An eternity ago I met a young Chris Perez, working together
at REI, hiking, biking, going to school and starting our young families. We had
a lot in common and became fast friends. Perez graduated and became a local police
officer, serving in every possible capacity (see below). In Episode 69 Commander
Perez and I discuss some of the lessons learned during his storied career and
how we still have many things in common, the most obvious being our desire to
be firefighters, I mean public servants. Enjoy the episode.
A little more about our guest…
Commander Chris Pérez, began his career with the Chandler Police Department in
1997, after serving in the United States Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. He has
worked in numerous patrol positions throughout the department. In 2000 he
became an investigator as part of the Neighborhood Response Team. In 2004 Pérez changed roles and became a School Resource Officer,
instructing students in the Chandler Unified School District. In this
assignment, Pérez created the Chandler Police
Department Wilderness Experience, an outdoor, experiential education
opportunity that serves middle school students. This successful program is
still active today.
In 2004 he
returned to the Criminal Investigations Bureau as a Special Victims detective,
where he investigated violent crime and crimes against children. During his
tenure, Pérez oversaw some of the city’s most
high-profile cases and sought justice for victims. In 2012 he was promoted to
sergeant and returned to patrol until 2014 when he was selected to return to
the Special Victims Unit as Detective Sergeant. This provided the opportunity
to oversee the direction of investigations, enhance best practices and serve as
co-coordinator for the State of Arizona Child Abduction Response Team. He also
served on an advisory committee in Washington D.C. developing a national
protocol for sex abuse medical forensic examinations, in conjunction with the
Department of Justice, the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and Human Health Services.
In
2014, Pérez assumed leadership of the Honor
Guard as an ancillary duty, and in 2015 he was promoted to lieutenant, serving
as watch commander over patrol. In 2016 he was selected to lead the
department’s Special Investigations Section overseeing all Gang, Criminal
Intelligence, Narcotics and Human Trafficking investigations.
In January
of 2020, Commander Perez was assigned as the Operational Support
Bureau Commander. Perez oversees
the daily operations of the following units: SWAT, Criminal Apprehension
Unit (CAU), K-9 Unit, Motor Unit, DUI Unit, Vehicular Crimes Unit, Bike Team
Unit, Training Unit, SRO Unit, Park Ranger Unit, Volunteers in Policing Unit,
Detention Services Unit, and our Police Cadet Unit.
Commander Pérez earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Arizona
State University in 1997 and holds a master’s degree (2010) in education from
Northern Arizona University. In his spare time, Commander Pérez is
an outdoor enthusiast, an Adjunct College Professor of Justice Studies and also
presents case studies and lectures throughout the United States.
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You can find the Fireground Fitness podcast wherever great podcasts are
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greatly appreciated. Go to apple podcasts, subscribe, rate and review the
podcast or shoot me an email!
If you would like to contact today’s guest...
Email: cperez377@gmail.com
Your host can be reached at:
IG: @firegroundfitness
FB: @fireground fitness
Twitter: @firegroundfit
Email: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com
