Sheriffs Biography
Omar Lucio was born in San Benito, Texas. He and his wife, Nena make their home is San Benito, Texas. They are the proud parents of four (4) daughters; and one (1) son. They are also the proud grandparents of eleven (11) grandchildren, six (6) boys and five (5) girls.
Law Enforcement/Education: Sheriff Lucio started his law enforcement career in Harlingen, Texas. He received a double major degree from Pan American University; a degree in Criminal Justice and a degree in Sociology. He is a graduate of the FBI Academy. Up until beginning his term in January 2005 as Sheriff, he served as Chief of Police for the City of Mercedes. He also served as Captain of Police for the City of Harlingen. He is a member of the National Sheriff’s Association and the Texas Sheriff’s Association. Aside from being a dedicated lawman, Sheriff Lucio is actively involved in professional and civic organizations.
Sheriff Lucio was first elected to a four year term in January of 1997. After a successful campaign, he was elected to serve a full four-year term in November 2004 and began his term on January 01, 2005. Under his current Administration, Sheriff Lucio oversees a total of 365 employees whom he calls his “backbone” of running a respectful and professional department. His motto “humble, public servant”. He has an open door policy and welcomes every one to stop by his office and express their concerns. In January 2005, Sheriff Lucio was instrumental in bringing back the federal inmates that the U. S. Marshalls had removed two (2) years ago.
Mission Statement: To serve and protect the people of Cameron County. Together with a strong management force, dedicated employees and good leadership we can make our department succeed to provide the highest degree of fairness and integrity. We pledge to provide high ethical standards with emphasis on honesty and intelligence.
Every day, Sheriff Lucio receives lots of mail but most recently he received a letter that was quite different from the others. The letter was from three young boys ages 12, 8 and 4 who live in Harlingen. They wanted to know if even though they are young, if there was anything, they could do for him. Sheriff Lucio wrote back and told them that there are two (2) things they can do; First, “Say no to Drugs and Second, Stay Away from Gangs”. It is this inspiring words of encouragement that Sheriff Lucio offers to the youth.
He strongly emphasizes that the children of today need to be told early the importance of becoming law abiding citizens and most of all, the importance of an education.