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As Angel Bush was talking about her new rank as the first African American female sergeant with the Port Arthur Police Department this week, people were gathering at the sub-courthouse to view the raising of the Juneteenth flag.

Bush exudes confidence as she speaks. Years ago she set a goal for herself and stuck with it all while setting her next set of goals.

When asked what she would like to say to the community, she answered with ease.

“First of all I want to start off by saying I am a native of Port Arthur and it’s been a blessing to be the first African American female sergeant the department has ever had,” Bush said. “To me it signifies and shows real diversity within the department.”

A 2002 graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School, which was the last class to graduate before consolidation of the city’s three high schools, Bush graduated from the police academy and started with Beaumont Independent School District Police Department, where she stayed for five years.

That, she said, was her starting point. She always knew she wanted to come back to Port Arthur and was able to do so in October 2017.

Police work is ever changing and there is no typical day, which is what drew her to law enforcement.

“Every single day is something different and that’s what I love about this job,” she said.

She has worked different job duties through the years from patrol officer to a year as field training officer to operations with game room enforcement and narcotics.

Tenacious

Bush already had her goals set when she was first hired.

“When they ask you where do you see yourself in five years? It was as a sergeant,” she said. “My aspirations would be to move and continue to achieve.”

She’s now looking to move up to lieutenant and later to deputy chief, although she’s not sure she wants to rise to the role of chief.

Preparing for the civil service exam for the sergeant’s position was not an easy one and she actually started preparing a year before she decided to take the test, she said. She had several books she needed to read and created 600 handwritten cards to help her study.

“Sometimes I’d wake up at 4 a.m. and study for a whole hour then get ready for work,” she said.

The night before the test she decided she’d get a good night sleep and packed up all of her books and notes. But she got up in the middle of the night, opened the box, got on her laptop and studied some more.

Bush has confidence in herself, which shines a light on her leadership skills.

When asked if she has advice for other people looking to achieve a goal or for other African American female officers wanting to advance in their career, she spoke frankly.

Some people set up New Year’s resolutions and she was no different.

“That was one of my resolutions, I wrote it down, my goal is to be the first African American female sergeant for the Port Arthur Police Department,” she said. “And I had that on my refrigerator with a magnet so every time I opened up the icebox I saw it.”

Her advice is to set a goal and stick to it.

“I will say its up to you to stick to it if you’re serious about it and you can go forward,” she said. “All you have to do is believe in yourself. I believe every day and I envision and I even started calling myself (sergeant) in my head.”

Other promotions and police department hires

PAPD Chief Tim Duriso said he is proud to have strong, dedicated group individuals on the police force.

Besides Bush’s promotion, Edwin Linarte was promoted to the rank of sergeant.

He believes these two will serve the community well.

Last week four new officers took the oath of office ceremony for the PAPD. They include officers Kenneth Jerry, Elvis Nguyen, Michael Richard and Dalvin Warrick.

The department also welcomed five telecommunications officers: Kassy Downs, Dimple Lofton, Kristen Clark, Ralph Odom and Erwin Rubin.