PORT ARTHUR, Texas — The newly appointed attorney for the Eastern District of Texas is a Port Arthur native.
Brit Featherston has risen through the ranks from an EMT, to a 10-year career in Port Arthur Police Department. Now he's the chief law enforcement official in our district.
"[I] started out as an EMT on an ambulance back in Port Arthur in the late 70s," Featherston said.
Featherston’s 40-year career in law enforcement prepared him for his new job as U.S. Attorney.
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"Being able to come back to the Eastern District of Texas, here in the Beaumont office has been a real blessing and great opportunity for me to come back and work with these people that I consider some of the best professional law enforcement personnel in the state," Featherston said.
As the chief federal law enforcement official in this part of the state, Featherston said one of his goals is to focus on protecting the elderly population.
"One of the things I'm very interested in and has been a focus of this administration is elder fraud radio trying to prevent scams and crimes against the elderly. We have a very large elderly population in our district," Featherston said.
Compared to the rest of the state, whose elderly population is roughly 13 percent, in the Eastern District of Texas, almost 20 percent of the overall population is 65 and over.
And this time of year, scams like these can happen more often. Featherston encourages people to trust their instincts.
"If it's too good to be true, or if something strikes them as odd, make sure you call the police," Featherston said.
Though he's new to this position, Featherston has worked in this office for 20 years.
"It's so humbling to work with the outstanding people in this district,” Featherston said. “They are standing prosecutors, the outstanding support staff that supports those prosecutors."
As the new U.S. attorney, his goal is simple.
"What can I possibly do to help us be better prosecutors for the citizens of this community," Featherston said.
Featherston also spoke with 12News previously regarding his 19-year-old son who is continuing a health fight at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
The family has asked for the community's prayers during this difficult time.