Levelland Sergeant Shawn Wilson has been selected as the August 2022 recipient of the $10,000 Injured First Responder grant by the Running 4 Heroes Inc.
During the shooting event on July 15, 2021, in Levelland, Sgt. Wilson was injured during the incident by incoming gunfire that has required Wilson to undergo several surgeries as he has continued to deal with mobility issues. Levelland Chief of Police Albert Garcia said that after the shooting the July 15th shooting, several different programs and grants had been applied for, for Sgt. Wilson as well as Sgt Joshua Bartlett’s family.
A part of the Lubbock County Sheriff ’s Office SWAT team, Bartlett was the commanding Sgt. during the July shooting. After suffering life threatening injuries, he was transported to Covenant Medical Center where he would later succumb to those injuries. For Sgt. Wilson, he was contacted and notified that he would be the recipient of the grant on the 13th of August.
“Many people know the Running 4 Heroes as the young boy that usually comes on a different social media sites and will run for fallen officers or public safety personnel that have been killed in the line of duty,” explained Chief Garcia. “He’s run at different times for personnel in Lubbock.”
The young man running to show his appreciation for first responders is Zechariah Cartledge. Cartledge has ran for Nicholas Reyna from the Lubbock Police Department and firefighter Eric Hill. Both Reyna and Hill were struck by a vehicle and were killed in the line of duty. Cartledge has also ran for Sgt. Bartlett just a few weeks after his death in 2021.
Cartledge will always run a mile and carry a flag for every responder. The foundation Running 4 Heroes officially became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The award and grant Sgt Wilson will be receiving is $10,000.
“These grants are to primarily assist injured officers in their recovery medical bills and things of that nature,” said Chief Garcia. “When Sgt. Wilson was notified, he was just very honored and very felt very blessed by the nomination and by receiving the grant.”
Cartledge and his father will be making a trip to Lubbock on August 26 and will travel to Levelland on August 27th. They will present Sgt. Wilson with the grant at 5 p.m. which is currently scheduled to take place at the law enforcement center in Levelland.
Around 7 p.m., everyone will make their way to the South plains College parking lots and will begin the run from JV Morton Drive and College Avenue and will go southbound on College Avenue. The route includes going down Country Club Lane and heading west.
Once the group reaches Brentwood Drive, they will head south all the way to Sandalwood Lane. At that point that will get the group to their one mile.
“Obviously the young man will be running with a with a flag and then we’ll have several of us as far as the Levelland PD officers that will be running with our unit flag as well,” said Chief Garcia. “From my understanding, there will be some people that will be attending from Lubbock PD and possibly SWAT team members for the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office.”
“We should have a pretty good turn out,” he continued. “It’s very humbling to be part of this and it’s just such a blessing to see somebody with such a big heart like this young man who started this program several years back to let public safety personnel know that there is still people out there in our communities across the nation that still supporting the public safety people including police officers, firefighters and EMTs.”
Chief Garcia acknowledged that Cartledge isn’t the small kid that starting out running years ago and that could mean a little bit of a faster pace, but him and his officers are prepared to test their best mile times.
“He’s a little more grown up now and a little bit bigger,” said Chief Garcia. “He probably has a faster pace but we’re going to try to keep up with him. It’s going to be a good time and I’m sure that it’ll be emotional, but still be a great time to celebrate the fact that we still have Sgt. Wilson with us, and his family still has him as well. That’s always something to celebrate.”
For Chief Garcia, citizens such as Cartledge that show their appreciation for first responders are something he holds near his heart. The chief understands that there can be a few bad apples that make the wrong decision, but for the majority of police officers and first people that will do the job with the utmost integrity and professionalism.”
The chief couldn’t be happier with the amount of support Levelland, and Hockley County have shown for first responders.
“We have a lot of people, community members that have done such a great job and continuously do a great job to support our Police Department, the Sheriff’s Office, firefighters and the EMT’s,” said Chief Garcia. “We do a lot of good work in our community, and I feel like right now, community members are very receptive to what we’re trying to do and the positive relationship we’re trying to build with them. It’s great to see those kinds of relationships just continuously grow and flourish. It makes my heart happy.”
With that community support continuing to show, Chief Garcia hopes to see members of the community take part in the one-mile run.
“I hope that those people that want to join in on the run will come on out and join,” said Garcia. “If they just want to hang out on the street, hoop and holer and encourage that’s okay.
Chief expects people from different areas to attend the event including Lubbock law enforcement agencies.
“I know that we’ve got some people that are going to be coming from other parts of the area. I’ve got a friend of mine that’s coming in from Stephenville. He’s got a new recruit that’s graduating the academy and he’s looking forward to being part of this,” said Chief Garcia. “Just being there to support Sgt Wilson and his wife, they are great people.”
Community members can expect Chief Garcia and his team to be out there running and taking part of the run. The Blue and You program will also be in attendance being a part of the event.
Currently the route plan is subject to change if necessary and plans for closing off roads have not been discussed. There will be a police escort at the beginning and end portions of the mile run. Chief Garcia the community driving on the roads passing runners will use caution and slow down to ensure safety for everyone involved.