Andrade becomes first female Lt. in SBPD

By DAVID LOPEZ
Special to the NEWS

Guadalupe “Lupi” Andrade became the first female Lieutenant in the San Benito Police Department’s history last Thursday after nearly 30 years in law enforcement.

A San Benito native, Andrade, began her career in law enforcement in 1992 and joined the SBPD in 1994 as a Reserve Officer. Two years later, she became a full-time employee, soon working as a School Resource Officer, Field Training Officer, Hostage Negotiator, and later becoming an Internal Affairs Detective.

Before becoming Lieutenant, she served as a Sergeant where she worked as a first line supervisor in the field. Part of her duties were to supervise a team of eight men by assigning, planning, and evaluating their individual sector activities and their workflow such as reports, arrests, traffic enforcement, city ordinance enforcement all while serving the public with professionalism and respect.

As a Lieutenant, Andrade will spend a little more time indoors: she will have many of the same responsibilities as lower-ranking officers, and she will oversee a Sergeant and patrol officers. She will evaluate their workflow, check case status, and process. She will also review and evaluate their performance in all aspects of police service, review body camera and dash camera footage, and ensure that the citizens of San Benito receive commendable service.

When asked what the most satisfying part of her job is, Andrade responded that serving the community in which she was raised is the best part of her job. She feels close to her roots and has the need to make sure that the community will be okay. “Serving this community has had its ups and downs but regardless, I wouldn’t want to serve any other community. I feel San Benito is my home and I took an oath to protect it”.

Through the years, Andrade has received several awards including two lifesaving awards, a meritorious conduct award, safe driver award, good conduct award, community service award, educational achievement award, and last year she received the “Professional Award” when she attended the Sergeant’s Academy. Andrade currently holds a Texas Master Peace Officer License.

For Andrade, public service is a family affair. Her husband Carlos Andrade is also a Lieutenant for the San Benito Police Department and commands a separate shift from her. Her son, EJ, is an acting Fire Lieutenant in Harlingen, and her daughter Daniela wishes to dedicate herself to public service and hopes to join the First Responder family but has not decided on which career yet.

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