Kenneth Zahirniak

I have been a certified Texas peace officer since May of 1994. I started out as Deputy / JaiLer with the McLennan County Sheriff's Office in 1994. I supervised the Sheriff's Prisoner UtiLization ReLease program for three years. I Left the Sheriff's Office in January of 1999 after my daughter was born. I went to work for the city of Waco as a Code Enforcement Officer. This job was weekends off, better pay and aLlowed me to spend more time with my family. I reserved for the Sheriff's Office and then went to work part time for the City of West Police Department as a Reserve Police Officer. This was a paid position at a seven-man department. I usually worked a weekend shift by myself. I had planned on transferring to the Waco Police Department once my daughter was older. When I tried to apply in 2005, I was turned down due to civil service vision requirement of 20/100 without corrective lenses. I was 20/200 at the time. I went back to work for the McLennan Sheriff's department in October of 2007. I planned on staying there until age 65. I was assigned to the patrol division and stationed at the courthouse. My daughter got her master's degree from Baylor University in Speech Pathology and moved to Atascocita, TX. with her fiancé. I took early retirement after working 21 years for the McLennan County Sheriff's Office in December of 2023. I had applied for the position of police patrol officer at the University of Houston, Port of Houston Authority and MD Anderson Cancer Center. I was offered positions as a police patrol officer with the University of Houston, and Port of Houston Authority Police Departments. I accepted the offer with the Port of Houston Authority and started work on December 11, 2023. l am currently employed in good standing with the Port of Houston Authority Police Department. My daughter was married in February of 2024, and my wife of 32 years and I currently live 12 minutes away from her in Atascocita, TX. on Lake Houston. I'm a resourceful Police Officer focused on maintaining order and public safety, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property and promoting positive community relations.