Capt. J.R. Torres was honored at this week’s City Commission meeting for his 20 years of dedicated service to the Key West Police Department. Capt. Torres has been with the Department since he started as a patrol officer in 1995. For the decade prior to that, he worked in Key West’s emergency medical services.

Capt. Torres served as a patrolman and a detective until his promotion to sergeant in 2003. In 2010 he was promoted to lieutenant, and became captain in 2012. Today, Capt. Torres oversees the operations division, which covers everything from the marine unit to patrol to special ops. Throughout his years of service he has garnered many awards and commendations from both the Department and the community, including the medal of gallantry for distinguished bravery.

“Twenty years ago I stood in this room as a young police officer and took an oath,” he said to the room packed with family and colleagues, “an oath that, as a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty was to serve humankind; to safeguard lives, protect the innocent from deception, the weak from oppression or intimidation, the peaceful from violence and disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all persons to liberty, equality and justice. I would like to think that for the past 20 years I’ve done that for the citizens of Key West and visitors alike.

“Today,” he continued, “I stand before you to tell you that it’s been an honor to have served this unique community, full of so many wonderful people. I thank God every day for giving me the strength to endure these past 20 years and I thank my family for giving me the support and understanding necessary to succeed and get here.”