By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre is still emotional when talking about the unforeseen loss of Major Troy Hidalgo on Dec. 22.

“Suffering a loss is one thing,” Tregre said. “Suffering a totally unexpected loss is something else.”

Tregre said Hidalgo, who died due to complications from heart surgery, was responsible for all major technological advances of the Sheriff’s Office, including the smartphone application and updated website.

Tregre has experienced the loss of officers before, he said, but only in situations more common to the inherent dangers of policing.

“You train for those things,” Tregre said. “You don’t train for this. There’s no class for this.”

Hidalgo was employed with the St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office for 23 years, where he started his career as a patrol officer and later advanced to the Narcotics Division. He spent his last seven years commanding the Information/Technology Division.

Tregre spoke at Hidalgo’s Jan. 6 Celebration of Life, where he echoed sentiments of Hidalgo’s confidence, perfectionism and witty nature.

Tregre said Hidalgo was highly sought after by other employers because of his talent, but his loyalty and dedication to the residents of St. John Parish kept him at the local Sheriff’s Office.

“Major Hidalgo established and implemented electronic citations, which the St. John Sheriff’s Office was one of the first in the nation to pilot,” Tregre said. “Other agencies met with him to get information on the system, with plans on implementing the same system.”

Tregre said after other agencies would meet with Hidalgo, they would call Tregre and ask to “borrow” him for a few weeks to do some work in their offices.

“I am not ashamed to say that I never returned those phone calls,” Tregre said smiling. “With the ever increasing demand for technology and with all of (Hidalgo’s) knowledge, understanding and talent, I am sure he could have left for greener pastures, a better position, a better job, but he stayed on.”

Married for 25 years to Kimberly Duhe Hidalgo, Tregre said Hidalgo was known as a man who made the most of his marriage, with he and Kimberly taking many trips together.

Hidalgo applied for and obtained a grant to purchase the Sheriff’s Office’s first mobile command, Tregre said, a process in which he daily monitored online the building of the vehicle in Wisconsin.

There will be a public ceremony in the next couple of months to name the vehicle “T-Roy,” Hidalgo’s nickname, Tregre said.

“He made me a better sheriff, made the parish better and made the parish safer,” Tregre said. “It was a pleasure working with him.”