

The circumstances of the crash have not been made public, only
that it was a single vehicle accident which is under investigation
by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon. 

On August 11th, the Sheriff’s Office celebrated the life of
Gill and of his daughter.

Gill was first hired in 2000 and worked in several different
assignments throughout his career.  Gill was assigned to the North
County Correctional Facility, Pasadena Court, County Services
Bureau, West Hollywood, and the Crescenta Valley Station. 

The Sheriff’s Office posted on their Facebook page that Gill
was well liked “by his peers and respected for the extra duties
he took on without reservationâ€.

“He received many public commendations for his
diligent performance and was regarded as compassionate,
professional, helpful, and respectful.

Deputy Gill was an outstanding individual with an
eagerness to work and go above and beyond for anyone.  Our hearts
go out to his wife Louis and son Ethan, friends and family of
Deputy Gill.  We lost a great partner, a friend, and a public
servant.  Rest in paradise.â€

Unfortunately, Gill has not been the only law enforcement
officer killed in July. 
LET reported when a Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy, William
Garner, was struck and killed while helping people who had been
involved in a crash.

On July 19th, Garner responded to a crash on Interstate 85
around 7pm.  As he was working the crash and helping the people in
the crashed car.  While doing so, a 2018 Honda Accord traveling
south lost control, left the roadway, and entered the median.

Honoring Franklin County, Georgia, Sheriff’s
Office Deputy Sheriff William Garner, died July 19, 2020, after he
was struck by a vehicle while at the scene of a single-vehicle
crash. Honor him so he is not forgotten. pic.twitter.com/paMEYNMw0t

— Steve Wightman (@stevewightman1)
July 20, 2020

The vehicle struck Garner as he was standing outside of his
patrol vehicle.  He was taken by ambulance to St Mary’s Sacred
Heart Hospital in Lavonia where he succumbed to his injuries. 
 

The driver of the vehicle, Abdulhafiz Abdullahi, was arrested
for first degree homicide by vehicle.  The Georgia State Patrol,
who is investigating the crash, advise that additional charges are
pending on Abdullahi, but decline to say what those may be.

In another incident in Boston Township, Michigan, State Trooper
Caleb
Starr was hit head-on by a vehicle driven by a 28-year-old
woman.  Crash investigators advised that Starr was driving at a
steady speed below the speed limit. 

The crash caused significant damage to both vehicles; however
Starr was trapped inside and he had to be cut out by medics.  Starr
was airlifted to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand
Rapids for treatment of his injuries. 

The driver of the at fault vehicle was taken to the hospital by
ground ambulance in critical, but stable condition.  She is
expected to survive, the same cannot be said for
Starr.

Unfortunately, the Michigan State Police announced that Starr
had succumbed to his injuries on July 31st after battling for three
weeks in the hospital.  Lieutenant Brian Oleklsyk, a spokesman for
the Michigan State Police said that Starr was a “dedicatedâ€
officer.

Oleksyk said:

“He embodied what a trooper should be.  He was not
only a trooper, but a son, husband, and public
servant.†

Starr left behind his parents, siblings, wife, and two young
daughters.

Michigan State Police Director Colonel Joe Gasper released a
statement:

“The Michigan State Police mourns the loss of  not
just a trooper, but a husband, father and dedicated public servant
who had so much left to give in a life that was cut far too
short.†

Police are saying that they believe the woman may have been
drinking alcohol prior to the crash.  Charges in that case are
pending. 

Law Enforcement Today wishes to extend their thanks for these
officers sacrifices and condolences to the families of these heroes
lost.

There’s a fight to save America – and Law Enforcement Today is
in. Here’s what you can do to join us.

This editorial is brought to you by Law Enforcement
Today’s National Spokesman Kyle S.
Reyes.  

—

“The only thing necessary for
the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing.â€

Saturday morning.  July 4th.  I’m sitting at the kitchen
counter … and I get a text from one of my writers.

“There’s a story in – give it another set of eyes
and then publish it.  But I should warn you… it’s
tough.â€

Saturday morning.  July 4th.  I’m sitting at the kitchen
counter … with my little girls running all around me… and I’m
crying.

A big, tough, power-lifting, bacon-eating, God-fearing,
gun-shooting man who doesn’t cry… and I’ve got tears
streaming down my face.

Because a young dad was shot and killed in the line of duty.  At
home is his wife and his toddler.  A little baby who will grow up
without a daddy.

And his last words can be heard in the recording with dispatch
(below): “Tell my family I love them.â€

I’ve become incredibly close with more survivors than I care
to think about.  Wonderful people – wives, husbands, kids,
parents… who have lost their officer in the line of duty.

I’ve interviewed them.  I’ve held them.  I’ve prayed with
them.

To me… this is the world I now live in.

I’m blessed to run a successful marketing agency that works
with some of the most patriotic companies in America.  And you want
know the truth?  I’m so glad it largely runs itself… because
THIS is where my heart is.

We get all of the emails – the good, the bad and the
ugly.  

The “thank you for saving my life by sharing that storyâ€
email.

The “you’re a bunch of Nazis and we’re going to burn down
your house and kill everyone you know†emails.

And then we get to hop on social media and see uneducated
“friends†and “family members†running their mouths about
“the systematic racism of policingâ€.  (Spoiler alert: you’ve
been fed a lie. 
Here’s the proof.)

