Fowler began his now 18-year law enforcement career with the Lubbock Police Department in 2001.
He joined the Frisco Police Department in January of 2007. Fowler works vehicle theft and burglary cases. He has been assigned to and has cleared more cases than anyone else in the Criminal Investigations Division. He played an integral role in recovering the 30 vehicles stolen in a single month at the end of 2018.
In addition to his detective duties, Fowler is also an active member of the Special Operations Unit and he routinely helps the Special Investigations Unit serve search warrants at a moment’s notice.
In his role on the Special Operations Unit he is looked to as an informal leader, having been tasked many times with helping teach the other team members.
Leading by example, he has not missed a call out since being on the team. Fowler is also a firearms and Simunition instructor. Simunition is a training exercise utilizing paintball to highlight the importance of utilizing cover.
He helped dispatch create a “recovered-stolen” email group so they could send one notification instead of several different emails. And he helps answer questions from patrol, regarding stolen vehicles and motor vehicle burglaries. Fowler has been a constant work horse since moving into the Criminal Investigation Division. He always shows up ready to work, and rarely, if ever, uses sick time.
Deputy Chief David Shilson assisted in the award presentation.
“Derek is a true asset to the Criminal Investigations Division and a great resource for the citizens of Frisco,” Shilson said. “He demonstrates a tremendous amount of initiative by being a member of the Frisco Special Operations Team. As part of this team Detective Fowler is faced with some of the highest risk situations that we may be faced with, and also assists in keeping our many special events safe. Detective Fowler also plays a critical role in training our newer officers on SOU and Patrol.”
Fowler's supervisor, Sgt. Hawthorn, said, "Det. Fowler is the kind of person, person and detective the Frisco Police Department needs more of as our department grows."
Fowler said, “I enjoy working for the Frisco Police Department and the citizens of Frisco. I take pride in solving cases and recovering victims’ property.”