Houtson Gass is today’s featured hero and boy does he have a story.
Houston Gass began his Law enforcement career in 1999 with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a Corrections Officer. He went to the Amarillo Police Academy in 2002 and graduated to begin his career on the streets. He spent time with Friona, TX PD , Pampa, TX PD, and now proudly wears the Uniform for Jacksboro TX PD. On January 6, 2015 he was confronted with an officer’s worst nightmare. Houston was shot in the Face by a 12 Gauge Shotgun at point blank range, through a door! (Something we joke about constantly as it was a major improvement to his looks) 😊
“I never saw it coming! My partners and I had responded to a domestic disturbance and 30 minutes later I was being carried out on a stretcher! It changed my life and the life of my family. My wife Jessica and our 3 children definitely had their world turned upside down.”
Many surgeries, many setbacks, many obstacles stood in his way to coming back as a police officer. But, in true Houston fashion, he never gave up. He persevered, re-learning how to talk again with his damaged jaw.
“While that day could be said to be my worst, I choose to look at it as my best. I am an unapologetic Christian, husband, father, survivor and police officer…My life has been full of adversity. When I was young my oldest sister murdered, my other sister committed suicide, had a father die of cancer and like many other officers been through a divorce.”
“It’s not your circumstance that defines you, it’s what you do with it that determines your path. I firmly believe what Exodus 14:14 says, The Lord with fight for you, you need only be quiet. That has turned my life into one that has made me a survivor and not a victim.”
He continually uses these circumstances to bring a message of survival and overcoming adversity. “My message is simple, the physical recovery is easy, psychological and spiritual are the hard work. I want to encourage all, that you can make it through impossible circumstances and come out better for it!”
One of the best things about Houston is his unwavering humility in his everyday actions. If he’s not working or spending time with his family, it’s not uncommon for him to be lending an ear to a fellow officer cross-country on the telephone at 0230…its just the way he is.
Please take a moment to shout out to Houston Gass. Let him know you appreciate him as much as we do. And while you’re at it, check out his video on The Wounded Blue TV, where he does a one on one interview while at an event, he runs, called Not All Heroes Wear Capes, linked below.
Thank you, Houston
