Family, friends, fellow officers and community members gathered Sunday evening, Aug. 16, to celebrate the retirement of Plum Grove Police Chief Frank Longoria.
The celebration began at 5 p.m. at Plum Grove Fire Department Station 1, located at 7733 Plum Grove Road within the Plum Grove city limits.
Members of the Plum Grove Police Department attended, along with Plum Grove Mayor Mary Arrendell, Longoria’s family and several people who have worked with him throughout his law enforcement career.
Among those attending was Sgt. Randall Walter with the Pct. 6 Constable’s Office, one of the officers Longoria trained during his time with the Liberty Police Department. Aaron “Podge” Venegas, one of Longoria’s longtime partners and someone Longoria described as one of his favorite partners, was also there. Liberty County Sheriff Bobby Rader was also present.
Longoria’s daughter and only child, Pamela Longoria Melchor, was there to celebrate with her father and his friends.
The evening included cake, gifts, cards, stories and plenty of memories.
Longoria was presented with a shadow box honoring his law enforcement career. The display included patches from the different departments where he served, an American flag folded into a triangle and stars representing his rank as chief. He was also presented with a distinguished service medal.
New Plum Grove Police Chief Brandon Frazier, who previously served as interim chief, presented the honors to Longoria. Frazier worked closely with Longoria and helped him with the administrative responsibilities that came with becoming chief.
Longoria became emotional several times throughout the evening as he opened gifts and cards and looked over the items presented to him.
Several people also shared memories of Longoria and talked about their experiences working with him.
Walter took time to thank Longoria for everything he had done for him throughout his career, including the training, guidance and lessons he received from Longoria as a young officer.
Longoria had prepared a speech for the celebration, but he became too emotional to continue reading it himself. Pamela stepped in and read the speech for her father.
In his speech, Longoria looked back at the career that began with a childhood dream of becoming a police officer.
He said he had always been an avid reader and that discovering the books of police author Joseph Wambaugh changed the way he viewed police officers.
Before reading Wambaugh’s books, Longoria said police officers had always seemed like “nameless, faceless” uniforms in patrol cars. Wambaugh’s books showed him that officers were real people, with hopes, dreams and feelings.
“That’s when I decided that I wanted to be a cop, and that’s what I decided to make my life’s work,” Longoria said.
But becoming a police officer did not happen right away.
Longoria married at 19 and became a father at 20. He said his wife at the time did not want him to become a police officer because she believed the job was too dangerous. After their divorce, Longoria had custody of their daughter Pamela and continued putting his dream on hold while she was young.
When Pamela was 10, Longoria finally applied to the Houston Community College Police Academy.
He was accepted into Class 91-D and attended the academy from August through December 1991. Classes were held nightly at the original HCC campus, the old San Jacinto High School in Houston. Longoria completed 440 hours of training and graduated as class president.
Graduating from the academy did not guarantee him a job. Longoria said he drove around the Houston area applying with different agencies but had little luck.
His first opportunity came at the Ames Police Department after an instructor from an ASP baton training class encouraged him to apply.
Longoria said he had never even heard of Liberty County at the time. After checking his Key Map, he made his way to Ames, met with the chief and was hired. That was the beginning of his law enforcement career.
After Ames, Longoria joined the Dayton Police Department, where he became a full-time Texas peace officer.
He said he preferred working nights and spent much of his time on patrol. It was during his time in Dayton that he became close friends with Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Will Agy.
At the time, Longoria was the only Dayton officer working after 11 p.m., while Agy was the only deputy assigned to that part of the county. The two regularly backed each other up and eventually became close friends and partners.
Longoria recalled one memorable call involving a drunk, naked man.
“Grab him! No! You grab him!” Longoria said.
After the funny story, Longoria began telling the tragic story of how he lost his hero.
On April 5, 1995, Agy was working an extra-duty job at a shopping center in Houston when an officer-involved shooting occurred. Longoria was notified and drove toward the location, initially believing Agy may not have been seriously injured. Agy died that night.
“I lost my hero that night, but more importantly, his family lost a father and a husband,” Longoria wrote.
Longoria said he still misses Agy and that his friend crosses his mind every day. The loss changed Longoria and helped shape the “Be Curious” philosophy that he carried throughout the rest of his career.
Near the end of 2000, Longoria left Dayton and joined the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. He later joined the Liberty Police Department, where he worked with officers including Venegas and Rolando Aguilar. It was also during his time with Liberty PD that Longoria began training officers as a field training officer, also known as an FTO. Longoria said Randall Walter was one of the officers he trained.
Longoria said he enjoyed training new officers and made his “Be Curious” philosophy part of the lessons he passed along.
“I firmly believe that curiosity makes a good officer, a great officer,” he said.
Longoria spent the first 18 years of his career as a patrol officer before eventually being encouraged by then-Chief Billy Tidwell to apply for a position. He later became a sergeant.
In May 2018, Longoria suffered a brain lesion that caused significant weakness on his left side. He was flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital and had to undergo physical therapy to learn to walk again.
He was unable to return to his position with the Liberty Police Department and made the difficult decision to retire. That retirement did not last long.
When Plum Grove started its police department, Longoria returned to law enforcement as a patrol sergeant. He said he enjoyed serving Plum Grove and its residents.
In June 2024, Longoria was named chief after being recommended by then-Interim Chief Brandon Frazier, who later became assistant chief.
Longoria credited Frazier with helping him learn the administrative side of being a police chief. He also thanked Mayor Mary Arrendell for trusting him with the position and for her work on behalf of Plum Grove.
He recalled an early experience with Dayton Police Chief Buddy Bean, who impressed Longoria by remaining loyal to a former employee who was considering returning to the department. Longoria said that experience stayed with him and influenced how he approached his own career.
“I decided to make loyalty my benchmark,” he wrote.
Longoria said he remained loyal to every boss he worked for, followed their orders and never disrespected them by being disloyal.
He also recognized his mother and his great-aunt, Tia Chiquita, who helped raise him after his father died when Longoria was only three months old. Longoria credited them with teaching him the ethics and morals that shaped him and with helping him raise Pamela when he was a single father.
He thanked his siblings, family, friends and everyone who had played a role in his life and career.
“I wish I had time to mention and thank everyone who has had an influence on me and has helped shape me into who I am,” Longoria said. “I don’t, and so I simply say, thank you, my dear and beloved friends.”