Thin Blue Line

Sgt. Michael Barron began his law enforcement career shortly after high school as a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff's Department, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, John Meleski-a Harris County deputy in the 1950s and 1960s whose career became the subject of published accounts and departmental lore. Honoring that legacy, Barron even wore the same badge number once carried by his grandfather.During his career, Barron was twice recognized by the 100 Club of Houston-once for rescuing two children from a raging house fire, and later for his role in locating a four-year-old child who had been sexually assaulted and left for dead beneath a bridge in a bayou. He was also involved in two officer-involved shootings, the second of which left both Barron and the suspect hospitalized. Doctors later told him that had the bullet fired at him not deflected off his belt buckle, it would have severed his femoral artery, causing him to bleed out within minutes.Barron later continued his career with the Galveston County Sheriff's Department, where he earned the rank of Sergeant and obtained his pilot's license. He commanded AIR ONE, flying search-and-rescue missions for the Galveston County Beach Patrol, and ultimately accumulated more than 3,500 flight hours while flying for multiple law enforcement agencies.Yet Barron's most enduring contribution to law enforcement did not come from behind a badge or in a cockpit, but through the written word. In 1984, he founded The BLUES Police Newspaper. Forty-two years later, its digital successor-The BLUES Police Magazine-has grown into the largest police magazine in the world.