Chief Pedro Lopez Jr. is a veteran law enforcement officer with 32 years of prior experience in Houston law enforcement before joining HISD as chief of police in May 2020.

Lopez spent 29 of his 32 years in law enforcement with the Houston Police Department, moving up the ranks from patrol officer to assistant chief for Patrol Region 1. He also previously served with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department and Texas Department of Corrections.

He completed law enforcement training at the FBI National Academy. In 2017, he led the police response to Hurricane Harvey and the city’s first-ever disaster relief mission to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria.