By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Val Verde County Constable Pct. 3 Steve Berg has died.
County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. confirmed Berg’s death to The 830 Times today, saying Berg died Friday afternoon.
Berg was serving his third term as Constable, Precinct 3, at the time of his death.
Owens said Val Verde County Commissioners Court will appoint Berg’s successor, but added no decisions on such an appointment will be made until after Berg’s funeral.
“We want to make sure we take time to pay our respects for his long years of service to the public and to our community,” Owens told The 830 Times.
Berg was first elected to the office of constable in 2012.
Berg enlisted in the United States Air Force after graduating from Angleton High School in 1971, following a tradition of service instilled by his mother and father. His father also served in the Air Force.
“My parents always instilled in me that I needed to do something for the country, for the community, to try to give back where I could,” Berg said in a 2020 interview with this writer.
Berg worked in personnel and as an Air Force recruiter before joining the Air Force’s law enforcement arm, where he served the next 11-and-a-half years until his retirement at Laughlin Air Force Base in April 1993.
While on terminal leave from the Air Force, Berg attended the Del Rio Police Academy, graduating as the highest-ranked cadet in his class. After his graduation, he went to work for the Del Rio Police Department.
Berg said he joined the police department out of the same sense of duty that led to his Air Force enlistment.
“I love this community, and I felt serving as a police officer was one way to give back to the community, by doing my small part to make it as safe as possible,” he said.
In the police department, Berg worked as a patrol officer, an auto theft detective, a traffic division supervisor and as a lieutenant in the department’s administration division.
Berg served with the DRPD for 18-and-a-half years and retired in 2011.
He said he decided to run for the position of Precinct 3 Constable even before he retired from the police department.
“I watched the job that (the late) Shorty Turner and the other constables did, and I did some research. I was very impressed by what their duties are, what their authority is and their history,” Berg said.
“I saw an opportunity, not only to work with the courts and the judges, but I felt the taxpayers deserved a full-time constable, and that’s the platform I ran on, that I would not hold a full-time job outside the constable’s office, and I have been full-time,” he added.
As constable, Berg patrolled school zones and residential areas and often provided backup to the Del Rio Police Department and Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office.
“My sole goal is to be another piece of the protection that is provided to the citizens,” he said in 2020.
During his tenure as constable, Berg also initiated a popular residential home watch program.
Homeowners going out of town called Berg to let him know how long they will be gone, the cars at the home and any people allowed to be on the property, and he checked on those homes during their absences.
Berg also served civil papers and was duly proud of obtaining training above and beyond that required for constables.
“The one thing I’m really proud of is that I’m the only constable in the history of Val Verde County to be selected for, attend and graduate from the Texas Constable Leadership College offered by the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas,” Berg said in the 2020 interview.
Berg also attended and graduated from a 40-hour court security specialist school, which he attended and completed before an abbreviated version of the training was required for law enforcement officers who work as court bailiffs and earned a state certificate in civil process proficiency.
Berg earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Sul Ross State University, an associate of arts degree from Southwest Texas Junior College and an associate of science degree from the Community College of the Air Force.
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Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