And we fight on – every single day.  Because while companies
across America are pandering to the lies being spewed by Black
Lives Matter – in many cases because they are too spineless to
step up and speak up – we are here to give a voice to those who
don’t have one.

How You Can Join The Fight

We are hiring new writers every single day.  Most are active,
retired or wounded law enforcement along with their families and
supporters.

We are turning tremendous amounts of new content out daily –
from written stories to video interviews.  

Transparently – we never took in outside money, investors or
anything like that.  Our founder is an active police officer.  This
was all self-funded and remains a labor of love for us.

The advertising dollars that come in allow us to hire more
officers.  To help supplement that and scale, we launched
LET Unity. 
It’s basically our “Netflix†for law enforcement… and
allows us to get out video interviews with some amazing heroes
without social media censoring them.

The revenue we generate goes back into helping bring in more of
those writers to tell more of these stories.  More on that below…
but I hope you’ll consider signing up and joining us.

Speaking of social media censorship… it’s happening more and
more.  That’s why we do two things kind of obnoxiously:

1. Encourage you to sign up for our newsletter so we can send you
   the ACTUAL uncensored news.
2. Follow us on Facebook and then add us to your “favoritesâ€
   by clicking “following†and then clicking “favoritesâ€
   (image below).  It helps make sure that you actually see our
   stories on Facebook. Facebook favorites

    

3. Sign a flag.  Some of you are probably here because you heard
   about us in the media.  For those of you who were looking for more
   information on the traveling Thin Blue Line flags… here it
   is:  

They demanded we take down
our Thin Blue Line flag. So we got a bigger one – and that’s
not all.

“Take down that racist flag or we’ll take it down for
you.â€

That was the first threat we got about the Thin Blue Line flag
in our Law Enforcement Today studio in Connecticut.

It was among a string of nasty emails and threats.

“Ya’ll a bunch of bootlickers.â€

and

“We don’t need that flag – we need more dead
cops.â€

and 

“Keep waving that flag.  It lets us know who to put
out of business.â€

and 

“FTP 4EVA take that garbage down RITE
NOW.â€

So… we decided we’re going to take it down.  But it’s not
what you might think. 

It’ll be coming down when the new one goes up – and it’s
much, much bigger… and even more patriotic.

We’ve partnered up with our friends at Thin Blue Line USA.

They sent us the absolute largest thin blue line flag that they
make.  And we’re going to be sending it all over the country to
police departments for officers across America to sign.

We announced it on Instagram yesterday… but we weren’t
expecting what came next.

View this post on Instagram

People “demanded†we take down our Thin Blue Line flag. Screw
‘em. We got the absolute largest Thin Blue Line flag you can
get… and we are shipping it to police departments across America
to get signed by cops. Once it’s full… it’ll proudly be
displayed above The Whiskey Wall, where warriors tell their
stories. We need contacts at police departments who want to be a
part of this. DM us. #thinblueline #bluelivesmatter #police
#lawenforcement #flag #freedom #murica #independenceday
#4thofjuly

A post shared by
Law Enforcement Today (@lawenforcement_today) on Jul 3, 2020 at
11:34am PDT

Within hours, more than a hundred police departments from across
the country reached out asking to take part.  And we quickly
realized that the biggest flag in America isn’t going to be big
enough.

So we’re getting more…  and they’ll travel all across
America, being signed by police officers as a show of unity and
support.

Once a department finishes getting it signed, they’ll pass it
along to the next department on the list.

Once the flags are all full, we’ll be sending one to Concerns
of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) to fly at the National
Headquarters.  We’ll be sending one to President Trump at The
White House.  And the rest will hang proud at our studios in
Connecticut over The Whiskey Wall.

For those of you not familiar with “The Whiskey Wallâ€,
it’s a wall of stories.

Active and retired emergency responders and veterans bring a
bottle of whiskey.  We sit and share a cocktail and on camera, they
tell you a story about a good day on the job and a lousy day on the
job.  Then their name goes on the bottle and the bottle goes on the
wall.

The video below is a little taste of what the series looks
like.

 

We want to be perfectly clear about where we stand at Law
Enforcement Today.  We will not pander.  We will not cave.  We are
unashamed to be pro-law enforcement.  And anyone who has a problem
with that can kiss our American asses.

If your department wants to be a part of it, email us at
[email protected].  Note: the flags will only be
shipped directly to departments.  Once your officers are done
signing it, we’ll want a picture to share with America… then
you’ll need to ship it to the next agency.  Be a part of this
national movement and help us declare that enough is enough.

—

I feel like not a single day goes by where I’m not shaking my
head… wondering what the heck happened to my country.  Trying to
figure out how the loudest, rudest, nastiest people in our country
suddenly got corporate America and millions of citizens to
absolutely pander to them.

Let’s face it – we’ve been dealing with this
“politically correct†garbage for years.  We’ve all been
walking on eggshells, trying desperately not to offend people.

And guess what?  It wasn’t good enough.  So why are we even
going to bother trying?

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve learned that the following
things apparently make me a racist:

• Drinking milk
• Playing chess
• Listening to country music
• Drinking American beer
• Eating red meat
• Being Christian
• Being a white male
• Voting for President Trump 
• Having an American flag in our yard
• Having a thin blue line bumper sticker on my car

Here’s the thing.  I ABSOLUTELY believe we should judge
people.  But I don’t believe we should judge them based..

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