our heroes: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Law Enforcement Hero —
Deputy Michael Jenkins,
Parker County Sheriff’s Office
BY MARSHA BROWN
PHOTO BY TYLER MASK
I
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
Fowler formed the squad to deal with
dangerous criminals who come to Parker
County hoping to get lost somewhere in the
county’s 900 plus square miles while hiding
from justice. Fowler puts the best of Parker
County’s finest in FAST.
With a spot like FAST, where is Jenkins
setting his sites next?
“I haven’t,” Jenkins said with a laugh. “I
really just want to be right where I am right
now.”
OCTOBER 2015
t’s not easy to find good help these days, this we know. But, when
the position you need to fill requires someone with nerves of steel,
the patience of a saint, the charm of a diplomat combined with athletic
ability and the job you need to fill involves a certain amount of danger,
it’s somewhat surprising that any sheriff’s office, anywhere, manages to
fill its ranks.
So when the Parker County Sheriff’s Office happened upon Michael
Jenkins, it’s not surprising that he was quickly hired.
“Jenkins is definitely one of our rising stars,” Sheriff Larry Fowler told
Parker County Today Magazine. It’s a well-known fact that Fowler is a
man of few words, one who doesn’t hand out compliments lightly.
Jenkins has been with the Parker County Sheriff’s Office for almost
two years, is 25 years old, a graduate from Sonora High School. He
attended Hardin-Simmons University, where he played on the football
team (so the athletic part is definitely a breeze for him) and he worked
as an intern for the U.S. Marshals Service.
Originally, young Jenkins wanted to be a marshal when he grew up.
“I always wanted to be a Marshal,” Jenkins said.
“Television glorifies stuff. When I was a little kid, I wanted to be the
cool guy who helped people and put bad guys in jail.”
Somewhere along the way, Jenkins found that he loved being in
local law enforcement, working in a small town.
“When I graduated High School, I played football at HardinSimmons, [and] then transferred to Angelo State University where I
finished my degree.”
While working for the U.S. Marshals Service as an intern, Jenkins got
some sound advice from his supervisor.
“When I interned with the U.S. Marshals Service, I learned a lot,”
Jenkins said. “I did a lot of the paper work and inside-closed-doors
kind of stuff. The marshals are great. They’re a lot of fun. They’re hard
workers. They do a lot good stuff. But, I worked under a supervisor who
encouraged me to be a local police officer first.
“So, after graduation I went to work for my hometown police department [in Sonora, Texas].”
Jenkins found that he thoroughly enjoyed being a small-town police
officer.
He married a girl whose family lived in Parker County, and she
wanted to live near them. He put his application in with the Parker
County Sheriff’s Office and was soon hired. That was two years ago.
“I love Parker County and love Weatherford and I love working for
Larry Fowler,” Jenkins said.
“Even with the way the world is right now, people in Parker County will
still come up to us and say, ‘I appreciate what you do.’ I love that.”
Jenkins has just gotten a big promotion within the department.
“I was just assigned to the Fugitive Task Force,” Jenkins said, referring to the Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, the elite squad that
works under the direction of a retired U.S. Marshal, Sheriff Larry Fowler.
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