Prior to the culmination of graduation weekend, local law enforcement agencies gather together to ask students and parents to make safe decisions.
Members of the Odessa Police Department, Ector County Sheriff’s Office, UTPB Police Department and Ector County Hospital District were joined by Odessa Mayor Javier Joven and the Midessa Community Alliance Coalition to speak about Operation Graduation.
The press conference took place Thursday morning in the Abel Marquez Training Room at the OPD Training Facility.
Odessa Police Department Chief Michael Gerke said the State of Texas has gone through enough heartache this week and he doesn’t want that sorrow to spill over into the graduation weekend.
“Speaking to the graduates, your loved ones don’t need to deal with tragedy,” Gerke told the Odessa American. “Imagine if one student is seriously injured or dies because of drugs or alcohol that affects their family. It affects their teachers. It affects their classmates. It affects their friends. There’s so many people that get affected by that. It’s a wonderful life that gets cut short.”
Operation Graduation is to deter underage drinking and ensure the public has a safe graduation weekend.
Gerke said there are between 15 and 18 officers on patrol, but during Operation Graduation that number will increase between seven to nine. He said the increase will be across all law enforcement agencies in the area. Gerke said he appreciates law enforcement’s ability to work together.
“As law enforcement has evolved, we all understand that we are part of a region that needs to help each other out,” Gerke said. “One problem is not one department’s problem. It’s the entire region’s problem. We understand the goal is to make the citizen’s life better.”
Though underage drinking is a main priority during Operation Graduation, another precaution is drug use especially in the case of fentanyl.
Sara Hinshaw, the program director for the Midessa Community Alliance Coalition, said during the press conference that fentanyl is in the Odessa community and she urges students to be wary as the drug is extremely dangerous.
“Fentanyl is going into everything,” Hinshaw said. “It doesn’t take more than a speck of fentanyl to overdose.”
Odessa Crime Stoppers will be fielding calls about underage drinking parties throughout the weekend. Hinshaw said the fine for hosting a party can be no less than $250 and up to $2,000.
Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis said graduation weekend is a time for celebration not a time to make life-changing decisions.
“Don’t make a decision on graduation night that may map out the rest of your life,” Griffis said.
During the Odessa City Council’s regular scheduled meeting, the council agreed to amend a city ordinance so law enforcement officers can issue citations to parents who facilitate underage drinking by renting party buses, limos and recreational vehicles. Joven said during the meeting that he wants this graduation weekend to be the “safest on record.”
