Daniel Chretien Comeaux (born June 4, 1969) is an American federal agent who currently serves as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Houston Field Division since 2021.[1]
Daniel Comeaux | |
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| Born | June 4, 1969 (age 55) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Education | St. Louis Community College--Forest Park (AAS)University of Houston--Downtown (BS) |
| Title | Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of Houston Field Division |
Early life and education
Comeaux was born on June 4, 1969, in Lafayette, Louisiana; although born in Lafayette, he grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana on the city's east side in the seventh and ninth wards.[2]
Comeaux played varsity baseball at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park and graduated with an associate degree in applied sciences majoring in Criminal Justice and Corrections in 1990.[3] He then continued playing varsity baseball at Texas State University (formerly known as Southwest Texas State University.)[2][4] Comeaux then chose to take time away from school to gain work experience before returning to college and graduating from the University of Houston-Downtown with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration in 1995.[5] Comeaux became a member of Omega Psi Phi, Inc., in 1997 by joining the Rho Beta Beta Chapter in the 9th district.[6]
Career
Comeaux began his career by becoming a police officer in the Houston Police Department in 1992; shortly after beginning, he became one of the department's narcotics officers.[2] After completing his undergraduate degree, Comeaux then joined the DEA and was placed in the DEA's San Francisco Field Division in 1997.[2] He then returned to Houston to join the city's DEA office in 2000.[2]
In 2008, he was promoted to the DEA's Group Supervisor of the Tucson District Office in Tucson, Arizona.[1] While at the Tucson office, Comeaux received multiple accolades including recognition by the Executive Office of the President for outstanding achievements and significant contributions to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program and an Excellence in Cooperative Law Enforcement Award by the United States Attorney's Office in the District of Arizona.[1]
In 2011, Comeaux was assigned as the Resident Agent in Charge of the Gulfport Resident Office in Gulfport, Mississippi.[1] While at the Gulfport Office, Comeaux commonly cooperated with other agencies such as the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Mississippi State Gaming Commission, and the Biloxi Police Department to hinder the distribution of methamphetamine, prescription opioids, fentanyl, and other drugs distributed by Mexican and Chinese cartels.[7][8][9][10]
In 2014, Comeaux was assigned to DEA's headquarters office in Washington, D.C., as a Staff Coordinator in the Operations Division, Office of Global Enforcement - Mexico/Central America/Canada Section.[1] Shortly afterward in 2015, Comeaux was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Division Jackson District Office in Jackson, Mississippi.[1] While in Jackson, Comeaux focused on mitigating the opioid epidemic by directing his office's efforts to stopping illegal opioid distribution through doctors, pharmacies, and internet sales.[11] Arrests and operations under Comeaux spanned across multiple states such as Alabama, Arkansas, California, and Louisiana.[11][12] Comeaux facilitated cooperation between local, state, and federal law enforcement bodies; this cooperation included assistance from many agencies and police departments such as the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Hinds County Sheriff's Office, Ridgeland Police Department, Jackson Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Mississippi Highway Patrol, Madison County Sheriff's Office, Brandon Police Department, Rankin County Sheriff's Office, Mississippi Department of Corrections, Pearl Police Department, Flowood Police Department, Customs and Border Patrol, the DEA Houston Field Division, U.S. Postal Service, Internal Revenue Service, Scott County Sheriff's Office, Leake County Sherriff's Office, Carthage Police Department, Forest Police Department, Newton County Sherriff's Office, Lauderdale County Sherriff's Office, Decatur Police Department, and Richland Police Department.[12][13][14]
From 2016 until 2021, concurrently with his DEA positions, Comeaux served as President of the National Association of Black Narcotic Agents, an organization aimed at assisting law enforcement agencies in the recruitment of minorities and improving the image of narcotic law enforcement as a viable career choice for minorities.[15][16][17] In this position, Comeaux oversaw annual conferences and assisted in the Association's operations regarding professional development and scholarship allocation.[16]
In 2018, Comeaux was promoted to the Senior Executive Service as the Associate Special Agent in Charge of DEA's Los Angeles Field Division where he served as the primary advisor to the Special Agent in Charge on matters regarding DEA's involvement in California, Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan.[1] While in Los Angeles, Comeaux continued his focus on local, state, federal, and international law enforcement cooperation to makes arrests and seizures regarding fentanyl, cocaine, and other illegal narcotics.[18][19] In particular, Comeaux worked with agencies such the Southern California Drug Task Force, U.S. Marshals Service, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Whittier Police Department, and Colton Police Department when apprehending Colombian nationals.[20]
In 2019, Comeaux was appointed as Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Field Division where he led all enforcement and administrative operations.[1] While in San Francisco, Comeaux sought to reduce drug overdose deaths and aggressively prosecute drug dealers that caused said overdose deaths.[21] Comeaux's division routinely worked with other law enforcement bodies such as the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (NorCal), Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Vacaville Police Department, Redwood City Police Department, San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force, San Francisco Police Department, and Tracy Police Department to hinder methamphetamine, marijuana, fentanyl, cocaine and firearm trafficking across the state.[22][23][24][25]
In 2021, Comeaux was appointed as Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Houston Field Division.[1][5] In this role, he currently oversees 12 offices spanning 118,000 square miles across Texas, which encompasses over 16 million people.[1][5] While in Houston, Comeaux has channeled his division's efforts into combatting overdose deaths and aggressively pursuing the manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit pills.[26] Comeaux's division has also seized hundreds of millions of pills from pharmaceutical companies engaged in illegal distribution in an effort to mitigate overdoses and prosecute distributors.[27][28] Combatting fentanyl distribution has continued being a major focus of Comeaux's division as the prevalence of the drug has steadily increased in the state, causing deaths from people consuming fake pills.[29][30] In addition to pursuing these distributors, Comeaux has led his office in partnering with other law enforcement agencies in the "One Pill Can Kill" campaign—a campaign focused on educating people regarding the dangers of counterfeit pills, fentanyl, and other opiates.[31] Comeaux has expressed that he intends his work to increase trust between citizens and law enforcement as he wants law enforcement to be role models for youth across the state.[32]