Dear Editor,
This morning as I was reading the front page of the Gilroy
Dispatch, I was saddened to see that the community and the
brotherhood of the Gilroy Police Department lost a father, brother,
mentor and community member. Ray as I knew him was a mentor that I
held high in my book of life.
Dear Editor,
This morning as I was reading the front page of the Gilroy Dispatch, I was saddened to see that the community and the brotherhood of the Gilroy Police Department lost a father, brother, mentor and community member. Ray as I knew him was a mentor that I held high in my book of life.
In my lifetime I had the opportunity to have Ray touch my life, I’m sure that he did with others who he made friends with. When people encounter officers throughout their lifetime, they either have good or bad experiences.
Ray was a tough guy when he had to take a drunken driver off the street not willing to cooperate, or he could have been a “teddy bear” helping out a single mother stranded with her kids in the car on a cold winter night.
I had the opportunity to go on multiple ride-alongs with Officer Ray Hernandez. On my ride-alongs we exchanged lots of stories about him on his rise to becoming a police officer.
The one thing that he always communicated was that his kids where the #1 priority in his life and second his job as an officer keeping the streets of Gilroy safe.
Ray will be missed. We have lost a brother, mentor and community member that will be felt for years to come. Residents of all cities should understand the job that these men and women do to keep our streets, schools, parks and our kids safe. As we sleep in our cozy beds at night, have dreams, snore and renew our energy, our men and women are out there awake watching over us. Ray you will be missed, Keep a place in heaven reserved for me, brother.
Robert Rodriguez, Gilroy
