Public safety officer retires

After 25 years of working at UTRGV, Public Safety Officer Armando Martinez has retired and hopes to travel and visit family. 

A retirement reception was held for Martinez last Tuesday at the UTRGV Police Department Community Room in Brownsville, where he was given a memento displaying the badges he earned while in service. His last day of work was Jan. 31.

Martinez started working for the university as a part-time employee in February 1994, and then in October of the same year, he became a full-time employee. He decided to become a public safety officer because he likes to be around and help people.

His duties as a public safety officer included calling in activity going on around campus, opening doors for students and communicating with staff and faculty.

Before working at UTRGV, Martinez was a hall monitor at Rivera High School for five years. He had to break up fights and control protests when students were upset about the closed campus. 

Martinez said working at the university was a calmer environment than working at the high school.

Asked what he liked about working at the university, Martinez replied he likes the quiet environment and the students are nice and do not cause trouble. He also likes the people with whom he worked.

“The people that I work with, you know, they are all very responsible, you know, honest,” Martinez said.

During his first year at legacy institution University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College, Martinez closed the Oliveira Library doors at midnight, while there was a Christmas party going on nearby. He was working alone, since back then, guards worked by themselves and called the Brownsville Police Department if they needed backup. He was walking toward a flagpole when he heard shots.

“I heard two shots and, ¡no hombre! I hit the ground right away because it was close by and I called in backup for Brownsville PD and gave them the identification of the vehicle and they caught them before they crossed the bridge,” Martinez said. “That was scary because, I mean, when you hear two shots you can literally get shot yourself.”

Martinez was also present when a Border Patrol agent was running after a man in the parking lot in front of Main because he entered the country illegally. He was notified and arrived at the scene.

“I noticed the guy got inside the student’s car and he was telling him nicely to take him out of the parking lot,” Martinez said. “That’s what he was saying, you know, and the Border Patrol came in, the agent, and he
came into the backseat with a handgun out and he pulled the guy out.”

He also remembers having barbecues on Thursday evenings from 1994 to 2000 with other officers. 

Asked what he will miss from working at UTRGV, Martinez replied that he will miss seeing people while walking around the halls and also getting to meet students.

Martinez plans to spend his retirement traveling and visiting family and being able to be away for months now that he doesn’t have to report to work.

“It’s time to move on, change the chapter in my life and then take a break and then travel, you know,” he said. “I could travel, go to Europe and go see my family in Italy and then California and Seattle. I have family over there also. … I never, really, had a good vacation, a real long vacation. … Now it’s on my own terms and I’ll stay out there for months.”

Jaime Mora, a UTRGV public safety officer, said Martinez is a “really good guy,” who will be missed. He learned from Martinez to be courteous and helpful.

“How to do things correctly, you know, be positive, be courteous … and be there for the students at all times, whatever their need was … making their stay here, or studying here, easier,” Mora said.

Perla Noriega, a UTRGV patrol sergeant, said Martinez was a loyal worker and dedicated to the department.

“We always knew that we could count on him,” Noriega said. “He was never the person to call in sick, or to just be, I guess, dodging work. He’s always been responsible and very dedicated to this department.”

She said Martinez’s charisma made him stand out and make a lot of friends in the department.

“He will be greatly missed because of his charisma, his persona, you know, his presence will be, I guess, missed a lot,” Noriega said. “I do wish him a very happy retirement.”