10: Javier Bustos: "24 Hours I"ll Never Forget"

Javier Bustos became a police officer in 1999 with the Austin Police Department and after a distinguished career, he retired in 2022.

Prior to becoming a police officer, Javier served for 11 ½ years in the United States Air Force.

On September 25, 2010, Javier responded to a “threatening man with a gun” call and as a result, was involved in an officer-involved shooting. Because of his actions that evening, Javier was awarded the Austin Police Department’s Medal of Valor.

In this episode, Javier goes into great detail surrounding his officer-involved shooting and how this incident forever changed his life.

Javier and his wife Cathy, who was also a law enforcement officer, are certified in Law Enforcement Peer Support and together they started, “That Peer Support Couple.”

You can learn more about the work they do at: cathyandjavi.com.

In 2019, Javier wrote an article called, “On Being Involved: When I Got Home,” which you can read at

http://www.officerinvolvedproject.com/essays/whenigothome.