Longtime San Angelo police officer commits suicide at police headquarters
San Angelo TX Nov 7 2017 A veteran officer shot and killed himself Monday at the San Angelo Police Department headquarters.
Sgt. Freddy Dietz Jr., 53, had been with SAPD since 1983. He served as the city jailer when the SAPD had its own jail.
His father, Fred Dietz Sr., also was an SAPD officer, beginning in 1966 and retiring as a lieutenant in 1997.
His father said he was struggling to understand the situation. He said his son loved being a police officer and helped a lot of people during his career.
“He started out when he was just 19 years old,” Dietz Sr. said. “I was real proud of him being a police officer. He did a lot of good.”
At time of his death, Dietz was an administrative sergeant.
Dietz was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a private office about 10:41 a.m., according to an SAPD news release. He was pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace Eddie Howard.
Texas Ranger Todd Reed of the Texas Department of Public Safety is assisting with the investigation, and Dietz’s body will be taken to the Lubbock County Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy, according to the release.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
“The Department is asking the members of the community to keep the Dietz family and Police Department in your thoughts and prayers and to respect their privacy during this difficult time,” the release states.
A plaque at SAPD headquarters shows Dietz was Officer of the Year in 2016.
Dietz once was a D.A.R.E. officer, speaking to local students to help prevent drug and alcohol use, according to Standard-Times archives.
“He was the first D.A.R.E. officer SAPD ever had,” said Former Police Chief Tim Vasquez, who worked with Dietz for 27 years but knew him much longer because they grew up together. “He was the most well-known face of the SAPD because he worked with so many parents and kids at the schools.”
Former Assistant Chief Robert Martinez also had fond memories of Dietz. “Once he and I were working a carnival at the Walmart on the north side,” he said. “For four hours we just kept stopping and talking to people. Either he knew someone or I knew someone.”
Vasquez was shocked and upset by the news of Dietz’s death.
“He was more than a co-worker or employee. He was my friend first, and I loved him dearly,” said Vasquez, who assigned him to be patrol administrator.
Dietz underwent surgery after an on-duty vehicle crash in April 2016 left him with severe injuries. Martinez remembered Dietz’s determination to get better and return to to the SAPD.
“The last time I spoke with him, he (Dietz) said he was doing a lot better after his neck surgery,” Vasquez said.
In his years of experience, Vasquez said policing is a stressful job and officers often dealt with severe bouts of depression. For every one police suicide, almost 1,000 officers continue to work while suffering the painful symptoms of PTSD, according to a study released by the Badge of Life, a police suicide prevention program.
He had difficulty reconciling Dietz with that picture.
“It’s hard to say why there (at the the police station), why at all,” Vasquez said. “He was such a compassionate person. He was a jokester, always laughing and smiling.”
He paused for a moment. “When I think of him, the vision that pops into my head is him walking in with great big smile.”
Martinez agreed. “Sgt. Dietz is the type of officer who once you met him, you’d never forget him or his smile,” he said. Martinez spent three hours with Dietz’s family on Monday. “After 33 years, the San Angelo Police Department was (his) second home.”
Vasquez said he’s praying for the men and women of SAPD because he knows suicide and “in the line of duty” deaths hit them hard. SAPD administrative offices and the records division closed Monday after the incident.
“It’s important that everyone remember the best memory of him (Dietz) that they have,” Vasquez said. “Our community just lost a great officer. Keep his family in your prayers.”
Dietz was remembered as a good man and good officer in Facebook messages Monday:
