Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT), the Texas Trucking Association (TTA), and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton brought the trucking industry and law enforcement together today to focus on combating human trafficking at San Antonio Police Department’s Public Safety Headquarters.
At today’s news conference, Attorney General Paxton praised the public-private partnership between his office, TAT, TTA, and law enforcement, citing it as an innovative approach in the fight against human trafficking.
“Truckers are the eyes and ears of our Texas highways,” Attorney General Paxton said, “This partnership brings law enforcement and the trucking industry together, educating them on the signs of human trafficking and how to report it. It helps ensure that victims will be identified and rescued, and that traffickers will find themselves behind bars.”
Earlier this year, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), in partnership with TAT, held three additional coalition builds in Lubbock, Tyler, and Houston. The San Antonio training event is the fourth in a series of five builds planned across the state.
In addition to these coalition builds, the OAG’s Human Trafficking and Transnational/Organized Crime Section has conducted over 50 trainings statewide since January of this year—educating over 4,000 Texans on human trafficking and the pertinent red flags related to this horrific crime.
At the news conference, Attorney General Paxton was joined by: Assistant Attorney General Kirsta Melton, Deputy Criminal Chief of the Human Trafficking and Transnational/Organized Crime Section; Truckers Against Trafficking Executive Director Kendis Paris; Texas Trucking Association President and CEO John Esparza; San Antonio Police Chief William McManus; Bexar County Criminal District Attorney Nico LaHood; and Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman, VP of Public Affairs for the National Association of Truck Stop Operators.