I started drawing when I was a child, drawing comic heros and villains. After serving active duty in the Air Force, I started my law enforcement career with the Dixon Police Department in 1990. I became a police officer with the DeKalb Police Department in 1997. I have worked in Investigations for the past 5 yrs. and have been a Forensic Artist since 2006. I have been fortunate to have a great law enforcement career. I have worked as a DARE Officer, VEGA Officer, Elderly Service Officer, Juvenile Officer, Field Training Officer, Bike Patrol Officer, Detective and Forensic Artist. On a side note, the guys in the Detective section at my department are the best guys to work with.
A lot of my drawings were cartoons of officers when something funny happened at the police department. When I was told I was going to attend Forensic Composite training, officers I worked with would joke that my composites would look like cartoons. They don't know how close they were. My first practice drawing looked like a cartoon character!
I attended Lois Gibson's Forensic Art Training course at the Northwestern Traffic Institute in 2006, which taught me a lot about shading, interviewing and learning her style of drawing. In April 2008, I was fortunate enough to attend the F.B.I's three-week Facial Imaging course. What was great about this training was that everyone invited to attend were already forensic artists. I was able to see many different styles of drawing and learn from each artist. The instructors were exceptional and had a vast amount of knowledge and experience, which I felt they passed on to us as students. In addition to drawing we learned alot about interviewing and courtroom testimony.
I continue drawing caricatures for Retirements, Promotions and Probation parties. Recently, I decided to take my drawing to another level by drawing portraits.
I am very fortunate to have an employer that is very proactive when it comes to having a Forensic Artist on the department. My services are offered to other agencies at no cost to the requesting agency. I have completed composites for other agencies and welcome the opportunity to work with more agencies.
"Disclaimer - All suspects viewed on this website are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. All content in this website is copywrited and owned by Detective Angel Reyes and may not be reproduced or otherwise used in any manner without expressed, written consent of the owner".
