TUPD Officer Laura Hernandez

Corporal Laura Hernandez
Photo courtesy of Laura Henandez

By Katie Groke

Corporal Investigator Laura Hernandez is all smiles when she talks about her time with the Trinity University Police Department. “TUPD rocks!” She is also one of only three female officers at TUPD, out of its force of 32.

Now her second year at Trinity, Hernandez has also been teaching a Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) class at Trinity, something she has done in various places for 22 years.

This course is offered as a physical education common curriculum course and is available to female students. Here she and Sylvia Villarreal, also with TUPD, teach young women different self-defense techniques. They also teach their students how to be good witnesses who can help officers get information across the radio. “Each person has something to learn from this course,” says Hernandez.


A San Antonio native, Hernandez attended Saint Mary’s University and received a bachelor of arts and minored in criminal justice. After her graduation from St. Mary’s, Hernandez worked as a police officer for the university for 19 years. Later Hernandez was assigned to a high school in San Antonio and worked there for five years, before she joined Trinity.

Her job as an investigator at Trinity is not an easy one. First, responding officers take a report. The report is then passed along to Hernandez to investigate and find the truth. “A lot of officers want to know what happens. The officers care about the Trinity community,” says Hernandez.

After the investigation is completed, each case is reviewed with TUPD Chief Paul Chapa and the case can be brought to the campus conduct boards and/or legal charges could be filed. The amount of time it takes depends on the kind of case.

Hernandez is a Texas commissioned peace officer and is therefore allowed to carry a firearm. On a liberal arts college campus, there is a lot of debate over gun control and the role of peace officers on campus. “I have always gotten support from students about feeling safe,” says Hernandez in regard to her carrying a gun. “Even international students, who are not used to guns, feel safe.”

As a college police officer, Hernandez also makes an effort to stay connected with the students, following trends, social media, and popular verbiage used by students. She wants to be approachable by the Trinity students and be aware of the kind of support that the student need. “I want individuals to feel like they can open up to me and that I can be there for them throughout the entire process, criminal, if they so choose,” she says.

On top of staying up to date on social trends, Hernandez works to maintain her physical training as well as other policing skills. As a female officer it is important for her to stay at the same physical level as her male coworkers. Female TUPD officers receive the same training and are treated no differently than their male colleagues.

Chief Chapa has known Hernandez for 20 years, dating back to her time at St. Mary’s University. There they worked together with the university's R.A.D. program and Chapa noted that she was “instrumental there.”

“I always knew she could communicate with the community. When we needed a person to come in with her skill set, she was the first to come to my mind. Especially as an investigator addressing issues on campuses, she could address many issues on campus,” says Chapa.

Chapa also applauded Hernandez’s ability to connect with students. “She also has the ability to relate to students and engage students at their most difficult time, while establishing a good balance in the relationship,” he says. “Laura makes it so much easier to be part of the community.”

And for Hernandez, her job is all about the community. “We take care of each other; we have to.”