Rick Van Houten retired from law enforcement after almost 29 years of service. He served as the Fort Worth Police Officers’ Association (FWPOA) president, representing all sworn members in every rank of the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) for over a decade. Rick was the active police trustee on the Fort Worth Employee Retirement Fund and served as the vice-chair for his entire tenure.
Throughout his education in the police labor movement, he has focused on defined benefit pension systems. He has been very active in defending them from those who wish to see them abolished. During Rick’s law enforcement career, he attained the rank of Sergeant in the Fort Worth Police Department. He holds a Master Peace Officer License through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) and is a certified TCOLE Instructor and TCOLE Firearms Instructor. He spent time in almost every job possible in the police department, including Patrol, Canine, FBI Task Force, Undercover Narcotics, Motors, and the Special Response Teams.
Rick has served on the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT) board of directors and area vice president for the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), a national law enforcement advocacy group representing over 250,000 police officers. A highlight of Rick’s Labor Union career was his selection as a member of the Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in 2008-2014. He also holds several Certificates in police union leadership from the Harvard Law School and testified before the President of the United States’ Task Force on 21st Century Policing on January 31, 2015. His testimony focused on implementing body-worn cameras in policing agencies. He has also lectured across the country at Harvard University, Yale University and the University of San Diego.
Rock enjoys hunting, fishing, and long motorcycle rides across the United States and abroad. To date, his favorite motorcycle ride was a trip with his father touring the back roads of New South Wales, Australia.