Caught by surprise a few days before his retirement, Victoria, Texas, Police Chief Richard Jones walks through a "Gauntlet of Honor" of his police officers. The pomp led Victoria City Manager Charles Windwehen to comment a few minutes later at his awards banquet, "Unless you ran for president and were elected, you could not be more honored than you are today." Jones was picked up by a limo and given a police escort to the Victoria Community Center where the gauntlet awaited him and O.C. Garza, public information officer for the city, took this photo.

Chief Jones joined the Victoria police force in 1971 as a patrolman after graduating from Southwest Texas State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Law Enforcement. He worked his way up the department chain of command, and while still working as an active police officer, he taught Criminal Justice classes at the Victoria College for 27 years and at the Victoria College Police Academy.

He officially retired on February 28, 2007.