DIBOLL, Texas (KTRE) – Members of the East Texas community came together today to rally support for a police officer who is battling cancer.
Officer Corey Clemens is an asset to the Diboll Police Department, and he has been deeply missed by the community for the past four months as he battled throat cancer.
Diboll Police Department Chief Steve Baker said he was honored to have Clemens on the team.
“He’s a very good officer, so I practically recruited him to work here and luckily I got him. He’s one of our best officers, and we miss him right now,” said said Baker.
James Jordan is a retired officer from the Nacogdoches Police Department, but said it was important for him to be here today to serve the law enforcement fraternity.
I mean, it’s more than a lot of people think. We put our lives on the line every day, you know, so it’s family,” Jordan said.
Clemens said he was incredibly grateful to members of the community for coming out today and supporting him.
“I might not recognize them, or I look at them and I’m like, ‘Man, I’ve met them once,’ or maybe I’ve never met them at all. Some people have approached me like, “you’ve never met me, but… So just knowing that complete strangers show up, that’s awesome,” Clemens said.
Clemens completed his cancer and radiation treatments in mid-May. Now he is focusing on his recovery.
“It definitely seems a bit harder after that, but probably because it works and does what the drug is supposed to do,” Clemens said. “But the doctors say the hard parts are over, so now it’s just a waiting game.”
And the community will continue to support him and wish him good luck.
“We are praying for his health and hope to get him back soon,” Baker said.
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