Sgt. John Pohlman

1943 - 2020

John G. Pohlman
1943-2020
On October 12, 2020, retired HPD Sgt. John G. Pohlman passed from this life into heaven. Sgt. John Pohlman served our city for 49 years as a Houston police officer and he served with a perfect record: a record of hard and important police work, a record of educated crime-fighting, a record of community involvement, and most important, a record absent of a single complaint by any citizen he served.
John joined the police department in January of 1968 and was soon assigned to the Radio Patrol Division. While in Radio Patrol, in addition to answering calls for service, John worked as a criminal investigator taking crime scene photos and fingerprints. He was promoted to Sergeant and assigned to the Narcotics Division in 1975. Eventually, he was placed in charge investigating that division's internal complaints until his retirement in 2017.
John took pride in his education as a policeman. Over the course of his career, he earned his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Criminal Justice from the University of Houston-Downtown, received summa cum laude on both degrees.
John was "the first" in numerous other HPD assignments: first Uniform Tactical Unit officer to serve as both a patrolman and a Sergeant; first Narcotics Division Survival School Firearms Instructor; first supervisor of the Narcotics High Risk Arrest Team; and supervisor in the first combined US Customs, IRS and HPD Money Laundering Initiative. John was a cop's cop. He was tough, trained, and fully capable of defending our safety. He did so with a quiet demeanor and character.
John was a devoted husband to his loving wife of 30 years, Lenora. John was predeceased by his son, Jason Pohlman, sister Billie Jo Durbin and survived by his wife Lenora Sorola-Pohlman; daughter Robbin Pohlman; sister Patsy Medaris; grandchildren, Greg, Austen, Wren and Jonathan; great-grandchildren Kathrine and Max; godchildren Daniella, Michelle, Rachel, Lucia, Sophia, Liliana and Jonathan.
The family would like to extend their appreciation for the care and compassionate support they received from the doctors, nurses, and staff at St. Luke Hospital.
A viewing will be held on Wednesday, October 21, 2020 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Morales Funeral Home 2901 Canal St, Houston, TX and Thursday, October 22, 2020 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church 2405 Navigation Blvd, Houston, TX from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. with rosary at 7 p.m. The funeral service will be held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church on Friday, October 23, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. followed with internment at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers a donation can be made by check payable to "Assist the Officer Foundation" in John's honor and mailed to the Morales Funeral Home.