CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Manzano family will welcome a third-generation police officer, Noah Manzano. The three-generation legacy started back in 1979 with Mariano Manzano, who also carried the nickname 'officer friendly'.
'Understanding that communication with kids, the friendship that I built up...those are the trophies of this job, trophies of my life,' said Manzano, or officer friendly.
By the time 'officer friendly' retired, his son Michael Manzano was already with CCPD. Today, Michael has almost 20 years in law enforcement, and still serves on the force.
In less than a month, Michael's son, Noah Manzano, will join the line of duty for the Corpus Christi Police Department. It's a career the younger Manzano said wasn't always the plan.
"The original plan was doing something out of the ordinary, professional sports. I thought about joining the military for some time," said Noah.
That quickly changed. He said even though being a police officer wasn't plan 'A,' it was always where he was supposed to be.
"I used to have teachers tell me all the time that they thought I was going to be a police officer and I was just like 'no,' you know, it's not something that's in my mind at the time, but now that I'm here, like I said, I'm ready to go."
And after three generations on the force, the legacy of the 'Manzano' name carries some weight within CCPD.
"The good name we have in the department so I'm hoping to keep that going."
Noah says he has every intention to protect and honor it for the sake of the community.
"The police department's real transparent and we put on a good image with the community, and I hope to continue that. As long as you do the job professionally, you should have nothing to worry about. I'm very proud and I know my family's proud, and I hope that I can make the police department proud as well," he added.
Noah, along with the rest of the cadets, will graduate at the end of February.
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