MERCEDES — A pair of Alton police units slowly drove down North Texas Avenue on Wednesday afternoon toward the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show Grounds.
As they neared the entrance, they were greeted by police units from local agencies parked on either side of the road with their lights on. The Alton police units stopped in front of the Frances R. Cooper Event Center.
More police gathered around the vehicles when the doors opened and out popped 10-year-old Devarjay “DJ” Daniel wearing the dark tan Texas state trooper uniform with a matching hat.
Daniel and the police officers made their way inside the event center and up the stairway to the second floor where they were greeted by a large crowd of police officers representing law enforcement agencies throughout the Rio Grande Valley.
The young boy stood at the end of the stairway, taking in the moment before walking into the room and being surrounded by the Valley’s finest. He received badges, I.D. cards, patches, challenge coins, and other gifts from the nearly 60 local, state and federal agencies in attendance.
Wednesday’s event was another stop in Daniel’s multi-state journey to be sworn-in to as many police departments as possible. Daniel is suffering from metastatic anaplastic ependymoma brain and spine cancer.
“I don’t care where it is, we’re coming,” Theodis Daniel, DJ’s father, said. “If I had to come down on a horse, we were going to get on a horse and saddle to get here.”
DJ, who lives in Humble, Texas, was diagnosed in September 2018, but his love for law enforcement began in 2017 in the midst of Hurricane Harvey. His family was displaced as a result of the hurricane and staying at a shelter.
“We lost everything,” Theodis recalled. “We were in dire straits. We were just done. We ended up sleeping on concrete floors and chairs. We were just trying to figure out what to do.”
He recalled DJ and his two siblings making their way past the long lines for water and snacks in the shelter. Soon after, Theodis was approached by some police officers who were also staying at the shelter.
“Three officers came, and I thought they were in trouble,” Theodis said. “They were like, ‘No, we were just wondering if we could adopt them while they’re in here.’ I said, ‘Sure.’ And they took them upstairs to the second floor. That’s where all the first responders and stuff was. They gave them pizza, and they did that every day. They would hangout and kind of get them away, out of the situation.”
“That little, small gesture was remembered by Devarjaye on his deal with this terminally ill situation,” Theodis continued. “That’s his final wish. He wants to be sworn-in as a police officer everywhere he goes because he wants to show his appreciation and love — not to just the three police officers with (Houston) PD, but to law enforcement all across the nation.”
Theodis described the pain of a parent who knows that they are about to lose a child. He said that he has good days and bad days.
“It’s definitely emotionally, mentally excruciating,” he said.
With so much emotional strain weighing heavy on his mind, Theodis said that traveling with his children and having the opportunity to see DJ take so many oaths of office with hundreds of law enforcement agencies has been a therapeutic experience for him and his family.
“Everytime we get him to swear in, he’s so happy he doesn’t know what to do,” Theodis said. “That gives him fuel to fight harder. That’s what’s keeping him here, but at the same time his cancer is still spreading. It’s slower than what we had anticipated, but the decline is already there. It’s happening.”
Despite his diagnosis, DJ’s wit is on full display. An officer offered his hand to DJ, but the boy instead reached up and rubbed the officer’s balding head.
DJ is also polite and well mannered, responding to everyone with “sir” and “ma’am.” He shakes hands with all the male officers, and hugs all the women.
A brief ceremony is held on a stage in the far end of the room with balloons and decorations that read “Welcome Officer Daniel.”
DJ is joined onstage by the sheriff’s of Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy Counties for the swearing-in ceremony before being joined by the other representatives. By the time the ceremony is over, DJ is nearly covered in lanyards, badges and other gifts.
“We wanted to make sure that this was an all inclusive event,” Alton Police Chief Jonathan B. Flores said. Flores, along with Brownsville Police Chief Felix Sauceda, helped organize Wednesday’s event.
“As you saw here today, there’s over 60 agencies represented here today — plus our federal partners,” Flores said. “We wanted to make sure that this isn’t about one agency. This is about all the agencies that were here today to support DJ’s mission in raising awareness about childhood cancer.”
DJ also hoped to honor another child, Abigail Arias, who died from lung cancer. Prior to her passing, Arias had hoped to become a law enforcement agent. The young boy set out to honor her by setting a goal to get sworn-in by 100 police departments. Prior to Wednesday’s event, he’d already been honored by 490 departments.
His new goal is to reach 2,000 police departments.
“It was my dream, and my dad made it come true,” DJ said after the event.
When asked about any advice he’d like to share with anyone who has followed his story, he said, “Stay safe, and believe in God.”
