By Sarah Sinning
HOUSTON — As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, one recently retired Houston police officer is confident that his Ukrainian counterparts have the skills they need to help them weather the storm, Fox 26 reports.
That’s because he’s one of the officers who helped train Ukrainian law enforcement through a program with the United States Department of Justice.
“We’ve taught them a lot of tactical training,” said Randy Upton, a former lieutenant with the Houston Police Department. “Firearms training, a lot of crowd control training, and critical thinking. I’d like to believe that’s helping out right now.”
Upton says that he along with at least five other Houston police officers have visited Ukraine several times since 2016 to teach the country’s new police officers, and in those six years, he said, the two groups have developed some strong friendships.
“The Ukrainian people are very proud and they’re very strong,” Upton said. “They have the will to fight for their country. I believe they’ll continue doing so.”
But that doesn’t mean he’s not extremely concerned for their safety on the ground.
“I pray nightly and I pray daily,” he continued. “My heart pounds every time it takes a while for one of them to reply [to my messages].”
Over the weekend, one Ukrainian police officer sent Upton a selfie in which he’s donning a “Don’t Mess with Texas” patch over his tactical vest.
“When I saw that on there, it made me proud,” said Upton. “Hopefully our training we gave them keeps them alive and protecting their country.”