SELMA – After 26 years of service with the city of Selma, former Selma Police Department Cmdr. Rene Garza is off to lead law enforcement for the city of Parlier.
Garza officially took over as chief of the Parlier Police Department at the beginning of August but returned to Selma for one final goodbye. During a special presentation in front of the Selma City Council Aug. 18, Selma Police Chief Rudy Alcaraz presented Garza with a Selma Police Department plaque and certificate of recognition from the city.
“Renee has tremendous tenacity, a lot of energy — just a great charismatic person,” Alcaraz said. “I wish him all the best. He has absolutely left the city of Selma in a better position than he found it, and we’re so happy and proud of him, and excited to see him start this new venture in his career and his life.”
Garza began his career in Selma as a community service officer in 2000. Alcaraz said he was Garza’s training officer and kiddingly said that that’s why Garza is now a chief of police. He also joked that Garza is a “glutton for punishment” for wanting to be a chief of police.
“I tried to tell him about the demands of the position, and I guess he just said he had to figure it out for himself,” Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz said being chief of police is a coveted position in the profession because you have to work extremely hard.
“You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room, but you have to outwork everybody all the time, 24/7,” Alcaraz said. “You have to live a life that’s unsullied, a life that is committed to public service and that is that’s difficult to do for most people, let alone do it for 26 years.”
In his comments, Garza spoke about how welcoming the city of Selma was to him when he started as a community service officer. He said that when he got the job, he was living with his parents, had two babies, his wife wasn’t working and he had $3 in his pocket.
A police officer invited Garza out to lunch, and he said that he didn’t have to say a word, “this officer paid for my lunch.”
“It was just a humble beginning, and I’ll never forget that, of how welcoming us employees — our city staff here — is in Selma,” Garza said.
Garza said the people he most wanted to thank are the men and women of the Selma Police Department. He said they are the foundation of safety in the community and he has nothing but respect for them.
Garza said the city has seen how officers sacrifice themselves for the community as was the case with Officer Gonzalo Carrasco, who was killed in the line of duty in January 2023.
“I just wanted to make sure that we threw that shout out to him because he’s important to us, his self-sacrifice is important to us and also the men and women of this police department in this city are important,” Garza said. “They sweat and they come to work and they do God’s work, and I have nothing but respect for them.”
