Roy Williams Foundation

Board Member

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Born into a U.S. Army family on Fort Knox, Ky, Dexter Pitts was destined to be a selfless
servant. After watching the Twin Towers fall on 09/11/2001, he felt led to serve his country in
the military. After graduating high school in June of 2003, he shipped off to U.S. Army Infantry
OSUT (One Station Unit Training) at Fort Benning, Ga. Upon graduating from OSUT, he was
assigned to the 10 th Mountain Division 2 nd BCT (Brigade Combat Team) as part of Alpha
Company 2-14 Infantry Battalion as an AG (assistant gunner) to the 240 Bravo machine gunner.
In June of 2004, he deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where his battalion
patrolled south west Baghdad. Four months into the deployment, his company was reassigned to
the Abu Ghraib AO (Area of Operation).
 

In the early morning hours of January 2, 2005, while seated in the driver seat of his vehicle, an
IED (Improvised Explosive Device) that consisted of two 155mm artillery shells exploded
directly under his seat. Dexter suffered a shattered left arm, a separated left shoulder, a
concussion, had some of his teeth blown out of his mouth and had two pieces of shrapnel cut
through his vest and into his back. Dexter would go on to endure 13 operations to repair his left
arm which left him with a limited range of motion in his left elbow leaving his arm stuck in a
permeant 90 degree angle. On October 30, 2006, Dexter was retired from the U.S. Army and
retuned home to Radcliff, Ky to start his life.
 

In 2007, Dexter was featured in an HBO documentary “Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq”
that was produced by James Gandolfini. In late 2007, Dexter used his VA (Veteran Affairs)
benefits to attend college. While attend college, he felt the urge to serve again and applied to the
LMPD (Louisville Metro Police Department) and was officially hired in November of 2009 and
graduated the police academy in June of 2010.
 

While working the Ironman detail on August 29, 2010, he received a call from his hometown
police department in Radcliff, he was advised that his mother had been shot and was at
University of Louisville hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital, he was informed that his mother
and father had been involved in a domestic violence incident and his mother shot herself. After
the age of 26, while in his uniform, Dexter made to make difficult decision to take his mother off
of life support.
 

After enduring a second divorce and many issues steaming from his family issues, Dexter
contemplated committing suicide after all he had endured, but his police sergeant, was a former
Marine, so he was in distress and reached out to help him. Dexter was able to regain control of
his life and get focused on severing others. In May of 2012, he graduated from American
Military University with his BA degree in criminal justice with a 3.5 GPA (Grade Point
Average). During his time with the LMPD, he served in the Second Division as a patrol officer
for three years. In 2014, he was selected to serve on the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.
After his time with the task force, he returned to the Second Division until he was assigned to the
DAP (Downtown Area Patrol).
 

Still feeling as though he had not done enough and wanting to serve on a higher level, Dexter
was hired by the USBP (United States Border Patrol) in November of 2018 as part of class 1110.
In April of 2019, he graduated from the USBP Academy and was selected by his classmates for

the class Leadership Award. Dexter was stationed at the Brian A. Terry station in Naco, AZ. He
served with the USBP for a year but found himself missing police work. In December of 2019,
he was hired by the SPD (Sahuarita Police Department) in Sahuarita, AZ. While working for the
SPD, he watched as his city and brothers and sisters with the LMPD were being besieged by
protest in Louisville. After seeing the riots, he decided to return back home to LMPD where he
was been on the frontline of the protest as a member of the SRT (Special Response Team) and is
currently assigned to the First Division on the night shift.
 

Dexter and his wife Christina have been married since August 11, 2012. They have two wonderful
children their ten-year-old daughter, Brooklynn and their seven-year-old son, DJ.

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