Chief Todd Warren has gone Home

UPDATE: With the help of so many people - their time, their love, their financial support - Todd made it to his hometown just in time to say goodbye to his loved ones. Todd passed away early Thanksgiving morning after kissing his wife and kids good night.

This loss is tremendous, not just for the friends and family he leaves behind but for the law enforcement profession and the world. Todd’s caring, friendly nature and true concern for others made him the type of man and officer that the world so desperately needs. His faith in God and love for his family were unshakeable - even through the darkness of the past two years. He never lost his easy smile or his joy to be around those he loved ones.

Now comes the time for Todd’s family to try and create a new life without its defining piece. The move between New Orleans and Texarkana was only partially completed due to Todd’s rapid decline. Lesa, Trevor and Sydney are devastated and, at the moment, immobilized with grief. And as often happens when the bread winner passes away, financial concerns have suddenly rushed to the forefront. Lesa has been disabled since 2009 and they had very little retirement. Like most 50 something year olds, they thought they had time left to plan for the day when Todd’s career was over. They certainly didn’t plan for a crisis of this magnitude.

As you remember Todd’s life and would like to send flowers or gifts, please consider a donation to the family instead. There would be no greater act of kindness in his eyes than to help care for the precious family he is no longer able to care for himself.

ORIGINAL POST:

It's been 13 years since Todd and Lesa left the town they grew up in - Texarkana - to continue to follow Todd's dream of being a police chief. Now he's the Chief of Police/Director of Emergency Services for Loyola University New Orleans.

In December, 2022, Todd developed an extremely rare brain tumor. He's fought the good fight, but now it's time to think about making his life as good and easy as possible - which is becoming increasingly difficult as the tumors take away not only his recent memories but his ability to create new ones.

Todd can only remember new things for a few minutes now. The things he can still remember the most clearly are the things and loved ones from his hometown of Texarkana. He wants and needs that familiarity now, and Lesa wants and needs the support of family and friends who are ready to help. Selling a house, moving, buying a house, hiring help for Lesa...these are things that take time and money. Unfortunately, these are the things that the tumors are taking away from him at a shockingly fast pace.

Please help Lesa get Todd back home to the family and friends they need while it can still mean something to him. Time is running out. After spending a lifetime helping others, he deserves a little help for all he's done and all he's meant to the lives of those around him.

From Lesa on Todd's Facebook page:

“No one ever thinks much about having to retire early due to disability – especially those who have devoted their lives to protecting and serving the rest of us. The heroes. The ones who are prepared to take a bullet and then just walk it off. Unfortunately, sometimes our bodies betray us, bringing down even the strongest of heart and mind. Due to ongoing effects from his brain tumors, Chief Todd Warren will retire from Loyola University New Orleans on November 21, 2024. Since his brain tumor—a very rare Craniopharyngioma—was initially discovered in December, 2022, he has fought hard. Thank God for the doctors at the Mayo Clinic! After his surgery, we hoped we were done. Unfortunately the tumor had started to return within 3 months. Todd underwent 6 weeks of proton radiation treatment at Mayo over that summer. We spent a little over two months living in Rochester just to have the expertise of the Mayo Clinic to care for him. In October of 2023, there was no evidence of recurrence and he was able to return to work. After 6 months of clear MRI’s, we thought we had won! The tumor, however, had other plans.

In May, 2024, it returned along with significant brain swelling. We’ve tried to fight it with various methods since, but found out a few days ago that it’s spread in multiple spots towards his brainstem. We’ve tried all available treatments thus far to no avail. We will of course continue to try and stop this insidious disease, but it’s become an adversary that will prevent him from returning to the profession – and professional life – he so loves. He now has rapidly progressive dementia and severe retrograde and anterograde amnesia. He can only remember things for a few minutes, and then they’re lost to him.

Todd began his career as a street cop in Texarkana, Texas and then became a criminal investigator for the State of Texas’ prison system. It was during that time that Todd realized he wouldn’t be satisfied simply policing adults who had often spent their entire lives without support or guidance. He decided that he wanted to try and make a difference sooner by working with teens and young adults. From that point forward, he worked as Chief of Police for school districts, colleges and universities. Known as “Chief Todd,” he spent the rest of his career developing police departments – often from the ground up - that were professional and progressive with a focus on community policing, victims’ services, and the hiring of officers who displayed qualities such as compassion, patience, and a real willingness to engage with young people in a supportive and personalized manner. He had a particular interest in victims' issues – how they were treated from the first contact with the police department or school through when they were connected with victims’ services, the court system, or mental health services. He started countless programs and classes for students that focused on teaching young women to defend themselves and ensuring that all victims received the information and respect they deserved. He expected to have many more years to impact his small corner of the world.

Life continues to surprise us. The road ahead – once so clearly manifest – has become much more difficult to divine. The support that we’ve received from friends, family, students, coworkers, and even complete strangers has humbled us. It’s made all the difference in the world, and we can never fully express our gratitude.

As for now, we’ll attempt to live each day to the fullest. There are still things Todd wants to see, experiences he’d like to have, and people he’d love to share a story or two with – even if he may not remember the details quite as clearly as he has in the past. But if you know Todd, you know that he’s never let not having all the facts get between him and a good story! His inability to form new memories or recall recent events has in some ways freed him from the worry about the future and regret about the past that can prevent us from experiencing the present. His whole life exists only in the Now. There’s an almost unbearable sadness that those of us around him feel, but there’s also a certain sense of blessing in somehow seeing the world for the first time - in being truly present in the reality of this moment. We spend so much time looking in front of us and behind us…so much more than we spend experiencing the life that’s in front of us. If there’s any positive to come from this nightmare maybe it’s the realization that when it comes down to it, the only thing that’s real…that matters…is right now, and that there’s a peace and freedom in living in the Now that we usually overlook. Like Todd said, this is so much harder on those who love him than this is on him. He can’t dwell on what the doctors told us yesterday. He can’t worry about how he’ll be tomorrow. All he knows is that he’s comfortable, he’s surrounded by love, and a smile can fill up the entire universe.”