Magnolia's small police team leaving big mark in criminal justice

MAGNOLIA, TX (KTRK) -- The police chief in the small town of Magnolia is doing more than just policing the streets, and his efforts are paying off.

Domingo Ibarra is not your typical chief of police.

"It doesn't matter how small your department is, it's the size of your heart," Ibarra said.

In Magnolia, he leads a force of just 13 officers, but that team is getting yet another honor.

"I believe it's not just me receiving this honor, it's the entire community," he said.

Ibarra is just one of 30 chiefs invited to Seattle this fall for a groundbreaking conference on juvenile justice. This follows an honor the department received last year as one of the top 10 in the world -- the smallest ever to win it.

"We don't get there overnight. You get there by doing hard work and by applying basic principles of law enforcement. Criminal justice is a science," Ibarra said.

For Ibarra it's more than science, it's a calling. As a child, he was briefly kidnapped -- his neighborhood was riddled in gang violence -- until an officer stepped in and changed his life.

He spent a career in Corpus Christi as an officer, surviving a gunshot wound the first year on the job before retiring and moving to Magnolia to help raise his niece and nephew when his brother-in-law died of brain cancer.

He says law enforcement is in his blood, and five years ago, he took over as chief. He brings that experience and a master's degree in theology to work with him every day.

"Those are the things that shape your life. As an adult, you go back and you refer to how lucky you are," Ibarra said.

He is a unique man in a small in growing community and deflecting the recent accolades in favor of helping his neighbors live better lives.

"Very fond of saying I work for the Lord and in so doing I serve his children," he said.